A quick-as-can-be, DIY food gift that is impressive and simple to make. Look for black sesame seeds in natural food stores or in Japanese markets. Always store sesame seeds in the freezer (along with all nuts) so the oils do not go rancid.

While it might seem obvious when cooking for a crowd to make a big panful of dessert and then scoop out individual portions, I think it is more fun to make individual desserts. For a fruit crisp, I chose to use half-pint, wide-mouth canning jars as my serving dishes. They were economical because I had… Read More

These are beyond adorable, more spectacular than any graham cracker you have ever tasted from a box, and such an unexpected gift. We made up generous gift bags but had to gift some back to the cook for snacking—we just couldn’t part with them. Give these to friends and family who have children, as the… Read More

Anyone who loves to bake will treasure this present, and you don’t even have to bake to make these gifts! There’s nothing to it: Select attractive glass bottles; buy plump vanilla beans, rum, and vodka; slit the beans and fit them into the bottles; pour the liquor over the top; and seal. Either make the… Read More

Turn pretzel rods into magical, brightly coated Christmas delights by first dipping them in white chocolate and then picking your favorite holiday sprinkles to decorate. I like to use nonpareils, the tiny sugar balls that commonly come in white, but at Christmastime are packaged as a combination of red, green, and white. This is another… Read More

I find these cookies impossible to resist. Buttery shortbread with a tender crumb is cut into eye-catching shapes—stars are my favorite. Make all the cookies a uniform size, or vary the size of the stars and have a plateful of big stars and tiny ones. Any fun cookie cutter will work. One year I even… Read More

After a lengthy conversation about making truffles with Portland-based chocolatier David Briggs of Xocolatl de Davíd, he mentioned roasting white chocolate until it turned a luscious caramel color and using it as the center for truffles. I was intrigued; more precisely, I became obsessed. I’m not sure I have ever tested and re-tested a technique… Read More

Light, gooey, and very chocolaty, with just the right amount of buzz to counter a monthly mood attack. On the bodacious brownie scale, a 10!

After many early attempts at this cheesecake I started looking for alternatives to the standard graham cracker crust because it often became soggy. I discovered the secret over my breakfast bowl of Grapenuts! Now, no more soggy crusts. No one ever guesses what the crust is made from and it has a pleasantly nutty flavor!… Read More

Here’s a nifty dessert that you can just about pull off with your eyes closed. You don’t even have to begin to think about it until dinner is done. It takes minutes to put together while your guests are happily chatting. We’ve designed the recipe to serve six, but if any bananas and cream are… Read More