You’ll be snacking on this before it ever gets scooped from the baking sheets and packed into the gift bags—it is so addictively good! It’s better than any store-bought granola we’ve ever tasted. It’s a deliciously healthy gift to give, packed with plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids from the canola oil and ground flax seeds, protein-charged… Read More

Start today to develop a very smart habit: Store necks, tails, wing tips, gizzards, hearts, backs, rib (breast) bones-anything except livers-in a gallon-size lock-top freezer bag in your freezer. When the bag is really full, you have enough chicken parts to make a small pot of homemade stock. Squeeze excess air out of the bag… 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

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!

A staple in the American South for several hundred years, biscuits deserve to be made more often. They are delectable when served hot out of the oven, and are not difficult to make. This version includes fresh oregano, parsley, and sage, and goes very nicely with the roast chicken.

This is one of my favorite breakfast or tea breads. This recipe makes 2 loaves. I use black baker’s steel pans (9.5-inch loaf pans) to achieve a beautiful browning on all sides of the bread. This bread freezes very well, so make it ahead and thaw it the night before your lazy Sunday Brunch.