• Baking

    peanut sandies

    As much as I love Ottolenghi’s savory recipes for their dynamic flavor profiles, so much do I love his sweet recipes for their subtlety and finesse. Just like his Oat Cranberry Almond Cookies, these Peanut Sandies have flavor without being in your face. They perfectly balance butter with peanut, sweet…

  • Baking

    potato buttermilk sandwich bread

    Before you ask me, “Why another white sandwich bread recipe?”, let me ask you: do you ever have leftover mashed potatoes going bad in your fridge because no one wants to eat them? Or do you ever have that last bit of buttermilk that you can’t find a use for?…

  • Cooking

    roasted poblano salsa

    My husband eats chips and salsa like I eat popcorn: after the children have gone to sleep, in peace and quiet, as a way to unwind and relax. I churn out a batch of my simple salsa about once a week, but sometimes I’ll go off road a bit and…

  • Baking

    strawberries and cream chiffon cake

    This cake is what dreams of springtime are made of. The cake is light and airy like angel food cake, but a bit sturdier, richer, and moister from the vegetable oil and egg yolks. Together with a light whipped cream frosting and sweet tart strawberries, each bite of this cake…

  • Baking

    chocolate peanut butter

    This was a recipe I definitely did not mind testing. But though I tested (with LOTS of tasting), there’s still just a lot of wiggle room in the recipe. When you have a treat like chocolate peanut butter, it might as well be just to your taste. So please don’t…

  • Baking

    orange cranberry scones

    If you can’t have too many muffin recipes, neither can you have too many scone recipes. My favorite will always be the impossibly easy cream scones, but I don’t mind a little change up now and then. These scones are lightly orange-scented and studded with tangy cranberries. Cream scones are…

  • Baking

    “anything you choose” muffins

    Ok, so Joy of Cooking just calls these Basic Muffins with Milk, but since you can use whole milk or non-fat, or cream, or sour cream or yogurt or buttermilk, or add any kind of fruit – dried or fresh – or nuts or spices or any variation thereof, I…