What is holiday baking without some sort of sweet treat dreamed up by Tieghan Gerard? I've already sung the praises of Half Baked Harvest on this site, so there's no need to do it again; her flavors are consistently phenomenal! Honestly, these aren't my favorite spiced molasses-based cookie. I reserve that honor for my good … Continue reading Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Desserts
Cranberry Orange Linzer Cookies
Two of the sweet treats I've wanted to make for a long while are Linzer cookies and cranberry orange curd. So when I saw another online baker combine the two ideas, I got excited! Linzer cookies are very traditional. Hailing from Austria, they are a shortcut version of the Linzertorte, originally noted in 1653. Nowadays, … Continue reading Cranberry Orange Linzer Cookies
French Mendiants
These traditional Christmas treats are called Mendiants, hailing from the country of France in the Middle Ages. Mendiants are basically discs of chocolate topped with dried fruits and nuts. They're incredibly tasty and insanely easy to make! A quick history: The name, mendiant, comes from the Latin word, mendicans, meaning beggar, referring to the Roman … Continue reading French Mendiants
Sugarplums
We all know the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" in The Nutcracker, and that children have "visions of sugarplums" dancing in their heads on Christmas Eve. But have you actually tried traditional Sugarplums? I certainly hadn't, and I was curious! So when I found a recipe for sugarplums in one of the Beekman 1802 cookbooks, … Continue reading Sugarplums
Spiced Apple Custard Pie with Biscoff Cookie Crust
This Thanksgiving, I couldn't decide between a custard pie and a fruit pie. Specifically apple, since it's my husband's favorite. Then one day, I thought, "Why not combine them? Tart cinnamon apples with sweet vanilla custard." That's when I came across the enormous Costco pack of Biscoff cookies, just begging to be turned into a … Continue reading Spiced Apple Custard Pie with Biscoff Cookie Crust
Maple Pecan Cake
Maple pecan is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. And since maple always reminds me of autumn, I decided a crisp, cold October day was the perfect time to try this incredible cake! I used my Nordicware Harvest Bounty loaf pan, making an beautiful cake that tasted even better than it looked! Filled with … Continue reading Maple Pecan Cake
Magnolia Table’s Pear and Walnut Bread
The third volume of Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Table cookbooks came out this year, and the recipe that intrigued me the most was Jo's Pear Bread. She came up with the idea trying to use up a surplus of pears by swapping them out for the bananas in a typical banana bread recipe. I knew I … Continue reading Magnolia Table’s Pear and Walnut Bread
Healthier Maple Carrot Cake Cupcakes
We all want two things: health and dessert! If you're trying to make smarter decisions for your body but still want to indulge from time to time, these Maple Carrot Cake cupcakes need to be on your radar. This recipe swaps whole grain flour for the usual all-purpose flour and omits the usual refined sugar … Continue reading Healthier Maple Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Crispy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
If you've been on the hunt for healthier sweet treats, and you love the combo of chocolate and peanut butter (especially as much as my husband), this recipe is a WINNER! Instead of overly-processed Rice Krispies cereal, you use puffed whole grain brown rice. Instead of processed sugar, these are sweetened with honey. And finally, … Continue reading Crispy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Spiced Apple Sandwich Cookies
Some recipes are just okay. Some are good. Some are memorable. Some are worth adding to your regular rotation. And then some are so fantastic, they become something exceptional. A new tradition, something to take to special occasions or look forward to all year long. This is one of those recipes. If you like apples … Continue reading Spiced Apple Sandwich Cookies