• Cranberry upside-down cake

    When I was planning my Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner menus, I knew I had to have delicious desserts for both… but I didn’t want anything that would require a lot of work. I decided to make a peppermint ice cream cake for Christmas (which was delicious but also a huge mess, so I need […]

  • Cherry-pecan scones

    If you think scones are dry, hard and better suited for use as a doorstop than an afternoon snack… then you haven’t tried these scones. These are flaky, tender, buttery, full of cherries and toasted pecans. They’re perfect for tea, or for brunch, or for anytime you want something delicious.   They’re also easy — […]

  • Gingerbread men and pumpkin dip

    I know the holidays are technically over… but since most of the U.S. is buried under a thick blanket of snow and we’re not even a full week into January, I think it’s still perfectly acceptable to eat some gingerbread men with pumpkin dip. These gingerbread men are pretty easy to make — though you […]

  • Cinnamon rolls

    When I was growing up, we would be allowed to open one Christmas present on Christmas Eve (before we went to church), then we had to wait until Christmas morning to open our presents. But once we got a little older we started opening all our presents after church (and after midnight, so it is […]

  • Purple sweet potato pie bars

    Thanksgiving is full of browns and oranges, with the occasional pop of red. But if you’re looking for a shock of color to wake up the dessert table, these tropical pie bars with bright purple filling and creamy coconut topping may be just the thing. It’s certainly not the traditional option; I’m pretty sure the […]

  • Sticky toffee pudding

    “Sticky toffee pudding” is a bit of a confusing name for Americans (like me). It’s a cake, not the stuff Bill Cosby loves to eat in commercials. And the “toffee” is a sauce, not that chewy stuff in the middle of Heath bars. Oh, and there are dates involved. In part because I had no […]

  • Brown sugar buttermilk pie with bourbon brown sugar sauce

    Pie is a must-have for Thanksgiving, but you don’t necessarily have to stick with pumpkin, pecan or apple… or limit yourself to one. This brown sugar buttermilk concoction is a little non-traditional, but with the custardy consistency of pumpkin pie and a bourbon-brown sugar sauce reminiscent of pecan pie, it would make a perfect addition […]

  • Camouflage cookies

    I wanted to make some Marine Corps birthday baked goods for Toby’s Marines last week, but I ran out of time — so I thought I’d make some camouflage cookies today, for Veterans Day, and have Toby take them to the Marines tomorrow. I love baking (and eating) sugar cookies, but I haven’t made them […]

  • Red velvet skull cake (and cupcakes)

    Happy Halloween, y’all! Are you dressing up this year? Toby and I are at the airport, on our way to Kentucky for homecoming festivities at his alma mater, Centre College, so I am not wearing a full-on costume, but I am wearing some leopard-print items and a leopard-ear headband. And I wanted to share a red […]

  • Pumpkin gooey cake

    We’re more than halfway through October and it’s starting to feel a little more like fall… and that means it’s decorative gourd season (don’t click that link if the F-word bothers you) and it’s time for some pumpkin recipes up in here. This pumpkin gooey cake is actually more like a cake-pie hybrid — a […]