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Favorite seasonal recipes, projects, and some photography advice and inspiration.
Farmhouse White Bread
Freshly baked bread is the ultimate comfort food. There is just nothing like toast made from a loaf of homemade bread, served with fresh, hot coffee, on a blustery and dreary March day. Right now, coronavirus fears are wiping out the bread supply at the grocery store, so it’s a perfect time to hunker down at home and bake up some fresh bread.
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Heart-shaped Cardamom Buns served with raspberry preserves
Though I don’t love all the elements of a commercial Valentine’s day, I do find heart-shaped foods to be charming. And I confess that I enjoy the more sweet and simple versions of the holiday - like the Valentine treats that the kids share at school, or a homemade Valentine card. It’s in that spirit - the spirit of a slow and gentle, homey holiday - that I created these heart-shaped cardamom buns.
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Double chocolate muffins for a frozen, wintry morning
We’re in the January deep-freeze here, in what currently feels like the frozen tundra, and turning on the oven to make bake up some hearty and delicious comfort food feels more like a necessity for survival than a luxury. But these muffins are most definitely luxurious. Making a batch of double chocolate muffins is a great way to warm up the kitchen make winter seem a little less bleak.
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Stamped Shortbread Cookies for Christmas
Christmas is just around the corner and even though there’s lots to do, there’s always time for a batch of Christmas cookies. Especially a simple cookie, like these stamped shortbread cookies, that go together quickly, taste great, and look fancy and festive. They’re great for sharing and go well with things like that afternoon coffee or tea.
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Rosemary Shortbread Linzer Cookies with Blueberry Preserves
The holiday season is well and truly upon us and my oven is seeing even more action than usual, which is really saying something. I love to bake any time of the year, but December is an especially fun time to make up some festive treats to share, and these rosemary shortbread Linzer cookies with blueberry preserves are my current favorite.
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Baked pumpkin donuts for a chilly October afternoon
October is here! I love October. I love the vibrant colors of the changing leaves and the cool, crisp air. I love needing a sweatshirt, but not needing the winter gear just yet. I love seeing pumpkins on door steps and leaves on the walkways. Most of all, I love the coziness that is an inherent part of the season. There’s just nothing like going for a walk in the cool air outside and then coming in and warming up with a baked pumpkin donut and a hot cup of coffee.
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Apple Blackberry Skillet Cake with Maple Bourbon Whipped Cream
Having already made two apple pies, applesauce, and apple pie scones, I needed something else to put in my apple baking repertoire. I’ve always loved the appeal of skillet cakes – they seem so rustic and homey, like something I could make (almost) as easily over a woodstove in a log cabin as in my modern kitchen. So an apple skillet cake seemed like a plan.
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Classic White Cake Decorated with Apple Blossoms
Everyone needs a good classic white cake in their repertoire, and this is mine. It’s my go-to white cake, easily adaptable for any season, holiday, or event. As you can see here, I made it for spring and decorated it with the apple blossoms that were blooming all around.
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Pear Caramel Cake
It's autumn. Late autumn, to be specific. It's gray and cold outside, the garden is put to bed for the winter, and we drink hot beverages all day to keep our hands warm. Most importantly, it's time to bake comfort foods. The holiday season will be here before we know it, but first, let's enjoy these calm and quiet, if a little bleak, days. I'm doing this by hanging some leaves, brewing some coffee, and getting into the kitchen for some baking. I started my baking with this pear caramel cake. It’s the perfect thing for November.
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Rhubarb Muffins with Cardamom and Streusel Topping
Rhubarb tastes like summer to me, even more than fresh strawberries and Maine wild blueberries, though when those are in peak season, I'm sure I will say they taste like summer. What can I say? Summer tastes great around here. But I have especially fond, early-summer memories of rhubarb that give it a special place in my heart. And stomach. When I was growing up, we had a huge rhubarb patch out back and my mom would always make a rhubarb pie and sometimes rhubarb jam. She rarely mixed it with strawberries, letting the bright tartness of the rhubarb shine through. I always loved those rhubarb pies, and still do. It helped that she let us eat pie for breakfast, so I suppose I have fond memories of most fruit pies. But still, rhubarb was a particular favorite.
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Cookies made with cookie stamps
My husband and children prefer cookies to scones. Fortunately, I love to bake cookies. I enjoy the whole process, from making the dough to eating the final product. I like unfussy cookies that are relatively easy to throw together and make me feel like I really have my act together.
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Spiced scones with maple cream, on a cold March morning
My husband and children prefer cookies to scones. Fortunately, I love to bake cookies. I enjoy the whole process, from making the dough to eating the final product. I like unfussy cookies that are relatively easy to throw together and make me feel like I really have my act together.
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