cookie dough
February 14, 2017
I’ve got a hot date with my roommate tonight and if there is one thing that she loves it is cookie dough. So, just for Morgan, I didn’t bake anything for Valentine’s Day.
pumpkin pie
November 22, 2016
My little cousin, Annika, loves pumpkin pie. I would like to think she loves my pumpkin pie, however, I think it’s an overall adoration. When she comes to my parents’ house in the summer, she runs up to me and asks, “Did you bake pumpkin pie?!” And I am forced to her look into her adorable dimpled face and break the news that there is peach pie, but not pumpkin. She tries to hide her disappointment, and is relieved somewhat by the prospect of cookies or cupcakes, but I know what she’s thinking.
maple-pumpkin coffee cake
October 31, 2016
When it comes to pumpkin treats, I want the pumpkin to whisper seductively into my ear, not shout at me with a bullhorn. You won’t see me ordering a pumpkin spice latte and the total pumpkin takeover that happens between August and November somewhat eludes me. But it’s Halloween and I forgot to carve my pumpkin over the weekend, so maple-pumpkin coffee cake will have to do!
zucchini bread with rosemary
September 18, 2016
I don’t think there has ever been a time when I’ve wanted zucchini bread. Sure, I’ve tried it, and enjoyed it. Aunt Eileen used to deliver chocolate zucchini bread to our kitchen, and while I might have preferred her banana bread, I was always happy to eat a slice after dinner. But it’s never been something I’ve craved. It hasn’t even made it onto my “recipes to try” google doc, a fifteen page list of links that only seems to grow as recipe-rabbit-holes are something I don’t just fall down, I willingly dive down. This list includes recipes for trdelnik, rose and cardamom cookies, and Australian meat pies, so it’s truly a wonder to me that no zucchini bread recipe has ever managed to capture my attention.
traveling s’mores cake
August 22, 2016
Over the weekend, Meredith, her sister Jacqueline and I went camping to celebrate Meredith’s 27th birthday. While I drank coffee and baked a cake, they biked the 50ish miles from Philly to the campsite. My job was to transport all the stuff in the Lum - a car that is quite possibly older than all of us and has been a sort of cornerstone of our friendship since 2005. The Lum’s AC stopped working…a while ago, so it was a bit of a sweaty drive, but given that my 3ish mile bike ride the previous weekend made my butt hurt until about Thursday, I was happy to forego the ride and be the sweaty pack mule instead.
sprinkle cookies
August 18, 2016
Sometimes you just need a sugar cookie covered in sprinkles. Whether it’s a bad week, a particularly bad case of the Mondays, or a sad desk lunch, sprinkles cookies can be your savior. They are also perfect for birthday celebrations, picnics and movie nights. If you don’t believe me, go buy a thing of jimmies and see for yourself!
strawberry scones with lemon and lavender
July 11, 2016
I’ve been thinking about berry scones with lavender for a little while, but I was waiting for a day when I would have beautiful, fresh berries that did not get devoured immediately upon purchase. Then, a few weeks ago on Game of Thrones, Sansa turned into a patriarchy-crushing badass, which inspired me to make the scones I would make for her if she were coming over for breakfast: with lemon because she loves lemon cakes, with strawberries for her fiery attitude and lovely red mane, and with lavender sugar to bring it all together and provide a bit of relaxation that I assume would be most-welcomed after taking back Winterfell. Have I mentioned I really love themed-baking?
aunt eileen’s banana bread
June 20, 2016
The first time I ever made banana bread, it was a colossal failure. I tried again—no better. My aunt Eileen lives next door to my parents, and growing up I saw her almost daily. She brought treats over to us all the time, but her banana bread—perfectly wrapped in tinfoil—was always one of my favorites. So, when I called Eileen for the recipe, I was absolutely sure that it would be the Peterson family banana bread to be passed down for generations. As I pulled my dark brown, unrisen, slightly concave, gelatinous mess out of the oven, I thought to myself, “I must give up baking forever because if I can’t bake this recipe, I am doomed.”
rhubarb scones
May 23, 2016
As totally nutso as it is, Mama and Randy brought rhubarb grown in our very own backyard in Minnesota all the way to New York just so I can bake it into all sorts of yummies. I can get perfectly fine rhubarb (actually really great rhubarb) much closer to my apartment, but the novelty of eating Minnesotan rhubarb with my favorite people from Minnesota will absolutely never get old.
apple, cheese and chive scones
May 8, 2016
There’s a restaurant in Minneapolis called Bar Lurcat, and my friends and I used to go there in high school. It’s a loungey joint with couches instead of chairs and big poufs surrounding coffee tables. As far as we were concerned, there were just two things on the menu: mini burgers and an apple, cheese, and chives salad. We ordered a couple of each and passed the plates around from pouf to pouf. There is also a regular dining room, but as most of us had just passed our driving tests, we felt especially cool eating in the bar area. We were definitely not the intended clientele.