Recipes

I hope you enjoy baking and eating these desserts and I would love to hear about your kitchen adventures. Please bear with me as I work on the website. Some of the recipes were developed for the site, while others were taken from various books I have written over the years or other projects that I have worked on.

Sugarplums

I love this recipe. It is so easy and yet, by varying the outer decoration, it can look like you made several different candies. Type: Hand formed Habitat: United States/Portugal Holiday: Christmas Description: These are small candies made from a melange of dried fruit and nuts. They are great to make with kids, in which […]

Italian Meringue Buttercream

This is an ultra-smooth, not too sweet buttercream and is my frosting of choice – not only because of its exceptionally silky texture and subtle flavor but because it can varied endlessly. You can add chocolate, liqueurs, pureed fruits, juices or even coffee. A stand mixer is best for this recipe as the meringue will […]

All Butter Pie Crust

After years of making pie crust in a variety of ways – by hand, mixer and food processor, using all butter and blends of butter and shortening, even playing around with liquids – for my all-purpose pie crust I have come to prefer an all-butter crust made in the food processor with ice water. The […]

Fluffy Meringue Frosting

If you have been looking for a fat-free vanilla frosting, this is it! It is bright white, very sweet and must be used right away. It is has a marshmallow quality to it in terms of texture and taste. You might notice that the recipe is the same as the Italian Meringue Buttercream – but […]

Chocolate Cupcakes

Look no further for dark, moist chocolate cupcakes. Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces 1 1/3 cups sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1 cup milk Directions: 1. […]

S’Mores Cupcakes

This recipe is from A Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes. You will find the recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes and Fluffy Meringue Frosting in the BASIC RECIPES section. Holiday/Event: Fourth of July Description: What do you get when you combine chocolate cake, chocolate covered graham crackers and marshmallows? S’more cupcakes, of course. They are finished […]

Chocolate Walnut Meringues

This recipe is from A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies. In that recipe, as presented below, you will see that they are made a bit smaller. I sometimes like to make them a bit larger, as in my photo, where I use two teaspoons to gather about a walnut sized blob of meringue batter […]

MallowMores

(from Unforgettable Desserts) Image posted courtesy of photographer Alexandra Grablewski; food styling byBrian Preston-Campbell Here in the northeast you can find Nabisco Mallomars in the cookie aisle; but they are so much more than a cookie. This nostalgic favorite is comprised of a circular graham cracker-like cookie topped with a thick marshmallow filling and covered […]

Swedish Ginger Snaps

Also known as Pepparkakor Habitat: Sweden Description: Filled with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, molasses and orange zest, these rolled cookies will thrill all gingerbread lovers. Use any shape cookie cutter that you like. Historic Notes: Another cookie given to me by Joan Eckert. These are her Swedish grandmother Olivia Abrahamsson’s cookies and are typical of […]

Plum-Topped Pound Cake

Adapted from Carole Walter’s Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More (Clarkson Potter, 2007) I adore prune plums and really the only thing bad about them for me is that they signify the end of summer. I love fall; I live in New England, after all, but the LONG winter just comes too damn […]

Tea Brack

Adapted from The Best of Irish Breads & Baking, Traditional, Contemporary and Festive (Epicure Press, 1996). Note that the recipe has a big range of baking time. The mixture is dense and depending on the temperature of your ingredients, it can vary widely. Make sure to tell folks that there is a ring in there! […]

Pumpkin Ice Cream

My BFF Juanita loves pumpkin ice cream and is always on the hunt. We live in the Pioneer Valley and Herrell’s Ice Cream is nearby in Northampton, MA. They have rotating seasonal flavors and this is one of them. And it is fantastic. Problem is, of course, that they don’t always stock it. Even during […]

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This cake has been made by three generations of my family; it is also incredibly easy, full of flavor, with an exquisite texture and buttery aroma. It keeps very well and my favorite way to serve it is toasted with fresh berries or poached fruit for breakfast or brunch. You do need self-rising cake flour. […]

Vanilla Crescents

These are a classic buttery, almond crescent-shape cookie, most often found around the Christmas holidays.

Thumbprint Cookies

These are a rich pecan cookie that you roll into a ball, roll in extra chopped pecans and then make a “thumbprint” indentation in the center of each cookie.

Cocomac Shortbread with Lime Curd

This bar is a basic buttery shortbread enriched with shredded coconut and finely chopped macadamias and topped with a layer of lime curd and large toasted coconut flakes.

Banana Walnut Baklava with Honey Cinnamon Syrup

This is my take on the classic Middle Eastern dessert, baklava. Mine features walnuts, cardamom, honey and cinnamon and of course layers of flaky filo dough, but what sets this one apart is a layer of sliced bananas in the middle. The inspiration came when I was thinking about my enjoyment of bananas and walnuts […]

Chocolate Raspberry Bliss Bites

(from Unforgettable Desserts) Image posted courtesy of photographer Alexandra Grablewski; food styling by Brian Preston-Campbell These are raspberry truffles like no other. Each blissful bite-sized truffle features a whole perfect raspberry enveloped in a soft, silky bittersweet chocolate ganache, the whole encased in a thin, crisp chocolate shell. Consider serving these with coffee, tea or an […]

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