Beyond the Box: Baking from Scratch

It's been... quite a year. Has it felt that way for you too?  It seems like everyone I know is chugging along chanting the same mantra: "let's just get this year over with!" Of course, I think we've done this the last few years, and the New Year has yet to bring something significantly better, but hope springs eternal, right? And I have the most comforting dish for you today for those days when hope betrays your trust. Sometimes after a break on the blog, I wonder if it's worth addressing that I've been gone. My statistics don't show that I have a lot of regular readers, and direct feedback suggests that my only readers are my close friends and family who already know what's been going on with me (and I suspect a lot of them, as much as I love them, quickly scroll through and give it a  consolation like while thinking "tl;dr"). In getting this post ready, I've been beautifully surprised at how many apparently random views I'v...

I want to start today with a confession: I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Pinterest. I love the idea of being able to collect and share all sorts of ideas and save them onto your own virtual bulletin boards. I hate that they keep trying to make it more than that and don't make it easy to leave feedback about what isn't working.  I can't be the only one frustrated with this new "home vs. following" thing, right? Now there are two separate feeds, one labeled "home" and one labeled "following." I thought the whole point of following a board or a person was so that their stuff would show up on your home feed. But I don't want this to turn into a great big rant about imperfect social media platforms. That's not why you're here. That's not why I'm here. We are here for cookies. In between my fits of frustration, I do still browse Pinterest for recipes, crafty ideas, and funny memes, and even when I find recipes...

We are more than halfway through April, which means it's time to try my hand at another King Arthur BakeAlong! The April recipe is called " Almond Puff Loaf ," and although I can't quite say the name without giggling, it looks, quite frankly, scrumptious. But, guys, I'm a little nervous about this one. KAF promises that the recipe is easy and quick, but it involves a choux pastry, which I have never actually made before. I've seen it done on baking and cooking shows and my mom's kitchen, and I've been wanting to try it, but I haven't gotten around to it -- until now, where I attempt it for the first time, documenting it for your entertainment! But first let's discuss what I'm hoping the end product will be. This treat consists of two different types of pastry layered together and topped with jam, almonds, and a sweet icing drizzle. It looks like the kind of thing you would have for an indulgent breakfast or with a cup of tea for an af...

I'm back on the sweet stuff again, so I hope you're ready! The last month or so has been something else around here, so thank you for being patient with me while I sort my head out. Fortunately, baking has always been very therapeutic for me, so I'm back in the game faster than I expected. Today's recipe isn't a fancy one, nor is it a challenge. It's a tried and true favorite of mine that I'm sure will become one of yours as well. It's also pretty classic, so I don't have a catchy name to mark them out as mine. No gimmicks, just dreamy, chewy, buttery chocolate chip cookies. Because who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies?! Monsters, that's who. No, wait, even monsters love cookies. We all learned that when we were only three letters in to learning the alphabet . For a long time, my go-to recipe for cookies was the one on the back of the package of chocolate chips. And why not? It's good. It's convenient. It's been aro...

Are you sugared out yet? I looked down my list of past blogs and all but two of the recipes are sweets, and one of those is dog treats! But baking doesn't always have to be about the sugar. Today, just a little bit late, I'm bringing you my attempt of King Arthur Flour's March BakeAlong recipe . I've been holding their email in my inbox all month long, drooling over the thought of melty, cheesy goodness, until I went home for Easter to bake this with my mom. And because we always end up having more that we want to do than we have time for, this BakeAlong sneaks in just a hair late at the beginning of April. Behold: Gruyere-Stuffed Crusty Loaves! You probably haven't picked up from my other posts, since they've been vastly more sweet than savory, but I love  cheese, and Gruyere, if not my very favorite, is definitely in my top five. So I am super excited to try this, and I hope you are too. (Never fear, though: if you can't get Gruyere, I'm confident...