• Mini cherry cheesecakes

    mini cherry cheesecakes

    What was your favorite dessert as a child? Mine, by far, was these mini cherry cheesecakes. I mean, sure, I loved ice cream and pie and cookies. But if my mom asked me what she should bake — especially if it was to take to school or a party — it was mini cherry cheesecakes. […]

  • Sopapilla cheesecake bars

    Easy sopapilla cheesecake bars with cinnamon sugar and honey

    A few years ago, I was visiting Phoenix for work and had the chance to see my mom’s BFF. She reads the blog (hi, Beth!) and gave me a bunch of different recipes to try. One that immediately caught my eye was something called “sopapilla cheesecake,” and I meant to make it as soon as […]

  • Pumpkin-gingerbread trifle

    pumpkin trifle

    Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures in southern California, it’s October and therefore pumpkin season. I do like a pumpkin spice latte on occasion, but I prefer pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and other things that actually contain pumpkin. So when Toby suggested I make a trifle, my mind immediately went to pumpkin. I thought about doing […]

  • Triple berry cinnamon swirl bread

    Lesson learned: Always trust Joy the Baker. When Joy posted a baking bootcamp challenge a few weeks ago, I was super excited to attempt the baking part, but also concerned that I wouldn’t like the result. You know I am a big weirdo with all sorts of strange food issues, and one of those issues is […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • Fruit salad with mint sugar

    Fruit salad: It doesn’t sound very exciting, because it normally isn’t. But that’s because most fruit salad contains cantaloupe (gross) and doesn’t include mint sugar. This version is super easy (you literally just cut a few things up and stir) and is so good that every time I make it, someone asks me for the […]

  • Strawberry shortcake trifle

    Guys. You have to make this. Like, now. It’s super easy, great for a big group and incredibly delicious.   You can get a trifle dish for less than $20, or just use a large bowl. Now, you could obviously just make regular strawberry shortcakes, if you only need dessert for a few people. But […]

  • George Washington’s cranberry pudding

    I grew up in a state that didn’t even become a state until 1912. The history there tends to be of the native American or Mexican variety, and there aren’t any bars that can boast of hosting a founding father. So it’s a little weird to me that I live just a few blocks away […]

  • Red velvet whoopie pies

    If you watched or read about Saturday’s game, you’ll know that “sad” is an understatement for how I feel. Crushed, perhaps? Forlorn? This piece hits the nail on the head, but if you’re looking for a shorter summary: It was a fantastic game, and Georgia was amazing. Then, when we were less than five yards […]