Good banana bread is really something special. But too often, it's dry, too sweet, not banana'y or a bad combination of those. This recipe, adapted from Elise Bauer's Banana Bread recipe, is the perfect blend of slightly sweet, overtly banana'y, wonderfully chocolaty and slightly whole grain.
Read MoreThis is a classic strawberry-rhubarb pie, lightly spiced with cinnamon, lemon and vanilla, in which the sweet strawberries and tangy rhubarb shine.
Read MoreThis is a perfectly moist, wonderfully chocolate cake with a great crumb. It holds up well over time and under frosting. I've tweaked the original Hershey's recipe only slightly to include a bit less sugar and some whole wheat flour which no one has ever noticed.
Read MoreCustard has always been one of my favorite desserts, the eggy, smooth, velvety flan a decadently simple treat. I love a hearty chai tea and created this riff on my mom's custard recipe using a spiced tea milk in place of the regular milk and nutmeg.
Read MoreThis is such a delicious apple cake: incredibly moist, perfectly spiced, and as good for breakfast and a snack as it is for dessert!
Read MoreHaving long loved the vegan scones from Whole Foods, I looked around to find an approximation (WF won't share the recipe). I found this on Eating Consciously and have adapted it slightly, most notably to include oats. You can sub pecans for the walnuts if they're more your speed. If you want to use all maple syrup or all agave, that's cool too.
Read MoreAn avid canner, I'm always playing around with new combinations of flavor and texture. And, I enjoy adding a savory twist to traditional sweet jams. I had a bunch of rhubarb in my fridge and a Ginger Gold apple leftover from making chutney. Allspice is one of my favorite spices and I thought it might pair nicely with juniper berries. What resulted was a really pretty, wonderfully rich, layered fruit butter.
Read MoreWhat's not to love about a great bread pudding? It's comforting, delicious, decadent and homey, all at the same time. Topped with a caramel whiskey sauce...well, that's perfection.
Read MoreHomemade ice cream is so fabulous, and with a great foundation, the flavor possibilities are endless. My sons asked me recently what my favorite candy was, and I replied that the older I get, the less I actually enjoy candy. I'd much rather have chocolate or some sort of baked good, but when pressed to consider a candy bar I'd eat if I had to, I thought of the Almond Joy. Coconut, chocolate and almonds- what's not to love?! Inspired by this conversation, I made this ice cream which is like a homemade, subtle Almond Joy with a twist: a dash of cardamom. Divine!
Read MoreSince discovering the ease of making (and enjoying) fresh ricotta last year, I've been an ardent fan and rather obsessive maker of it. Most weeks, there's a fresh batch in my fridge, and one of my favorite ways to enjoy it is with lightly-spiced poached figs and their syrup. I also really enjoy using the whey which is great and useful in so many ways. This ice cream combines the use of whey with my favorite fig-ricotta snack.
Read MoreI have always loved strawberry muffins, but, as with strawberry cake, it's hard to find ones made from scratch. These are! And if you enjoy lavender, it's a lovely addition here.
Read MoreI adapted this from an Andrew Knowlton yogurt cake recipe in the May 2012 Bon Appétit. AK's used more yogurt and did not include the strawberry-rhubarb compote. If you don't incorporate the fruit swirl, up the yogurt to 3/4 cup. You can make this cake up to three days in advance.
Read MoreThis strawberry-rhubarb compote is just really good. Enjoy it plain, with yogurt, on ice cream, with pancakes, stirred into cake batter...
Read MoreA rich, firm pudding-like cake that hails from Sicily. I found this recipe in a Cook's Illustrated special edition, Heirloom Recipes. Cook's Illustrated suggests serving this warm. I actually enjoyed better cold, after it sat in the fridge for a full day.
Read MoreI got this wonderful recipe from my mother-in-law, Claire, who makes dozens of batches every year for any occasion. They are lovely and light, and without thinking, you can eat a ton of them!
Read MoreThis is the moistest, vanilla'iest, perfect-for-birthday-cakes white cake recipe out there. No one ever knows it's vegan. It's just delicious.
Read MoreThis is a scrumptious pumpkin cheesecake. It's creamy, well-spiced, and the gingersnap crust is the perfect base. Serve this after your Thanksgiving (or any winter holiday) meal, and you'll be a hit!
Read MoreThis recipe, from "The First Ladies Cook Book," appeared in the NY Times in 1965. It was republished in a 2009 Recipe Redux article by Amanda Hesser. It's absolutely marvelous and very simple to make.
Read Moremusings from a stay-at-home, cooking-obsessed mom
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