When warm weather arrives, so does my love of iced matcha lattes. Here’s my version of a Strawberry Matcha Latte with fresh strawberries and homemade strawberry syrup.

Matcha Powder

Matcha powder is now so easily accessible through online vendors or specialty grocery stores. The two types that are most commonly found are culinary grade and ceremonial grade. Depending on the type of brand and quality, you might have very different experiences between different types of matcha. You might find you need more or less powder based on these factors. I’d recommend playing around with your personal preference to determine what is your preferred level of the earthy/bitter taste of matcha.

Whisking Matcha

Whisking matcha is important to make sure that your drink doesn’t have any clumps! Matcha powder mixes much better with warm water rather than cold water. You can use either a matcha whisk or milk frother. If you have neither, shaking it vigorously in a jar with a tight lid will also work.

Strawberry Syrup

The key to real strawberry flavor in this drink comes from a homemade strawberry syrup. Combine an equal ratio of water, sugar and sliced strawberries in a small pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Strain out the strawberry pieces and store the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. The strawberry pieces can be used as a jam or I also like to swirl them into plain yogurt for breakfast.

Strawberry Milk Foam

To make the Strawberry Milk Foam, I use an immersion blender to combine milk, strawberry syrup and fresh strawberries. The immersion blender helps froth up the milk and emulsify the ingredients. The addition of fresh strawberries also helps with the flavor and color of the milk foam. Strawberry flavor can be subtle so you’ll get the most flavor with in-season strawberries. If you don’t want to include fresh strawberries, you could also double the amount of syrup.

Latte Layers

Here’s how I layer a Strawberry Matcha Latte from top to bottom:

• Strawberry Milk Foam: Milk, Fresh Strawberries and Strawberry Syrup

• Ice: Lots of it!

• Matcha: Whisked with warm water

Strawberry Matcha Latte

These are my preferred ratios as someone who doesn’t like things overly sweet and for a balanced flavor. Feel free to adjust according to your preferences!

Yields: One 16oz drink

Ingredients

Strawberry Syrup

• ½ cup water

• ½ cup sugar

• ½ cup sliced strawberries

Matcha

• ½ cup warm water

• 1-2 teaspoons matcha powder

Strawberry Milk Foam

• ½ cup milk

• ¼ cup sliced strawberries

• 2 tablespoons strawberry syrup

Steps

Strawberry Syrup

Combine water, sugar and strawberries in a small heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain out the strawberry pieces and store the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.

Strawberry Matcha Latte

In a 16oz glass, whisk together warm water and matcha powder until there are no visible lumps. Top with lots of ice.

To make the Strawberry Milk Foam, use an immersion blender to emulsify the milk, sliced strawberries and strawberry syrup in a separate cup. Pour the Strawberry Milk Foam over the matcha and ice. Stir to combine with a straw and enjoy!

Wantana Rosjun’s parents immigrated from the Issan region of Thailand and began sharing dishes at their restaurant, Manaao Thai Cuisine, in West Sacramento in 2009. Rosjun was only two years old when her parents left for the US, and she was raised by her grandparents until she was reunited with her parents in Sacramento when she was ten. She has managed the restaurant with Paul Phoonset as head chef since 2017, after her mother and brother retired back to Thailand. 

Phoonset and Rosjun are both very passionate about offering recipes from Rojsun’s mother that are regional to Loei Province. “She would hand me a notebook with secret recipes and ingredients. She also changed the recipes all the time and didn’t measure… typical Asian mom”, says an amused Phoonset. He walked through each of the recipes with Rosjun’s mother and had her measure all of the ingredients before taking photos of each handwritten page. Since the notebook is now with Rosjun’s mother in Thailand, these photos are extremely precious, and Phoonset references them all the time.

Manaao Thai Cuisine’s dishes are different from other Thai restaurants in that they don’t use any fish sauce. Their dishes are so flavorful, you wouldn’t even know that it was missing. Instead, their dishes build upon a mushroom soy sauce base and a Thai herb blend of lemongrass, galangal (similar to ginger), cilantro and kaffir leaf. This ingredient base is made fresh daily, and makes their dishes super vegan friendly (especially in combination with tofu, if desired). Try their tom yum soup or stir fry to experience the base’s added texture and flavor. Their special dipping sauce is a must-try that is served alongside many of their dishes or can be asked for on the side!

Better Than Sex: Start off your meal with jumbo scallops topped with a garlic clove and served in legendary spoons on a bed of greens. 

Khua Kling: This dish features a yellow curry sauce from South Thailand and a spicy dry herb base. Manaao Thai Cuisine also mixes in their special herb blend and serves it with tender pan-fried pork spare ribs, bell peppers and string beans.

Crying Tiger: Enjoy the mouthwatering aroma of succulent flank steak marinated with lemongrass, green onion, cilantro and pandan leaf.

Pad Tom Yum Talay: This is the stir-fried version of tom yum soup with seafood, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves.

Thai BBQ Salmon: This is a classic dish with a Thai twist. Enjoy a perfectly grilled salmon fillet topped with shrimp and served on a bed of assorted vegetables, spicy lime and teriyaki sauce.

Along with amazing cuisine, Manaao Thai Cuisine also serves beer on tap like Singha from Thailand and from local breweries such as Track 7 Brewing Co., Knee Deep Brewing Company and Deschutes Brewery. Stop by for lunch, dinner or their late night happy hour. 

Visit Manaao Thai Cuisine across I-80 from IKEA in West Sacramento at 715 Harbor Pointe Place.

Decorate sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day with a dusting of flavored sugar and an embossed rolling pin! These are buttery and sweet with a hint of tartness from hibiscus flower sugar.

Embossed Rolling Pin Trial and Error

For my birthday last year I received a embossed rolling pin and it has taken me a number of tries to figure out how to get the pattern to show the best. All cookie doughs are definitely not made for using this unique baking tool. If you’re scouring the Internet, you’re going to want to look for recipes that particularly ensure that the dough does not spread while baking. If the dough spreads, the pattern unfortunately isn’t going to show up. I learned this the hard way when the dough looked so beautiful unbaked and the pattern completely disappeared out of the oven.

Cut-out cookie doughs work the best and my favorite so far is this one from Bridget at Bake at 350. This is technically a no-chill recipe but it is still wise to chill the dough for ease of rolling it out with an embossed pin.

How to Use an Embossed Rolling Pin

To use an embossed rolling pin, it is best to first roll out the dough with a regular rolling pin. You want the surface to be as even and crack-free as possible. I also like to roll it out to a slightly smaller width than the embossed rolling pin. This means you don’t have to try to match up the pattern if your dough is too wide. For best results, roll the dough to about a ⅜-inch thickness before using the embossed rolling pin. Lightly dust the embossed rolling pin and the surface of the dough with more flour and firmly press and roll the embossed rolling pin onto the surface of the dough.

Chill Before Baking

Cut out the cookies as desired and place on a lined cookie sheet about 1-inch apart. Chill the cut-out cookies for at least 15 minutes in the fridge or freezer while the oven is pre-heating. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Hopefully the combination of the right dough, the correct technique and extra chill time will result in beautifully stamped cookies. And if the pattern doesn’t show, just cover them with icing and sprinkles or sugar and no one will be the wiser!

The Cookie Decoration

While my mom is the queen of royal icing cookies, I much prefer decorating these in a more simple and abstract way. Because these cookies have the stamped pattern, I dipped them in a very thin icing and then sprinkled them with hibiscus flower sugar for a pink and red Valentine’s Day touch. You can certainly make a thicker icing and decorate with another sugar or sprinkles of your choice.

Heart Sugar Cookies

Yields: About 30 medium cookies

Notes

This cookie dough can be made ahead and chilled at least a day in advance or frozen for up to a month. For ease of rolling, let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before using. Cookies can also be baked up to three days in advance or frozen for up to three months.

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

• 3 cups (360g) unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 cup (200g) sugar 

• 1 cup (227g) butter, cold & cut into chunks

• 1 egg

• ¾  teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract or fiori di sicilia

Lemon Icing

• 2 cups of powdered sugar

• 2-4 tablespoons lemon juice or water

Toppings

• Sprinkles, granulated sugar or flavored sugars like hibiscus, orange or lemon

Steps

Cookies

To make the cookie dough, combine flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until it just comes together. Be sure to scrape down the bowl. 

The dough will be slightly crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl until it comes together. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. If chilling overnight, let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before using. Divide the dough in half and work with one half at a time.

If using an embossed rolling pin, lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll the cookie dough with a regular rolling pin until it is ⅜-inch thickness and slightly smaller than the width of the embossed rolling pin. Lightly dust the embossed rolling pin and the surface of the dough with more flour and firmly press and roll the embossed rolling pin onto the surface of the dough.

If using a regular rolling pin, lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll the cookie dough with a regular rolling pin until it is ¼-inch thickness. After the dough has been rolled out, cut to desired shapes and place on a lined cookie sheet about 1-inch apart.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. While the oven is preheating, chill the cut-out cookies for at least 15 minutes in the fridge or freezer. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Remove to cool completely.

Icing

To make the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice or water in a shallow bowl or plate with a lip. A very thin glaze (about the consistency of real maple syrup) is best for the stamped cookies but you could also make it thicker if desired.

Cookie Decoration

Dip the cookies top side down into the icing. Let the excess icing run off and set them to dry on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Continue with the rest of the cookies and decorate with sprinkles or your flavored sugar of choice. Let dry completely, about 1-2 hours. Cookies can keep for up to five days in an airtight container or in the freezer for up to three months.

Bake up this luxurious Chocolate Raspberry Tart for Valentine’s Day with a buttery chocolate crust base, raspberry puree, silky chocolate ganache and sprinkle of flaky sea salt! It tastes exactly like a Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Raspberry Square.

How This Tart Came to Be

I’m always cleaning out my fridge/freezer and trying to figure out smart ways to use up little bits and bobs of ingredients. This Chocolate Raspberry Tart started out as a way to finish off some leftover chocolate tart crust, frozen raspberry puree (goodness knows how long that was squirreled away) and my favorite easy chocolate ganache.

I made a mini version at first because of the quantity of ingredients that I had on hand and the whole process was pretty much a comedy of errors (although not as bad as me dropping a mini cheesecake in a drawer). The tart on the other hand consisted of a crust that was way rolled out way too thick which resulted in me underbaking it and a failed attempt at coating chocolate chips on the bottom. You can watch that whole process here.

I considered that experience to be a trial and that I would try again and make a full-sized tart for Valentine’s Day.

The Tart Layers

This tart is definitely one for chocolate lovers and is incredibly rich with the double layer of chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Tart Crust: Buttery, short, not too sweet and provides that needed crispy texture.

Chocolate Ganache: This ganache is simply cream, chocolate and butter. You can use any type of chocolate that you like. I used bittersweet but dark or milk would also work.

Raspberry Puree: Raspberries and some sugar to keep the flavor fresh and fruit-forward.

Chocolate Ganache (Again): If this feels like too much ganache, you can totally omit it completely or top the whole thing with whipped cream. Use extra ganache for macarons!

Raspberries and Flaky Salt: Both are for a pretty garnish and to balance out the flavor!

Enjoy for Valentine’s Day or for when the mood for raspberry and chocolate strikes!

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Yields: 10-12 servings

Chocolate Tart Crust from Blossom to Stem

Ingredients

Chocolate Tart Crust

• 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour

• ⅓ cup (35 grams) confectioners' sugar

• ¼ cup (25 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ cup (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache

• 4 ounces chocolate, chopped

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons butter, cubed

Raspberry Puree

• ¾ cup fresh raspberries

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Decoration

• ¼ cup fresh raspberries

• Flaky salt (optional)

Steps

Chocolate Tart Crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. Add the flour, confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and salt to a small bowl and whisk together.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave), add the vanilla extract to the butter and stir, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir together until thoroughly moistened. 

Press the dough evenly along the bottom and sides into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until the crust looks dry and matte instead of glistening with butter, about 20 minutes. (It can be tricky to tell when dark chocolate doughs are baked enough without burning because the color doesn't change much. The dough will go from glossy to matte and smell lovely and chocolatey when it's baked enough. Check at 18 minutes and every minute until it looks done.)

Let cool completely before filling.

Chocolate Ganache

In the meantime, make the ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, warm the cream and the butter until just before it starts boiling. Add the cream and butter mixture to the chocolate and slowly stir the mixture until smooth. Let the ganache cool down to room temperature. Be careful of the ganache cooling down too much or it will be too hard to spread in the tart shell. For ease of working with, it should still be the consistency of brownie batter. To quickly warm up the ganache, place your bowl over a pot of simmering water. To quickly cool down the ganache, place the bowl in the fridge or freezer, checking it every 5-10 minutes or so and stirring to combine.

Raspberry Puree

Combine raspberries, sugar, salt, lemon zest and juice in a medium sauce pan. Simmer on medium-low heat until the raspberries break down and the consistency is like jam. Set aside to cool completely.

Tart Assembly

Once the chocolate tart crust has cooled, spread half of the ganache in the bottom of the crust. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to completely firm up. Carefully spread the raspberry puree on the chilled ganache and then another layer of ganache, leaving an inch border around the edge. Top with fresh raspberries. At this point you can chill the Chocolate Raspberry Tart for another 30 minutes up to one day before serving. Hold off on adding the flaky salt until serving as it can dissolve if it sits too long in the fridge. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days or in the freezer for a month. Defrost completely to enjoy.

Full of fall spices, a flaky crust and tart apples, these Mini Apple Galettes are the most cozy fall dessert. Serve them freshly baked with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. If you eat one all to yourself I won’t tell!

Why Make a Galette?

As a free-form pie, a galette is just that much easier than making a 9-inch pie. There’s no need to fuss with a top and bottom crust or whether or not your bottom crust is going to be soggy or underbaked. I love keeping the ingredients very simple in a galette to let the fruit shine. It’s also fun to arrange the sliced apples if that is something that brings you joy. 

My Top 3 Baking Apples

My favorite apples for snacking are also my favorite apples for baking. I love a nice crisp, tart apple. No mushy or mealy apples allowed! Here are some of my favorite baking apples that you can also mix together for different flavors and textures.

Granny Smith Apples: A classic apple variety and the one I reach for the most when I want to bake. It has that classic green skin and pairs well with lemon and brown sugar.

Pink Lady Apples: These are similar to Granny Smith apples but they are slightly sweeter and with a blush pink skin. 

Jonagold Apples: A cross between a Golden Delicious and Jonathan, I first tried Jonagold Apples a few years ago and I was surprised at their flavor. I appreciate them for their texture and a slightly mild honey-like flavor.

My Favorite Pie Crust

I have a whole blog post written here sharing my best tips on how to get the perfect flaky homemade pie crust. For this galette recipe, you’ll just need half the recipe but feel free to make the full recipe and have double the amount of galettes! 

Other Basic Ingredients for this Galette 

Fall Spices: I love the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom but you can use any different combination of spices. Ginger and a touch of allspice or cloves would also be nice. 

Lemon Juice and Zest: A little bit of juice and zest to help add in some citrusy notes.

Sugar: You can use either granulated or brown sugar or a combination to sweeten the apples. I prefer brown sugar for the added molasses flavor.

Flour: The flour is going to help thicken the filling so it isn’t too wet. 

Egg Wash: Mix a beaten egg with a splash of water until thoroughly combined. Use a pastry brush to brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash. You can also substitute milk or cream if you are going to sprinkle the edges with sugar anyways. An egg wash results in a shinier crust.

Demerara Sugar: This coarse sugar adds a lovely crunch to the edge of the galette dough.

Making Mini Apple Galettes

While you can totally make a large galette to share, I decided to make these into smaller personal size galettes. The method is the same as a large galette but you are going to instead split the dough into three pieces and roll each of those pieces into an 8-inch round. Fill with apples, being sure to leave a 1-inch border and fold and overlap the edges. 

Equipment

Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper: You’ll need a standard half sheet (18”x13”) to bake the galettes. You can use parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat to make sure that they don’t stick to the pan. Baking on top of a sheet pan ensures for a bottom crust that is crispy.

Food Processor or Pastry Cutter: The best tools to cut butter into flour are a food processor or pastry cutter. A food processor is faster but you may over work the butter so do a few pulses at a time and then check the size of the butter. I personally love using a pastry cutter as it allows me to get an exact feel of the butter and flour together.

Sharp Knife: When cutting your apples, use a sharp knife to make nice, clean cuts. 

As delicious and tasty as an apple pie but without the extra work. 

Mini Apple Galettes

Yields: Three 6-inch galettes

Notes

You can also make this into one large galette. Simply roll the crust out into a 12-inch circle and about ⅛-inch thick. Layer the apples and fold the crust over about four inches at a time, overlapping at the corners. 

Ingredients

• Pie dough for one 9-inch crust (Use half of this recipe)

• 4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into ⅛-inch slices

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

• ¼ teaspoon cardamom

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 egg, beaten

• Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Steps

Prepare pie/galette dough following this recipe. This can be done at least 3 days in advance. 

Once your crust has completely chilled, it's time to roll out your crust! Place your unwrapped crust on a lightly floured clean work surface. Divide it into three equal pieces. 

Sprinkle a little more flour on top of your crust and begin rolling lightly starting from the middle and working out. Apply even pressure with your rolling pin so that the thickness is even. Rotate and flip the crust and sprinkle more flour on your surface so it doesn't stick. If the crust is springing back too much, let it rest before continuing to roll it again.  You're looking for each crust to be about an 8-inch circle and about ⅛-inch thick. Too thin and you might get some holes. Too thick and it won't bake all the way through. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Chill while prepping your apples.

Combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt in a medium bowl.

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Arrange apple mixture evenly between all three crusts leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Fold the crust over about two inches at a time, overlapping at the corners. Brush the top with an egg wash and top with demerara sugar if desired.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes, slice and enjoy. These Apple Galettes are best the day of but still quite good the next morning for breakfast. Reheat in a 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Celebrate fall with these Pumpkin Cinnamon Knots! A soft yeasted pumpkin bread with a cinnamon sugar filling gets twisted into these beautiful knots that look like little pumpkins for a delightful autumn treat.   

A Pumpkin Yeasted Bread

These Pumpkin Cinnamon Knots are one of my favorite fall breads that I make every year. The base of the dough for these Pumpkin Cinnamon Knots is an enriched dough but it includes many additional ingredients like pumpkin puree and fall spices. Do make sure that your ingredients are room temperature or just warm as you don’t want to accidentally kill the yeast or cook your eggs with milk and butter that are too hot. 

Type of Pumpkin Puree to Use

Canned pumpkin is the easiest type of pumpkin puree to use in this recipe. Libby’s is my personal favorite but feel free to use another brand of your choosing. You could use homemade pumpkin puree but be sure to drain any excess liquid as it will cause the dough to be too sticky. 

Making the Dough

While the yeast proofs, mix together butter, milk, egg, both sugars, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pumpkin puree in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the proofed yeast and slowly add flour until a shaggy dough forms. Knead for 8-10 minutes, adding a small amount of flour as needed, until a smooth and elastic dough forms. Place the dough in a warm, greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set aside to rise in a warm spot for about two hours or until the dough has doubled in size. 

How to Form Pumpkin Cinnamon Knots

After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 16 even pieces and roll those into balls.

Take one dough ball and roll it into an oblong oval about 8-inches tall and 4-inches wide. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with the filling mixture. Using a sharp knife, make 6-8 vertical cuts within the dough, being careful not to cut the dough into strips. Take the top and bottom and roll inwards on a diagonal until the dough meets in the middle. Continue to twist inwards, following the natural curve of the dough and tie into a knot, tucking both ends on the bottom. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Knots Troubleshooting 

The dough is really sticky while kneading: Due to the amount of wet ingredients in this dough, it does start off rather sticky while kneading. It helps if you have a bench scraper to help lift the dough off of your work surface. Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour if you feel like it is sticking too much and continue to knead. As the gluten develops, the dough will become less sticky. I like to make bread by hand but you can alternatively make this in a bread machine or with a stand mixer and a dough hook.

Help, it’s not rising!: I’ve been in this situation before! Since this dough has a lot of extra ingredients, it may be slow to rise. Try placing it in a barely warmed oven with the light on to give the yeast an extra burst of warmth to bubble away. If it truly doesn’t rise at all, your yeast may have died or not activated at all. Be sure that it is very foamy and bubbly before considering adding it into the rest of your ingredients. 

Overnight Rise

You can make the dough for these Pumpkin Cinnamon Knots the night before and have it rise overnight. Follow the directions below and stop after the dough has been kneaded. Place it in the fridge covered with plastic wrap or a silicon lid to prevent the top from drying out. 

If your yeast doesn’t activate at all or accidentally gets killed, you’ll end up with an unrisen bread dough the next morning. If this happens, you can try to jump start it again in a warm oven like mentioned above. This may take a few hours as the bread dough both has to come to room temperature and rise.

If you are successful and it does indeed rise overnight, let the dough come to room temperature before forming into a loaf. This will take about two hours. 

Once you smell your house after these have baked, you’ll never want to use a fall-scented candle ever again.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Knots

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Yields: 16 rolls 

Notes

If knots are too complicated, these can also be shaped into rolls or a bread loaf. 

Ingredients

Dough

• ¼ cup warm water

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

• 6 tablespoons butter

• ½ cup milk, warmed

• 1 large egg

• ¼ cup packed brown sugar

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ⅔ cup pumpkin puree

• 3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling

• Oil for coating rising bowl

Filling

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 1 egg beaten with a splash of water for brushing on top

Steps

Mix warm water and sugar in a small bowl or cup. Sprinkle yeast on top and mix with a fork. Set aside to proof for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, mix together butter, milk, egg, both sugars, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pumpkin puree in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the proofed yeast. Slowly add flour, ½ cup at a time until a shaggy dough forms. Dump out on a floured work surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, adding a small amount of flour as needed, until a smooth and elastic dough forms. Place the dough in a warm, greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set aside to rise in a warm spot for about two hours or until the dough has doubled in size. 

After the dough has risen, knead the dough a few more times and divide into 16 even pieces. Shape these pieces into small balls and cover loosely with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out. For the filling, mix both sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl.

Take one dough ball and roll it into an oblong oval about 8-inches tall and 4-inches wide. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with the filling mixture. Using a sharp knife, make 6-8 vertical cuts within the dough, being careful not to cut the dough into strips. Take the top and bottom and roll inwards on a diagonal until the dough meets in the middle. Continue to twist inwards, following the natural curve of the dough and tie into a knot, tucking both ends on the bottom. Place on a lined baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the dough.

Set aside in a warm place and let rise again for about 30-45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Brush the top of each with egg wash. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the buns are golden brown on top.

Best eaten warm out of the oven. Leftovers can be stored in the freezer in an airtight bag for up to three months or at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days. Reheat in the microwave in 15 second bursts to make sure you don’t accidentally overheat them. 

A modern take on a retro cut-up Halloween cake that I often had for my childhood birthdays, this Monster Cake is made of chocolate cake, mint frosting and everyday candy. Feel free to be creative in your interpretation of what your Monster Cake would look like!

My Childhood Birthday Cake

As my birthday is very close to Halloween, celebrations often included dressing up, Halloween-themed parties and of course, Halloween-themed cakes. I had a very intense Harry Potter phase where I dressed up as Moaning Myrtle several years in a row. My mom would often make what she called a “Monster Cake” for my birthday treat. This was a cut-up cake that was based off of a very old magazine clipping. She would make the cake and I was allowed to decorate it in whatever fashion I wanted to. I’ll always vividly remember those candy sticks as hair. It was certainly a unique-looking cake.

If I’m being honest, this was one of these memories that was unlocked when I was looking at some childhood pictures. Fast-forward to present day, I was visiting my mom and asked her if she still had the recipe. She did and it was carefully preserved in plastic after having been used for so many years. 

This sounded like the perfect way to celebrate my 30th birthday. Here is my take on the Monster Cake with homemade cake in my favorite flavor (mint chocolate) and everyday candy. 

Cut-Up Cakes Memory Lane

Cut-up cakes were very big in the 70s, 80s and 90s. My mom and other family members had these Baker’s (as in Baker’s Chocolate) Cut-Up Cake books that I absolutely loved flipping through as a kid. They all looked like so much fun to make. Who knew that you could take a bunch of different cake sizes and make them into animal shapes and so much more! 

How to Make a Monster Cake

The base of this cake starts with a 9” x 13” sheet cake and a loaf cake baked in an 8½” x 4½” x 2½” standard loaf pan. This cake can either be homemade or store-bought. I love chocolate cake so I baked the Chocolate Sheet Cake from Weeknight Baking by Michelle Lopez and the Cocoa Yogurt Loaf Cake from Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi. 

If you prefer vanilla or another flavor, by all means bake what you like! It is just important that the loaf cake is sturdy enough to stand upright without falling over or the monster’s body might collapse! A pound cake or a dense chocolate loaf cake are great options for this. 

For the frosting, I chose to make an American buttercream with an additional one teaspoon of peppermint extract. If you don’t like peppermint, you can omit it to just make a vanilla buttercream. 

Both the cakes and the frosting can be made the day before. Store the cakes tightly wrapped either at room temperature for a day or they can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. The frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months. Bring to room temperature and re-whip the frosting before using.

Monster Cake Candy 

The original recipe calls for old-fashioned candy, some of which is more challenging to find. Feel free to get creative if there are other candies that you like! Here is the everyday candy that I used to make this cake:

• For the hair: Chocolate, strawberry and matcha Pocky sticks.

• For the eyes: Peach rings and chocolate chips for the pupils.

• For the nose: A peach ring cut in half.

• For the claws and eyebrows: Cut up pieces of filled candy straws. I cut them in half lengthwise and then each rope into pieces. The dimensions were approximately ¼” x ½” pieces for the claws and ¼” x 1” pieces for the eyebrows. Black licorice would also work! I just don’t like its flavor.

• For the teeth: Candy corn just seemed like the perfect seasonal fit. 

Monster Cake Tools & Equipment

Large board or tray: You’re looking for something that is flat and at least 12” x 15” or larger. This is for the cake to sit on.

Serrated Knife: To carve the cake into the necessary pieces and cut the candy as needed.

Wooden Skewers: These will help secure some of the cake pieces in place.

Off-Set Spatula or Butter Knife: An off-set spatula is easier for spreading frosting but use what you have! 

Monster Cake Assembly

Bake Your Cakes: Bake your cakes according to the recipes of your choice. The cakes will need to be completely cool before moving on to assembly.

Make Your Frosting: After making the full batch of buttercream frosting, divide it into ¾ and ¼ portions. Add a few drops of green food coloring to the ¼ portion to reach your desired shade of light green. 

Assemble and Frost the Base: With a serrated knife, level the 9” x 13” sheet cake as needed. Cut it in half horizontally so you end up with two 9” x 6.5” pieces. Place one of half on your board. Cover with an even layer of white frosting and then place the second piece of cake on top. Frost the tops and sides of the layered sheet cake.

Cut the Loaf Cake: Level the loaf cake as needed. Cut the corners off of one end of the loaf cake. You can use a small bowl to help guide the curved edge. The corners will be the monster’s hands and the rounded loaf will be the body. To help the loaf stand up, cut a thin slice off of the bottom. This is your snack to enjoy for later! 

Frost the Loaf Cake: Spread the light green frosting over the front and sides of the monster’s body as well as the hands. Place the rounded loaf cake at the back of the base and the two hands on either side. I found it was easiest to apply a light coating of frosting, transfer the pieces to the base and do some touch up work while they were in place. If needed, you can place some skewers through the loaf cake and the layer cake to make sure that it doesn’t fall apart. 

Decorate the Monster Cake: This is the fun part! Alternating colors, insert Pocky sticks into the top of the monster’s head. Cut up the filled candy straws into approximately ¼” x ½” pieces for the claws. Place five on each hand. In the middle of the loaf cake, place two peach rings with two chocolate chips in the center for the pupils. Cut a peach ring in half and place it beneath the eyes as the nose. Two ¼” x 1” pieces of the filled candy straws can be used for the eyebrows. To finish it off, stick 8-10 of the most jagged pieces of candy corn on the base for the teeth.

The cake can be stored in the fridge for a few hours and up to a day before enjoying. I’d recommend consuming it the day of assembly as the cake and frosting may dry out in the fridge. 

Storing Leftovers

The cake can be cut and individually wrapped in plastic or wax paper and stored in the freezer for up to three months. 

Cheers to a new decade! 

Monster Cake

Serves: 16-20

Ingredients

Cake

• (1) 9” x 13” sheet cake (flavor of choice)

• (1) 8½” x 4½” x 2½” loaf cake (flavor of choice)

Frosting

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

• 8 cups powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)

• 2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

• Pinch of salt

Candy

• Chocolate, strawberry and matcha Pocky sticks

• 3 peach rings

• 2 chocolate chips 

• 1-2 filled candy straws

• 8-10 candy corn pieces

Steps

Bake Your Cakes: Bake your cakes according to the recipes of your choice. The cakes will need to be completely cool before moving on to assembly.

Make Your Frosting: After making the full batch of buttercream frosting, divide it into ¾ and ¼ portions. Add a few drops of green food coloring to the ¼ portion to reach your desired shade of light green. 

Assemble and Frost the Base: With a serrated knife, level the 9” x 13” sheet cake as needed. Cut it in half horizontally so you end up with two 9” x 6.5” pieces. Place one of half on your board. Cover with an even layer of white frosting and then place the second piece of cake on top. Frost the tops and sides of the layered sheet cake.

Cut the Loaf Cake: Level the loaf cake as needed. Cut the corners off of one end of the loaf cake. You can use a small bowl to help guide the curved edge. The corners will be the monster’s hands and the rounded loaf will be the body. To help the loaf stand up, cut a thin slice off of the bottom. This is your snack to enjoy for later! 

Frost the Loaf Cake: Spread the light green frosting over the front and sides of the monster’s body as well as the hands. Place the rounded loaf cake at the back of the base and the two hands on either side. I found it was easiest to apply a light coating of frosting, transfer the pieces to the base and do some touch up work while they were in place. If needed, you can place some skewers through the loaf cake and the layer cake to make sure that it doesn’t fall apart. 

Decorate the Monster Cake: This is the fun part! Alternating colors, insert Pocky sticks into the top of the monster’s head. Cut up the filled candy straws into approximately ¼” x ½” pieces for the claws. Place five on each hand. In the middle of the loaf cake, place two peach rings with two chocolate chips in the center for the pupils. Cut a peach ring in half and place it beneath the eyes as the nose. Two ¼” x 1” pieces of the filled candy straws can be used for the eyebrows. To finish it off, stick 8-10 of the most jagged pieces of candy corn on the base for the teeth.

The cake can be stored in the fridge for a few hours and up to a day before enjoying. I’d recommend consuming it the day of assembly as the cake and frosting may dry out in the fridge. Leftovers can be cut and individually wrapped in plastic or wax paper and stored in the freezer for up to three months.

This German Apple Pancake is one of my favorite fall weekend breakfasts. It’s similar to a Dutch Baby Pancake but with the addition of thinly sliced apples and cinnamon. Serve warm with whipped cream for a cozy fall treat.

What is a German Apple Pancake? 

 Like a Dutch Baby Pancake, a German Apple Pancake, is a breakfast item that requires a single batter that is baked altogether. With its thin batter, the texture is similar to a Yorkshire pudding or a giant popover. This particular recipe has the addition of thinly sliced apples and cinnamon for a slightly more custardy take. Bake this in an oven-safe pan and serve it family-style. 

 Tips for Making a German Apple Pancake

• Thinly slice your apples so they cook thoroughly. 

• Whisk your batter until it is as smooth as possible to add as much air as you can into it. You can even make it the night before! 

• Use an oven-safe pan like a 10-inch cast iron skillet. A pie pan would also work if you don’t have an oven-safe skillet. 

• Preheat your oven so it is nice and hot which allows the pancake to puff up. 

• Keep the oven door closed until the German Apple Pancake is golden brown with a puffy crust.

My Top 3 Baking Apples

My favorite apples for snacking are also my favorite apples for baking. I love a nice crisp, tart apple. No mushy or mealy apples allowed! Here are some of my favorite baking apples that you can also mix together for different flavors and textures.

Granny Smith Apples: A classic apple variety and the one I reach for the most when I want to bake. It has that classic green skin and pairs well with lemon and brown sugar.

Pink Lady Apples: These are similar to Granny Smith apples but they are slightly sweeter and with a blush pink skin. 

Jonagold Apples: A cross between a Golden Delicious and Jonathan, I first tried Jonagold Apples a few years ago and I was surprised at their flavor. I appreciate them for their texture and a slightly mild honey-like flavor.

Other German Apple Pancake Ingredients

This batter is very simple and straightforward for an easy breakfast that feels super fancy. 

Milk: You can use whichever type of milk you have on hand whether it's whole milk or 2%.

Eggs: The eggs are an essential ingredient and they act as a leavener as there is no baking soda or baking powder in this recipe.

Flour: All-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe. Be sure to either weigh your flour or fluff up the flour before scooping and leveling it into your measuring cup.

Sugar: A small amount of sugar will help sweeten the apples and help the pancake get nice and brown.

Nutmeg and Salt: Just a touch for flavor.

Butter: Note that the butter is for the skillet and will help the Dutch Baby Pancake from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

Tips for a Smooth Batter

Like crepe batter, this batter also has a tendency to get lumpy if you don’t whisk it enough. Try to get all the lumps out if you can for a smooth batter. You can also prep the batter all in a blender. I actually make my Dutch Baby Pancake batter in the cup that came with my immersion blender. It makes clean-up very easy. In the end, you're looking for a batter that is the consistency of heavy cream. If the batter is too thick, it will be more difficult for it to puff and rise. The German Apple Pancake batter can also sit in the fridge overnight if you'd like to make the batter ahead of time.

German Apple Pancake Leftovers

If you happen to have leftovers, they can be reheated in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until warm. Be careful of overheating the leftovers as like most bready products, they can get hard if overheated. 

I look forward to eating this on fall weekends with a generous dollop of whipped cream and powdered sugar!

German Apple Pancake

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk, room temperature

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored & cut into ¼-inch slices

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• Powdered sugar for dusting

• Fresh whipped cream

Steps

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

In a medium bowl, blender or immersion cup, mix together milk, eggs, flour, and 2 tablespoons sugar. The batter should be homogenized, smooth and the consistency of heavy cream. Melt the butter in a 10-12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples, cinnamon, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, or until the apples have softened slightly.

Remove the pan from the heat, and pour the batter over the apples in the pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pancake is lightly browned and puffy. If the top is getting too dark, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil on the top.

Serve immediately with fresh whipped cream and powdered sugar. Or let it cool slightly if you don’t want your whip cream to melt too fast. 

Late summer produce is here! That means figs, grapes and olives. I love walking around in my neighborhood and green belt to see what changes in produce each season brings.

I can finally check photographing grapes on a vine off of my checklist and I didn’t even have to go to a winery! I try to go on a walk every day and consistently going to the same place makes you pay attention to how the deciduous greenery changes over time. There are a variety of all sorts of fruit-bearing trees I see on my walk like lemons, quince, pomegranates and peaches. I particularly have been keeping my eye on fig trees since the start of the summer and they are just coming into season. If you’ve never seen a fig tree in person they range from tiny prim-looking trees to huge dense bushes that can turn into an overgrown cave if you prune it just right. Figs aren’t even my favorite fruit! I enjoy them in small quantities but there is something about spotting those big curvy leaves and knowing that they’ll be laden with fruit in late July/August.

The grapes were a lucky chance and they are not easy to spot at a quick glance if I hadn’t been paying attention. The more reddish grapes were tucked away behind their leaves and hanging over the back of someone’s fence. The more blue ones were adjacent to a public pathway but also hidden behind other bushes and trees. I always feel a little self conscious photographing right next to someone’s property but luckily it was a quiet enough afternoon and no one bothered me. These photos would have been worth it regardless.

Luckily I did not see the coyote that I saw in the distance along the agricultural buffer earlier that morning!

Refreshing and light, this Yellow Watermelon Granita is a simple and easy summer dessert. With a bit of time and a fun and satisfying kitchen technique, you’ll have light flakes of fruit ice to cool down with. Can’t find a yellow watermelon? A good ol’ pink watermelon also works great as a substitute! 

What is Granita?

Granita is a Sicilian frozen dessert that consists of blended fresh fruit, sugar and sometimes water. If you don’t have an ice cream maker or don’t want to fuss with popsicle molds but still want a frozen dessert, this is the treat just for you! You can really make it with any sort of fruit and I have even made it with almonds! 

The texture is like a cross between shave ice and Italian ice. It melts in your mouth with a burst of fruit flavor that can be enjoyed at peak summer heat. 

Watermelon granita is especially great if you either have a large quantity of watermelon or find yourself with a watermelon that doesn’t have the greatest texture. Blend it up to make a granita and no one will notice the difference! 

How to Make Granita

While an ice cream maker is not needed to make granita, you will need a blender to puree the watermelon. To jumpstart the freezing process, use chilled watermelon. If you only have room temperature watermelon available to you, it might take a little bit more time to chill the granita. Blend the watermelon, sugar and lemon juice on high until smooth.

If you want a smoother textured granita, you can also pour the watermelon mixture through a sieve to remove any larger watermelon seeds. 

Pour the mixture in a wide shallow dish like a 9x13 glass or metal baking pan. The metal will freeze faster! It is important to use a dish that is wide and shallow so there is more surface area to scrape and fluff the ice crystals. 

Freeze for one hour undisturbed and then use a fork to rake the mixture across the entire surface area every 30 minutes until completely frozen. This can take up to four hours so plan accordingly! The texture should be similar to shave ice. For the fluffiest texture, the granita is best eaten once fully frozen and up to 24 hours. After 24 hours, the granita can lose its fluffy texture and become more crunchy/solid.  

How to Enjoy Granita

By itself, granita is fantastic! But you can also serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. The Sicilians eat theirs with brioche for breakfast. Now that’s an amazing breakfast pairing if I ever heard of one! 

Yellow Watermelon Substitutes

If you can’t find a yellow seedless watermelon, you can of course use a pink or red seedless watermelon. Any other fruit like peaches or berries would also work in place of the watermelon.

Making granita is really just an excuse to stick your head in the freezer on a hot summer’s day! 

Yellow Watermelon Granita

Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups yellow seedless watermelon, chilled and cubed

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Steps

Place watermelon cubes, sugar and lemon juice in a blender. Blend on high until smooth and emulsified. Pour the watermelon mixture through a sieve to remove any larger watermelon seeds if desired. 

Freeze the mixture in a wide shallow dish like a 9x13 glass or metal baking pan for one hour undisturbed and then use a fork to rake the mixture across the entire surface area every 30 minutes until completely frozen. This can take up to four hours so plan accordingly! The texture should be similar to shave ice. For the fluffiest texture, the granita is best eaten once fully frozen and up to 24 hours. After 24 hours, the granita can lose its fluffy texture and become more crunchy/solid.  

With crisp meringue shells and a tart rhubarb curd, these pretty in pink Rhubarb Macarons are a fun kitchen project if you’re looking for something sweet to make with rhubarb. 

After Much Trial and Error…

I had a vision for these Rhubarb Macarons after searching and searching for rhubarb since April. Rhubarb is known for its tart flavor and I thought it would be the perfect pairing with sweet macaron shells.

I enjoy making macarons and it is a sweet treat I often make with my youngest sister. But it is also a dessert that I don’t make that frequently and it takes a few times to get into the groove of making them again. I can be very successful my first time after not making them for months and then the next time is a complete flop. That’s exactly what happened when I was making these.

Originally I was just going to let it go and move on but I knew what I was aiming for was just a few more tries away. So I persevered and here we are!

Rhubarb Curd

The rhubarb flavor in these macarons is due to the rhubarb curd filling! This is a riff on my favorite Homemade Lemon Curd with the addition of cooked pureed rhubarb. The rhubarb curd can be made up to 3 days in advance and it is recommended that you let it cool completely before filling the macarons.

Extra rhubarb curd can be enjoyed in yogurt and tarts or on cookies and biscuits. 

Rhubarb Curd Ingredients

Rhubarb: An essential ingredient! We’ll cook it down with a little bit of sugar and water until soft and mash until smooth.

Eggs: Since the macaron shells call for 3 egg whites, we’ll use the egg yolks for this recipe. I love that this recipe uses up both parts of the egg! 

Granulated Sugar: We have to sweeten it of course! Please use granulated sugar for this recipe and don’t substitute another type of sugar.

Lemon Juice: Just for a little added tartness. 

Salt: Just to help balance out the flavor a little bit. 

Butter: The butter helps to round out the luscious texture of the rhubarb curd! Don’t skimp on it and make sure your butter is room temperature so it can easily melt into the cooked rhubarb curd. 

Macaron Shell Ingredients

The actual ingredient list for macarons is very simple and straightforward.

Egg Whites: We’re using 3 large egg whites (about 100g) for this recipe. As different eggs and egg sizes have different volumes of egg white, weighing is the best way to achieve consistent results. It does help to “mature” your egg whites. I often freeze my egg whites until I need them but you can also keep them in a container in the fridge for at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours before using. You also want to bring your egg whites to room temperature before whipping. 

Granulated Sugar: White granulated sugar is needed to help turn the egg whites into a stiff meringue. Don’t substitute with another type of sugar.  

Almond Flour: Almond flour is now extremely accessible in grocery stores. You’re looking for almond flour that is made from peeled almonds. Almond meal on the other hand is made from unpeeled almonds. You can use this as well but I would sift out the peel for a better texture and color.

Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is lighter than granulated sugar so do not substitute it for making macarons

Macaron Making Techniques

Making the Meringue: Place egg whites in a large bowl and whisk on medium low speed until fluffy. Add the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should look glossy and if you turn the mixing bowl upside down, they shouldn’t fall out or move.

Sifting: Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar and whisk to thoroughly combine. 

Food Coloring: If adding food coloring, gel food coloring is preferred as it doesn’t add any extra liquid that could deflate the meringue. A few drops are all you need to achieve a light pink hue. In addition, add it in once the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture is just mixed with the meringue (see below). Be careful of adding it in too close to the end as it might take too many extra folds to get the color even throughout. 

Folding: Fold a third of the dry ingredients into the meringue to slowly deflate the batter. Fold in the last two thirds until the consistency of the macaronage (the batter) becomes like molten lava. You want your batter to pass the "figure 8" test. This means you should be able to make a figure 8 on the top of the batter before it sinks back into itself. It's too thick if the batter can't make a complete figure 8 and too thin if it sinks back into itself like pancake batter.

Piping: Fill a pastry bag with a ¼-inch tip with the batter. To pipe, hold the piping bag vertically and apply pressure for 3 seconds or until the diameter is about 1½-inch. Release quickly and pipe the next circle. 

Resting: Once piped, bang the pans of macarons to help release air bubbles and let them sit and form a skin before baking. Let the macaron shells rest for ½-1½ hours depending on the level of humidity. You’re looking for the tops of the shells to become completely dry and look matte vs. wet and shiny. 

Baking: Bake shells at 325ºF for 10-12 minutes or until the tops and sides are dry and the shells have hardened. If your oven runs hot, keep an eye on them so they don't become too brown.

Filling: Fill macarons with rhubarb curd just to the edges and top with another shell.

Macaron Troubleshooting

There are tons and tons of resources on the Internet and in cookbooks about the best way to make the most perfect macaron and what to do if they fail. There are so many factors (like baking environment, weather etc.) so it is a bit of trial and error to figure out what works best for you. Even in the same environment, a slight change in temperature or method can drastically change macaron shells. 

My macarons are hollow. A little pocket of air is totally okay and often how my macarons look. If so, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If they are obviously hollow, that could be due to a variety of factors from under folding to baking them too high. 

My macarons spread too much. If you pipe the macaron batter and it starts to spread, you probably over-folded them. Unfortunately, it is hard to recover from this point so I’d bake them and see what happens. It’s easier to fix an under folded batter than an over folded one. Slow down on the number of folds once the dry ingredients are folded into the whipped egg whites. 

My macarons stuck to the parchment paper. They are probably underbaked if they are sticking. Try to bake them for an extra 2-4 minutes. Once completely dry, macaron shells should instantly peel from the parchment paper. While I love my non-stick baking sheets, I do think parchment paper is better for macarons. 

My macarons are flat and have no feet. Again, there are many factors that could contribute to this but either not having a proper meringue in the beginning or over folding can contribute to macarons without feet. 

How do you fill a pastry bag without making a mess? To prevent the batter from leaking out of the tip, either use a clip to close the bottom or push some of the piping bag inside of the tip until ready to pipe. A trick to filling up the piping bag is to place it in a tall glass and pull the sides over the lip of the glass. Quickly fill the piping bag and then, fold the sides up.

If you have visual issues with your macarons, don’t be discouraged! The ingredients are rather basic and non-expensive so if anything you’ll have lots and lots of macarons to taste. It is also hard to mess up the actual flavor of a macaron unless you obviously burn them. So fill ‘em up and enjoy until you make another batch. 

Helpful Equipment

Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer with a Whisk Attachment: You can certainly whip egg whites by hand which I have done before but using a mixer helps a lot. 

Sturdy Rubber Spatula: For folding the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, use a big stiff and sturdy rubber spatula. While I love a mini spatula, you really do need the surface area of a large spatula to get the job done.

Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper: You’ll need 2 standard half sheet pans (18”x13”) to fit all piped macaron shells. You cannot pipe macarons directly onto a baking sheet or they will stick to the pan. I have found that the macaron shells release a lot easier when they are baked on parchment paper.

Macaron Template: There are tons of resources on different patterns and sheet tray templates for the perfect macaron size. I always forget about them and eye it by size instead. It is totally okay if your macarons are on the smaller or larger end. If the batter is the perfect consistency, they shouldn’t spread at all while resting and you will be able to pipe them a ½-inch apart. 

Pastry Bag and a ¼-Inch Tip: This definitely makes the macaron shell process a lot easier for consistent shapes and sizes.

Storing Macarons

It is highly recommended that after you fill your macarons, you let them rest in the fridge or freezer before consuming. This helps soften the shell and allows the macaron shell and filling to meld together. I store them in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 2 hours before consuming and up to 3 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Let them come to room temperature completely before enjoying them for the best flavor and texture!

For a little bit more ease in this multi-step project, make the rhubarb curd in advance! These Rhubarb Macarons are well worth it to enjoy the short rhubarb season. 

Rhubarb Macarons

Yields: approximately 2 dozen macarons

Ingredients

Rhubarb Curd

• 2 cups rhubarb, chopped

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon water

• 3 large egg yolks

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• Pinch of salt

• ¼ cup butter, softened

Macaron Shells

• 3 large egg whites (100g), at room temperature

• 5 tablespoons (62g)granulated sugar

• ⅔ cups (64g) almond flour

• 1½ cups (180g) powdered sugar

• 2-3 drops red gel food coloring

Rhubarb Curd

In a medium saucepan, add chopped rhubarb, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the rhubarb has completely softened, about 10-15 minutes. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Some stringiness in the rhubarb is okay.

Fill another medium saucepan, about halfway full, with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Set aside. 

In a glass or metal bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Pour in the hot rhubarb mixture a little bit at a time whisking quickly to not overcook the eggs. Once combined, set over the saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Whisk the mixture constantly until it reaches 170ºF. Immediately remove the bowl from the heat (careful it is hot!), add butter and whisk until smooth. Place over the bowl of ice water. Let mixture stand at room temperature until cooled and thickened. If making ahead, store rhubarb curd in an airtight container and let cool completely before filling the macarons

Macaron Shells

Place egg whites in a large bowl and whisk on medium low speed until fluffy. Add the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should look glossy and if you turn the mixing bowl upside down, they shouldn’t fall out or move.

Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar. Fold a third of the dry ingredients into the meringue to slowly deflate the batter. Add a few drops of red gel food coloring. Fold in the last two thirds until the consistency of the macaronage (the batter) becomes like molten lava. You want your batter to pass the "figure 8" test. This means you should be able to make a figure 8 on the top of the batter before it sinks back into itself. It's too thick if the batter can't make a complete figure 8 and too thin if it sinks back into itself like pancake batter.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the batter in the pastry bag with the round piping tip. Pipe 1½-inch circles on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them ½-inch apart. Tap the pan a few times firmly on a flat surface to release the air bubbles. Allow the macaronage to dry and form a skin on top. They should transform from shiny tops to matte tops. This can take up to ½-1½ hours depending on the level of humidity.

Assembly

Once the macarons have formed a skin (you should be able to run your finger lightly on the top and it will remain dry), bake in a 325ºF oven for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are dry and the macaron shells have hardened.

Take them out of the oven, let them cool completely, and then remove them from the parchment paper. Using a knife or pastry bag, spread the rhubarb curd on one macaron shell and gently press another on top. Continue with the rest of the macaron shells and rhubarb curd. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for at least 2 hours before enjoying.

A cross between a soufflé, flan and Dutch Baby Pancake, this classic Cherry Clafoutis recipe is a must try rustic French dessert during early summer. Cherries often have a very short season so be sure to get some extra cherries to make this Cherry Clafoutis!

What is Cherry Clafoutis?

Cherry Clafoutis (“Cla-foo-tee”) is a French dish with cherries baked in a custard-like batter. The finished result is like a cross between a souffle, flan and Dutch Baby Pancake. It’s not too sweet and very fruit-forward with the addition of fresh cherries. It is as simple as making crepes or pancakes and should also be eaten immediately for a decadent breakfast or simple dessert.

Types of Cherries and How to Pit Them

You can use any type of cherry you like in this recipe although a darker cherry like a black or Bing cherries are preferable to compliment the custard flavor of the dough. I love getting my cherries from the farmer’s market right when they are in season but check your local grocery store to see what varieties are available in late spring/early summer.

If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can either slice them in half and remove the pits like you would a peach or nectarine. Another way to pit them is to place cherries stem side up on top of an empty small-necked glass bottle like a wine or beer bottle. Use a chopstick to push the seed down into the bottle. Pitting cherries is a bit messy but worth the effort! 

Cherry Clafoutis Ingredients

This recipe has many of the same ingredients you’ll find in crepes, waffles or pancakes. 

Butter: Note that the butter is for the dish and will help the Cherry Clafoutis from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Eggs: The eggs are an essential ingredient and they act as a leavening as there is no baking soda or baking powder in this recipe.

Flour: All-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe. Be sure to either weigh your flour or fluff up the flour before scooping and leveling it into your measuring cup.

Vanilla and Almond Extract and Lemon Zest: These additions will flavor the batter and complement the cherries well. 

Milk: You can use whichever type of milk you have on hand whether it's whole milk or 2%.

Sugar: To help sweeten the batter and the cherries.

Helpful Equipment

Blender or Immersion Blender: For easy clean-up and a smooth batter but you could also assemble this batter in a large bowl with a whisk.

Ovenproof Baking Dish: This Cherry Clafoutis can be baked in either a 2-quart baking dish, cast-iron skillet or another baking dish of your choosing. Note that a shallower baking dish will bake more quickly than a deeper one.

Cherry Pitter or Alternative Method: See above section on how to pit cherries without a cherry pitter.

Cherry Clafoutis Assembly

Use a blender for easy clean-up and a smooth batter that is like a thick crepe batter. In order to ensure that all the cherries don’t sink to the bottom, we’ll bake a small layer first and then top the bottom with the rest of the batter and the halved cherries. The Cherry Clafoutis is done with an inserted knife is removed cleanly. The inside should be just set like flan or a custard so be careful of overbaking it.

Dusted with powdered sugar and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, this Cherry Clafoutis recipe is one of the best French desserts to enjoy with in season summer cherries.

Cherry Clafoutis

Yields: 8 servings 

Ingredients

• Softened butter, for preparing the baking dish

• 3 cups pitted sweet cherries, halved

• 1⅓ cup milk, room temperature

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature

• ½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ⅛ teaspoon almond extract

• ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

• Zest of one lemon

• Powdered sugar for dusting

Steps

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Butter a prepared baking dish and set aside.

In a blender, combine milk, eggs, flour, vanilla extract, almond extract, and ½ cup sugar until thoroughly emulsified. 

Pour a quarter of the batter on the bottom of the baking dish and top with a single layer of cherry halves. Bake for 7 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the rest of the cherries with the remaining sugar and lemon zest. 

Remove the baking dish from the oven and pour in the rest of the batter and top with the rest of the cherries. Bake until an inserted knife is removed cleanly. A more shallow (2-inch deep) dish will take about 45 minutes. A deeper dish (3 or 4-inch deep) could take up to an hour and 15 minutes.

Lemon curd is luscious, lemony, tart and oh, so delicious. Enjoy it smeared on pancakes, waffles and crepes or swirled in some yogurt. It’s easy to make and the options to use it are endless. 

What is Lemon Curd?

Lemon curd is a sweet spread that is made with lemons, sugar, eggs and butter. There are so many ways and techniques to make lemon curd that can make it feel intimidating and overwhelming. But I will say, homemade lemon curd is so much more delicious than any store-bought lemon curd I’ve ever had.

The first time I made lemon curd I was intimidated too! And it didn’t turn out quite right either. It had weirdly separated and was foamy on the top. While it was still edible, the texture was certainly off. It took me a while to find a lemon curd method and ratio of ingredients that would be foolproof every time. This is the recipe that I stick with all the time now. It is from One Sweet Cookie and I’ve never looked back since I discovered it. 

Lemon Curd Ingredients

The ingredients of lemon curd are very straightforward and are as follows:

Eggs: We’re using both a whole egg and egg yolks for this recipe. This is where most recipes tend to differ. Some use all whole eggs, some only use egg yolks but this ratio of whole eggs to egg yolks helps to create the perfect texture of lemon curd—spreadable but still thick. 

Granulated Sugar: We have to sweeten it of course! Please use granulated sugar for this recipe and don’t substitute another type of sugar.

Lemon Juice: If you have a bunch of lemons, lemon curd is the perfect recipe as this requires ½ cup of lemon juice! 

Lemon Zest: I always include citrus zest where I can and lemon curd is no exception. 

Salt: Just to help balance out the flavor a little bit. 

Butter: The butter helps to round out the luscious texture of the lemon curd! Don’t skimp on it and make sure your butter is room temperature so it can easily melt into the cooked lemon curd. 

Lemon Curd Variations

Basically any citrus can work as a substitute for lemons like oranges, yuzu and blood oranges. If you do use a sweeter citrus, you might want to reduce your sugar to balance it out better. In addition, if you use blood oranges, the color might be off and you may want to add a few tablespoons of food coloring to make sure that it matches your citrus of choice. 

Lemon Curd Process

Some lemon curd recipes have you make it straight in a saucepan but I find that it is easy to accidentally overcook the lemon curd that way. Instead, we’ll start with a double boiler or a heatproof bowl that sits over a saucepan. It is important that the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl as it could overcook the lemon curd. We’re basically having the steam from the water cook the lemon curd gently. 

This recipe also calls for an ice water bath. This will immediately cool down the lemon curd so it again doesn’t overcook. 

In your heatproof bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Set over the saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Whisk the mixture constantly until it reaches 170ºF. This can take some time so be patient. The texture will turn from liquid to thick very quickly so keep an eye on it. 

Immediately remove the bowl from the heat (careful it is hot!), add butter and whisk until smooth. Place over the bowl of ice water. Let mixture stand at room temperature until cooled and thickened. If making ahead, store lemon curd in an airtight container.

Help! I’ve Overcooked My Lemon Curd.

It’s happened to me too and there is an easy fix—strain it! If you find that your lemon curd has white bits floating around, it probably means it was overcooked. You can fix it by straining out the egg whites in a sieve. Straining it will also leave the lemon zest behind so do keep that in mind. 

Helpful Equipment

• Medium Saucepan: You’re looking for a saucepan that can fit a heatproof bowl but have it not touch the water.

• Medium Heatproof Bowl: Glass or metal works well for this! See note above about making sure that it doesn’t touch the water.

• Large Bowl: This is for your water bath to cool down and should be slightly larger than the bowl you use to make your lemon curd. 

• Microplane: I LOVE my microplane. It helps zest citrus so nicely. 

• Whisk: Essential for making sure all of the ingredients are smooth and combined. 

• Kitchen Thermometer: It is important that your lemon curd reaches at least 170ºF before you take it off the heat. This ensures that the eggs are cooked and the lemon curd is safe to enjoy. 

Storing Lemon Curd

Lemon curd can keep in the fridge for up to 1-2 weeks. But, it also freezes really well! I store mine in jars and keep some in the freezer. Allow to defrost at least 24 hours in advance before using.

Okay, So What About the Egg Whites?

As you may have noticed, you have 6 extra egg whites in this recipe. Here are some ways you can use the egg whites:

• Macarons, especially these Earl Grey Macarons with Lemon Curd which ask for 3 egg whites

• Pavlova

• Meringue

• Angel Food Cake or Chiffon Cake

• White Wedding Cake

• Freeze them for future use. Egg whites also freeze really well and I usually just end up freezing them until I decide how I’d like to use them

My Favorite Lemon Curd Uses

As I mentioned at the beginning, lemon curd is perfect for bready breakfast items. But it’s also great in cookies, macarons, cakes, tarts or just on its own with berries and yogurt. These are my favorite ways to enjoy lemon curd:

• Lemon Curd Cake

• Earl Grey Macarons with Lemon Curd

• Lemon Poppy Seed Linzer Cookies

• Cornmeal Waffles

• Dutch Baby Pancake

• Easy Homemade Crepes

• Easy Homemade Pancakes

I hope this helps break down how easy it is to make lemon curd. With the right equipment and ratio of ingredients, you’ll make batch after batch of perfect lemon curd. 

Lemon Curd

Yield: About 3 cups

• 1 large egg

• 6 large egg yolks

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup fresh lemon juice

• Zest of 2 lemons, about 2 tablespoons

• Pinch of salt

• 1 stick butter, softened

Lemon Curd

Fill a medium saucepan, about halfway full, with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Set aside. 

In a glass or metal bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Set over the saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Whisk the mixture constantly until it reaches 170ºF. Immediately remove the bowl from the heat (careful it is hot!), add butter and whisk until smooth. Place over the bowl of ice water. Let mixture stand at room temperature until cooled and thickened. If making ahead, store lemon curd in an airtight container.

A twist on my Chinese American family’s fried rice with bacon and snap peas, this recipe is bound to rival your favorite Chinese restaurant. With a few simple ingredients and cooking techniques, this is one of my go-to comfort foods whenever I am using up leftovers for an easy meal. 

Fried Rice Memories

My fried rice memories start with Popo. She had a specific technique for making fried rice that involved cooking the egg last so that it didn’t become too dry and was instead integrated into the dish rather than as separate pieces. My dad on the other hand cooks his egg slightly more but we can all agree that fried rice must include some sort of pork meat, peas, rice, soy sauce, green onions and egg. 

There are so many ways to make fried rice and so many ingredients that you can put in it but I think simple is the best way to enjoy it. 

Fried Rice Ingredients

Rice: While the type of rice does matter for fried rice, it is more important that it has the chance to dry out at least 1-3 days before cooking. This is why using leftover rice is key! When you have fresh rice, it is fluffy/slightly sticky but that stickiness can be hard to stir fry. Rice will dry out when it is stored in the fridge over several days. Another alternative is to make it a few hours before cooking and spread it out in a thin layer on a large sheet pan. Let it cool completely uncovered in the fridge. As for the type of rice, calrose or jasmine rice are the best varieties for the right balance of flavor and texture. I prefer white rice but you can use brown rice if you prefer the health benefits instead.

Bacon: Bacon is a more Americanized meat but it does make delicious fried rice. A thicker style cut of bacon will have more distinct pieces but you can use whatever kind you have on hand. Traditionally my family puts lap cheong (Chinese sausage) or char siu (Chinese BBQ pork) in fried rice and these are also delicious meats to add in as well.

Oil: Since we’re cooking with bacon, might as well use the fat for this fried rice, right? Oil is essential for stir frying all of the ingredients so don’t skimp out. You can also use a neutral oil like canola or vegetable instead of the bacon fat but stay away from olive oil  as the flavor will be too prominent.

Snap Peas: I love snap peas raw and also stir fried! I cut them on the bias (45º angle) as it exposes the peas inside while having fun longer pieces. For an easy alternative, frozen peas are always my go-to. I am partial to petite peas as they have a better texture than regular size peas. 

Soy Sauce: I’ve heard that soy sauce is a controversial ingredient as adding it discolors the fried rice. I’ve always known it to be essential for flavor so I am keeping it in! One of my cousins told me that if you add the soy sauce around the rim of the pan, it caramelizes it for a deeper flavor. I haven’t tasted this technique side by side to know for sure but the caramelization does have a delicious smell. Note that this is an easier technique to do in a wok with deep sloping sides. 

Eggs: Make sure your eggs are well beaten and the whites and yolk are well incorporated. If not, there might be obvious white bits in your fried rice. 

Green Onions: Green onions add a bright flavor and fresh texture that is a truly important flavor in fried rice. A little extra doesn’t hurt too!

Helpful Equipment

Non-Stick Pan or Wok: Woks are a bit of a specialty pan but they do make stir frying so much easier with their high sides and seasoned surface. A non-stick pan is totally a great alternative as it will prevent the ingredients from sticking to the surface of the pan. You can use another type of pan but you might have some stickage issues. 

Spatula: A spatula will help with the stir frying but you can also use a wooden spoon or other favorite cooking utensil. 

Fried Rice Technique

The bacon is probably the most time intensive piece of this recipe and it will take about 10-15 minutes until it is crisp and the fat has rendered. Once the bacon is finished, it is essential to drain and wipe the bottom of your pan as the little bits of bacon can make the rice stick to the pan.

Once the bacon is cooked, stir fry the snap peas until bright green and then remove them from the pan for later.

Next, we’ll stir fry the rice and break it up with a spatula. It is totally okay to add cold rice at this point. You are looking for the rice grains to start drying out and separate from one another. 

After the rice is stir fried, the bacon and snap peas go back in the pan. Add in the soy sauce and egg. Stir for about 1-2 minutes to evenly coat and cook the egg with the rice, bacon and snap peas. You are looking for little bits of the egg to have the texture of a soft scramble. Sprinkle in the green onions and season with more salt if desired.

Fried Rice Shortcuts

• Cook the rice 1-3 days before so it has time to dry out. 

• Pre-cook the bacon as strips in the oven the day before. This is easier to clean up and can speed up the fried rice making process. On the day of cooking, chop the bacon in ½-inch pieces and toss in with the rice.

• Substitute snap peas for frozen peas. 

Fried Rice Troubleshooting

My fried rice is sticking to my pan! I’ve been there too and there are a variety of reasons as to why it is sticking to your pan. 

• Your pan may not be seasoned enough or as non-stick as you thought.

• Your pan and oil might not have had time to heat up before adding in your rice.

• Your rice is still too sticky. If it is sticking, don’t panic, just proceed as normal with some stickage. To clean your pan, add about an inch of water to cover the cooked bits. Bring to a simmer and then let it sit for about 15-30 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to gently remove the rice that is sticking. 

My fried rice is too wet! Sometimes this happens if you add the egg at the end but your rice is not hot enough to cook the egg immediately on contact. You can try to turn up the heat to high and constantly stir and flip the fried rice so the egg has contact with the hot pan. Slightly wetter fried rice also makes great leftovers because it will cook a bit more when you heat it up again.  

My Favorite Toppings

Sometimes you need just a little extra something on your fried rice. If I’m feeling in the mood, I’ll add a drizzle of chili crisp or an extra fried egg or two. Also some extra veggies on the side can’t hurt!

This homemade fried rice recipe is one of my favorite variations on my family's version. While fried rice at home may seem intimidating, I hope this helps you feel confident to conquer it at home!

Bacon and Snap Pea Fried Rice

 Ingredients

• 12 oz. bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

• 6 cups cooked rice

• 8 oz. snap peas, cut on the bias in ¼-inch pieces

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 4 eggs, well beaten

• 6 green onions, finely chopped

• Salt to taste

 Steps

Heat a large non-stick pan or wok over medium high heat. Add bacon pieces and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel. Pour the bacon fat in a heat-proof bowl and wipe the pan clean. Add the pan back on the heat and add a tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan. Quickly stir fry the snap peas for a minute or two or until they are bright green. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan and then add in the cooked rice. Stir fry for about 3-4 minutes and break up the rice with a spatula. You are looking for the rice grains to start drying out and separate from one another. Add in the cooked bacon and snap pies and stir to combine. Drizzle in the soy sauce and then the egg. Stir for about 1-2 minutes to evenly coat and cook the egg with the rice, bacon and snap peas. Sprinkle in the green onions and season with more salt if desired.

Serve immediately and enjoy! 

These Candied Yuzu Peel Scones have a tender crumb with crisp edges and are one of my favorite ways to enjoy a sweet treat as a breakfast or snack. They are buttery but not overly sweet with the addition of Kanoka Yuzu Peel. This is also the perfect scone recipe if you are intimidated by making scones for the first time. Enjoy these fluffy scones warm with a cup of tea! 

About Kanoka Yuzu Peel

If you’ve been around here long enough, you know that I absolutely love yuzu. It has a distinct light floral taste that is different from a lemon or lime. This specialty Japanese citrus has been gaining popularity over the years but the real fruit is still not easily accessible in your everyday grocery store. I’ve noticed over the years that the amount of yuzu products on the market have gradually increased. Now there are all sorts of yuzu juices, teas, syrups and of course this candied yuzu peel to enjoy the unique flavor of yuzu.

How to Make the Best Scones

There are several keys to making tender scones. The first is to make sure your oven is preheated and you bake them directly in a hot oven. The cold butter melts to release steam and create beautiful flaky layers. 

Like pie crust, keeping your butter, eggs and buttermilk cold is the best way to make sure that no butter leaks out during baking. Don’t leave these ingredients out at room temperature! Butter leakage can mean tough scones instead of a nice, fluffy interior.

Shaping Scones

Scones come in all different shapes and sizes depending on where they originate from. Triangles are more of a classic American scones shape. I love just patting the dough out into a circle that is about 7" in diameter and 1" tall. You can just use your hands—no rolling pin is necessary! It is important not to overwork the dough. Gently pat it into a circle before using a sharp knife to cut the scones into 8 triangles and carefully place them on a baking sheet before brushing the tops of the scones with buttermilk. If you want a round shape like English scones, you can also use a 2-3" round cookie cutter but I find that triangles are the easiest to work with. You also don't have to worry about any extra scraps of dough.

Ingredients 

Dry Ingredients: The dry ingredients for this recipe are all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. All-purpose flour is just fine for this recipe as we will add in our own leavening. Be sure to either weigh your flour or fluff up the flour before scooping and leveling it into your measuring cup. Baking powder is essential as it creates the necessary lift for tender scones. Don’t substitute baking soda for baking powder in this recipe!

Zest and Sugar: Massaging yuzu or lemon zest in granulated sugar helps release some of the essential oils found in the citrus zest peel. Try smelling it before and after and you’ll see and smell the difference!

Buttermilk: I strongly believe you cannot make scones without real buttermilk. DIY buttermilk is helpful in other recipe cases but the acidity and thickness of real buttermilk also helps to create that necessary lift for tender scones. You can substitute heavy cream for buttermilk which will result in a slightly different texture but delicious all the same. I would not recommend substituting milk or whole milk as the fat content isn't the same.

Butter: A stick or ½ cup of standard American butter is just fine in this recipe. Just make sure it is cold! Pre-cut the stick of butter into ¼-inch pieces. You can also grate frozen butter with a cheese grater.

Equipment

Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper: You’ll need a standard half sheet (18”x13”) to fit all 8 scones for baking. You can use parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat to make sure that they don’t stick to the pan.

Food Processor or Pastry Cutter: The best tools to cut butter into flour are a food processor or pastry cutter. A food processor is faster but you may over work the butter so do a few pulses at a time and then check the size of the butter. I personally love using a pastry cutter as it allows me to get an exact feel of the butter and flour together.

Sharp Knife: When cutting your scones, use a sharp knife to make nice, clean cuts. You can also use a cookie cutter to make rounded shapes if you like that effect as well.  

To me, these are the perfect scones and are my favorite way to enjoy Candied Yuzu Peel. I still have some buttermilk and Candied Yuzu Peel so there will be another batch of of these delicious scones to make and keep in my freezer for future breakfasts and snacks.

Thank you, Umami Insider, for sponsoring this post! 

Candied Yuzu Peel Scones

Ingredients 

Scones

• 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour

• 2½ teaspoons baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into about ¼-inch pieces

• Zest of 1 yuzu or lemon (optional)

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup cold buttermilk, plus more for brushing on top

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 1 package Umami Insider Candied Kanoka Yuzu Peel, cut into ¼” pieces, reserve 1 tablespoon for topping

Icing

• ½ cup powdered sugar

• 2-3 teaspoons yuzu or lemon juice

Steps

Preheat the oven to 400º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat and set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt together. With a pastry cutter, food processor or a fork, cut cold butter into the flour mixture until the butter is in small pieces, approximately pea-sized.

In a medium mixing bowl, massage yuzu or lemon zest in sugar to release the oils. Add in buttermilk and egg and whisk thoroughly. 

Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and then fold in candied yuzu peel until just combined. Be sure to mix in all the dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. It will be a slightly sticky and wet dough. On a floured work surface, knead the dough lightly or until it just comes together. This will be messy so be patient and don't overwork the dough. Pat into a circle of 1-inch thickness and cut into 8 triangles. Place on a lined baking sheet and brush the tops of the unbaked scones with buttermilk. 

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are golden brown. Set to cool on a cooling rack. 

To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and yuzu or lemon juice. Drizzle on top of the freshly baked scones and top with a strip or two of candied yuzu peel.

These scones keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days and they also freeze rather well. Best when reheated in a 300ºF oven for 8-10 minutes or until toasty again.

California's spring blooms came early this year! Photographing flowers is still one of my first loves and my favorite way to recharge creatively. No pressure—it’s just a fun adventure biking around my town looking for the best blooms.

I almost convinced myself that I didn’t need another set of spring blossom photos but as I upgraded some of my camera gear last year, I wanted to make sure I was able to capture this year’s blooms. I knew I’d regret it if I passed on it.

Per usual, I stopped by my favorite magnolia tree which was at peak bloom. Part of me would love to have one of these trees in a future backyard but another part of me is cautious about the major clean-up when the petals start to fall. For now, it’s just a joy to go around looking for these trees. It’s a reminder that time is fleeting as most of these blooms will be over and done with quite soon.

I hope you enjoy these and have a great week!

Homemade Lemon Palmiers are a buttery, citrusy treat with an impressive appearance! This recipe uses pie crust as a base to laminate the dough with lemon sugar rolled on the outside. Enjoy these heart shaped puff pastry cookies just cooled from the oven with a cup of tea.

These Palmiers Started Off with Pie Crust

Making pie is one of my favorite baked goods and over the years of baking pies, I’ve gotten my pie crust method down to pat. I always keep everything cold, use an all-butter crust and a pastry cutter is my preferred method of cutting up butter. There are many ways to make pie crust but this is the method that works best for me.

If I have the time and energy, sometimes I will roll out and laminate the dough also known as folding the dough for flakey layers. This is helpful if you want a smoother pie dough to work with if you are making an intricate lattice or other decorations. I had an inkling that this method could also work to create a puff pastry-like dough and decided to try my hand at making these Lemon Palmiers.

What are Palmiers?

Palmiers, also known as elephant ears, palm heart or pig’s ears, are a classic French cookie that uses puff pastry as its base with sugar coated on the outside. You can flavor palmier cookies in all sorts of ways. Plain sugar is classic but cinnamon or savory palmiers are also delicious. Since it is citrus season, I chose to flavor these homemade palmiers with a lemon zest sugar and I absolutely love the subtle hint of lemon with each bite.

How to Make Pie Crust

Making pie crust takes patience and repetition to get the technique down. I have a detailed pie crust recipe and video which you can find here. 

Making Puff Pastry

There is the classic French way of making puff pastry that involves folding dough around a block of butter and then there is my “shortcut” way that starts off with pie crust. This method is very similar to making a rough puff pastry dough which also has you cut the butter in the flour from the start.

Lamination is key in puff pastry and you’re looking for alternating layers of butter and dough. I’m not here to count layers but I do think this method of starting out with pie crust makes the process a lot more approachable. Most of the time for this recipe comes from waiting for the dough to chill before rolling it out again.

Laminating Method

I like to use letter folds to laminate my dough. For each lamination fold, roll out the dough into a 9”x9” square. Fold the dough in thirds vertically and then fold it again horizontally until you end up with a square of dough. Wrap the dough loosely with plastic wrap and use your rolling pin to pound it out into a flatter square around ½” tall. This just makes it easier to roll it out again the next time. I repeat this process 3 times and chill the dough for about 30 minutes in between each time to allow for the gluten to relax and the butter to firm up.

Adding the Sugar

Once you have laminated the dough 3 times, it is time to roll and press the sugar on the surface of the dough. This part is a bit messy so don’t worry if it feels like a lot of the lemon sugar is falling off. You can press more into the sides when you do the folds and cuts. 

Roll the dough into another roughly 9”x9” square. Sprinkle half of the sugar on one side and press it with the flat of your hand. Use your rolling pin to roll the sugar into an even layer and press it more into the dough. Keep rolling until your dough is 12”x9”. Flip the dough and repeat the same process on the other side. It is okay if some of the sugar falls off. 

Shaping Palmiers

The easiest way to shape palmiers is to fold both of the long edge sides to the center of the pastry and then fold one half on top of the other. Press gently and cut into 12 pieces about ½”-¾” wide. Any extra lemon sugar can be sprinkled on top of the palmiers. 

Place 6 palmier cookies cut-side down on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Chill both baking sheets for 30 minutes.

Baking Palmiers

Pre-heat your oven to 375ºF and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Once the palmiers have chilled and the oven is preheated, place one baking sheet on the middle rack. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip with a spatula. If the bottom side is still pale, bake it for another couple of minutes. You’re looking for a golden brown color. Bake on the other side for another 10-12 minutes. Be sure to watch the palmiers as any excess sugar can burn and they can turn from deep golden brown to burnt very fast. Repeat this process with the second baking sheet. 

Let the palmiers cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then let them cool completely on a wire rack. Be careful of touching them with bare fingers immediately out of the oven as the sugar will be hot!

Storing Palmiers

These are best enjoyed on the day of baking but they can keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze Lemon Palmiers for up to 3 months in an airtight container or bag. 

Helpful Equipment

Sharp Knife: This is super helpful with cutting the palmiers.

Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper: You’ll need a standard half sheet (18”x13”) to fit the palmiers for baking. You can use parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat to make sure that they don’t stick to the pan.

Food Processor or Pastry Cutter: The best tools to cut butter into flour are a food processor or pastry cutter. A food processor is faster but you may over work the butter so do a few pulses at a time and then check the size of the butter. I personally love using a pastry cutter as it allows me to get an exact feel of the butter and flour together.

Rolling Pin: A sturdy rolling pin for laminating the dough.

Can You Use Store-Bought Puff Pastry?

I support anyone’s baking level and time/energy investment and using store-bought puff pastry is totally fine! You can skip all of the laminating aspects and go straight to coating the Lemon Palmier cookies in sugar. No one will be the wiser.

Tips for Success

Keep everything chilled: This will be a difficult recipe to pull off if the butter starts to come to room temperature. If this is the case, let everything chill for 15-30 minutes before starting again. And it is very important to chill before baking

Flour your work surface: Sprinkle flour on your work surface in between each lamination to ensure that it doesn’t stick when you are rolling out the dough

Look out for layers: You know you have succeeded when you take a cross-sectional cut and can see thin layers of butter and dough.

Make ahead: You can prep the pie crust and do all 3 laminations up to 3 days in advance. Keep the dough tightly wrapped until ready to form the Lemon Palmiers. It is not recommended that you chill the cut Lemon Palmiers for more than an hour as the sugar is hydroscopic and will start to pull water from the atmosphere resulting in a wet dough. 

Palmiers Variations

• Classic Palmiers: Omit the lemon zest and just use the plain granulated sugar

• Vanilla Palmiers: Make your own vanilla sugar up mixing the seeds of one vanilla pod with the granulated sugar

• Cinnamon Palmiers: Omit the lemon zest and add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon instead

• Smaller Palmiers: After the sugar has been sprinkled and the dough is rolled out to 12"x9", fold both of the short sides to the center of the pastry and then fold one half on top of the other. Press gently and cut into about 24 pieces about 1/2" wide.

This take on classic French Palmiers is better than any store-bought or Pepperidge Farm cookie. While making your own puff pastry might seem intimidating, once you get the process down, these are easy cookies to make at home. Seeing them puff and create flaky layers is as fun and rewarding of an experience as eating them.

Lemon Palmiers

Yields: 12 palmiers

Ingredients

Dough

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180 g)

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup chilled unsalted butter (113 g) cut into ½” cubes

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 5-7 tablespoons ice cold water

Palmier Filling

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Steps

Dough

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Toss cubed butter in the flour mixture. Blend together the butter and flour with a pastry blender until the butter/shortening is approximately pea-sized.

Pour apple cider vinegar in the flour and butter mixture and stir to combine. Continue to add the ice water one tablespoon at a time until the butter/flour mixture starts to clump and the dough comes together. To test if it has come together, take a small handful and squeeze it together in the palm of your hand. If it holds its shape, it's ready to be wrapped. If it falls apart, it needs more water.

Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. 

Lamination Process

When ready to start the lamination process, flour your work surface and roll out the dough into a 9”x9” square. Use letter folds to fold the dough in thirds vertically and then fold it again horizontally until you end up with a square of dough. Wrap the dough loosely with plastic wrap and use your rolling pin to pound it out into a flatter square around ½” tall. This just makes it easier to roll it out again the next time. Repeat this process 3 times and chill the dough for about 30 minutes in between each time to allow for the gluten to relax and the butter to firm up.

Assembling Palmiers

Mix the ½ cup granulated sugar and lemon zest into a small bowl. Set aside.

Roll the rested dough into another roughly 9”x9” square. Sprinkle half the sugar on one side and press it with the flat of your hand. Use your rolling pin to roll the sugar into an even layer and press it more into the dough. Keep rolling until your dough is 12”x9”. Flip the dough and repeat the same process on the other side. It is okay if some of the sugar falls off.

Fold both of the long edge sides to the middle and then fold one half on top of the other. Press gently and cut into 12 pieces about ½”-¾” wide. Any extra lemon sugar can be sprinkled on top of the palmiers. 

Place 6 cut side down on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Chill both baking sheets for 30 minutes.

Baking Palmiers

Pre-heat your oven to 375ºF and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Once the palmiers have chilled and the oven is preheated, place one baking sheet on the middle rack. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip with a spatula. If the bottom side is still pale, bake it for another couple of minutes. You’re looking for a golden brown color. Bake on the other side for another 10-12 minutes. Be sure to watch the palmiers as any excess sugar can burn and they can turn from deep golden brown to burnt very fast. Repeat this process with the second baking sheet. 

Let the palmiers cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then let them cool completely on a wire rack. Be careful of touching them with bare fingers immediately out of the oven is the sugar will be hot.

This Chicken Jook is a low and slow soup recipe that simmers all day long but at the end you’ll have a nice hot pot of jook to enjoy by dinnertime. It starts with a whole chicken, ginger and green onions to make a simple yet flavorful homemade stock before adding the rice. Top off a bowl of Chicken Jook with fried shallots, green onions, soy sauce! 

While it may seem silly to have two different jook recipes, I fell in love with the texture  and richness of cooking jook from a whole chicken. It packs in so much more flavor than just using boxed or canned stock. This version of jook is also applicable when you would like to add in shredded chicken but don’t have any on hand. The technique of poaching the chicken helps to prevent the chicken from getting too dry and flavorless. There is nothing worse than dried poultry!

What is Jook?

Jook is one of my favorite ultimate Chinese comfort foods and has appeared on this blog before in this Jook with Turkey recipe. It is also known as congee, rice porridge and by other names across other cultures. Like many grain porridges, the rice is cooked in a lot of liquid until it breaks down and releases its starches to produce a thick and hearty soup that is perfect during the winter months or when you are feeling under the weather.

Chicken Jook Ingredients

Whole Chicken: While you can make jook with canned chicken stock or even just water, starting off with a whole chicken increases the flavor and texture tenfold. This method is also great if you would like to add shredded chicken but you don’t have any leftovers to spare. 

Fresh Ginger: Fresh ginger is a traditional ingredient in Chinese cooking and adds another dimension of flavor in this homemade chicken stock. Since this stock will be simmering for several hours, it is best to peel the ginger. Use the back of a spoon or peeler to remove the skin. A 2 inch knob will work just fine. Choose ginger that is firm and doesn’t look dry.

Salt: Just a little bit of salt to flavor the broth to begin with. You can always add more later. 

Green Onions: This is another traditional ingredient that provides another layer of flavor. This recipe calls for one bunch of green onions. Cut the bunch in half to separate the dark green tops from the white/light green bottoms. The white/light green parts will be used in the broth and the dark green tops will be used for garnish.

Rice: I have mentioned before how the variety of rice matters in jook. Since the idea of jook is for the rice to break down over time, the best types of rice to use are medium or long grain rices like calrose, jasmine or basmati. Brown rice also works in jook for a more hearty flavor. Do not use short grain sushi rice as it doesn’t break down in the same way

Eggs: Eggs are optional but they do add a nice addition of thin egg ribbons throughout the jook.

Cooking Jook with a Whole Chicken

Make the stock and poach the chicken: To start off, place the whole chicken breast side down in a large stock pot. Even though the photo above shows breast side up, if your pot is not quite big enough to cover the chicken completely with water, it won’t cook all the way through. Add the white/light green parts of the green onions, ginger and salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the chicken poach in the hot water for 30 minutes. 

Shred the chicken: Carefully remove the whole chicken from the stock pot and place on a large sheet pan or cutting board. Once cooled enough to handle, remove the breast meat and set it aside to shred. Place in a container and keep chilled in the fridge until ready to use. 

Continue to simmer the stock: Add the chicken back in the pot and simmer for another 1-2 hours or until the chicken is falling apart. Gently remove the chicken bones, ginger and green onions. Strain the broth if there might be small loose bones. Skim off any excess fat and now you are left with liquid gold! At this point, you can chill the stock and pause for the day if you don’t have the time to finish cooking the Chicken Jook all in one day.

Add the rice: Bring the stock to a boil and add in your rice. Cover and reduce heat to a very low simmer. Stir every 30 minutes or so until the rice has broken down and the broth and rice have homogenized together into a thick porridge. 

Drizzle in the egg: Once the Chicken Jook has reached the desired consistency, slowly drizzle in the whisked eggs to create thin ribbons throughout.

Stir in the chicken: As the chicken is already cooked, all it needs is a few minutes to warm up and you are ready to enjoy! Taste for extra salt but you should find the jook to be rich and flavorful. 

Chicken Jook Timing

If you are looking for a quick jook recipe, I would recommend trying this recipe instead. This is a recipe that takes all day long but at the end of the day you’ll have a nice hot pot of jook to enjoy by dinnertime. 

Alternatively, you can make the chicken stock one day and assemble the final jook the next day. 

Freezing your rice overnight can also help to speed up the jook making process. This method helps break the rice down faster and can reduce the cooking time in half.

Jook Toppings

Lay’s Classic Potato Chips: It wouldn’t be a bowl of jook without some salty crispy potato chips. These are a great substitution for youtiao (Chinese doughnuts).

Fried Shallots: This is another crispy addition to add to jook! Thinly slice 3 shallots and heat them to medium in a pot with 1½ cups of oil. Continue to cook for about 30-45 minutes or until the shallots turn a deep golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and use immediately. Store extras in a container in the freezer. Extra oil can be used for other savory cooking.

Green Onions: Finely chop the dark green tops of green onions for fresh onion-y flavor. 

Soy Sauce: Drizzle a little bit more on for extra saltiness and umami.

Storing and Reheating Jook

Jook can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Leftover jook may be a thicker consistency so add a splash of water when reheating. 

Chicken Jook

Serves: 10-12 servings

Ingredients

Chicken Jook:

• 3 quarts water

• 2-inch piece ginger

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 bunch scallions (dark greens & white/light green parts separated)

• 1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs)

• 2 eggs, whisked

• 1½ cups medium or long grain rice

Fried Shallots:

• 3 shallots, thinly sliced

• 1½ cups of oil.

To serve (optional):

• Soy sauce

• Green onions

• Potato chips

• Fried shallots

Steps

Chicken Jook:

To start off, place the whole chicken breast side down in a large stock pot. Even though the photo above shows breast side up, if your pot is not quite big enough to cover the chicken completely with water, it won’t cook all the way through. Add the white/light green parts of the green onions, ginger and salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the chicken poach in the hot water for 30 minutes. 

Carefully remove the whole chicken from the stock pot and place on a large sheet pan or cutting board. Once cooled enough to handle, remove the breast meat and set it aside to shred. Place in a container and keep chilled in the fridge until ready to use. 

Add the chicken back in the pot and simmer for another 1-2 hours or until the chicken is falling apart. Gently remove the chicken bones, ginger and green onions. Strain the broth if there might be small loose bones. Skim off any excess fat and now you are left with liquid gold! At this point, you can chill the stock and pause for the day if you don’t have the time to finish cooking the Chicken Jook all in one day.

Bring the stock to a boil and add in your rice. Cover and reduce heat to a very low simmer. Stir every 30 minutes or so for another 3-4 hours until the rice has broken down and the broth and rice have homogenized together into a thick porridge.

Once the Chicken Jook has reached the desired consistency, slowly drizzle in the whisked eggs to create thin ribbons throughout. Lastly, add the chicken. As it is already cooked, all it needs is a few minutes to warm up and you are ready to enjoy. Taste for extra salt but you should find the jook to be rich and flavorful. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Fried Shallots:

Thinly slice 3 shallots and heat them to medium in a pot with 1½ cups of oil. Continue to cook for about 30-45 minutes or until the shallots turn a deep golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and use immediately. Store extras in a container in the freezer. Extra oil can be used for other savory cooking.

2021 was a big year! I opened my own creative business, partnered with some amazing clients and took some time to read a lot and enjoy some nature. Here’s a recap of some 2021 highlights.

• Launched KBC Creative full-time

• Soaked up every bit of knowledge about being a business owner

• Designed packaging for True Origin Foods

• Upgraded my gear and at-home studio

• Read a lot of books (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Bridgerton Series, started The Wheel of Time series, finished the Twilight series (15 years late), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Longbourn, How to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry, and (every once in a while) change the world)

• Enjoyed watching a lot of TV shows (Ted Lasso, Wandavision, What If…?, Hawkeye, Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Kim’s Convenience, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (in progress), The Wheel of Time, Great British Bake-Off)

• Discovered some new podcasts (Potterless, Pod and Prejudice, The Game Changer Podcast, Per Our Last Email) and continued to listen to some of my favorites (The Office Ladies Podcast, A Beautiful Mess Podcast and Spilled Milk Podcast)

• Spent time with family that I hadn’t seen since January 2020

• Joined a Food Photography Mentorship Program

• Participated in two Eat Capture Share photography challenges

• Opened a stock photo library at The Picture Pantry

• Checked off some items off of my photography list like how to photography hard light and freeze motion more successfully

• Made pavlova, char siu and 4 pies in one day for the first time

While this is a highlight reel of positive things, I don’t want to diminish the fact that it was a challenging year. Transitioning from leaving a comfortable full-time job to opening my own business was not something I thought I would be able to do at the beginning of 2021 or even at all at this stage in my career. There were a lot of uncertain moments, a lot of research and inner reflection before I felt confident that I could make that leap. If you missed it, you can read a little more about that journey here.

I am proud to have collaborated with a handful of clients helping them increase their visual brand from creating packaging to food photography for social media. Every new opportunity is a chance for me to gain more experience as I continue to embark on this journey. The past few months have been full of all of the classic freelance ups and downs but I know this is just part of the process and I’m here to explore every facet. 

I’ve been working behind the scenes planning how I would like my 2022 to look as it will be my first year full-time with my business. It’s a mix of exciting and terrifying knowing that I have a mostly blank slate to fill in as I like. I have a few projects and clients lined up but my calendar is open to new partnerships. If you, or someone you know, is looking to collaborate on photography and graphic design in the food and beverage space, feel free to get in touch with me on my business website here.

I’ve also given a lot of thought about this blog and how I what I would like it to be in the years to come. Consistency is key even if I keep it small and manageable for my workflow. My goal is to share a monthly seasonal recipe and I also hope to use this space as a way to collaborate with brands I love as well. This blog has brought me a lot of joy over the years so thank you for being here even though so many of you reading are just my family and friends.

As always, you can find me here on the blog or on Instagram. I hope we’ll be in touch soon! 

P.S. I know around this time of year I usually do a kitchen mishap recap but, I only had one major mishap this year and I can’t find the photos! I made a chocolate mousse pie but I had some difficulty folding the mousse into the whipped cream so it was kind of lumpy throughout. It’s definitely not the most appealing dessert so maybe it’s best that I leave it up to your imagination. Next time I’ll do it right!

Happy New Year and wishing you all a great 2022! 

-Kara

Holiday cookie baking is upon us! It is completely possible to have a stress-free holiday baking weekend if you keep these tips in mind. I’ve compiled some of my favorite ways to bake a lot of holiday treats without feeling frazzled from start to finish.

1. Gather All of Your Recipes

The most important tip to making sure your holiday cookie baking goes smoothly is to decide what you want to bake in advance and compile all of those cookie recipes in one place. Whether you’re using cookbooks, print-outs, Pinterest, Notes, Google Docs or Trello, having these recipes in one place means that you can refer to them easily. It is also important to give your cookie recipes a thorough read through and check the ingredient lists so you know what to shop for. Do any of the recipes have some obscure prep or require specific chilling times? Take note of these steps so you can prep these beforehand and make sure that your fridge has enough room for all of your cookie dough.

2. Take Stock of Your Baking Ingredients

The absolute worst thing while baking for the holidays (and in general) is to discover that you are missing an essential ingredient and have to go to the grocery store to get it. For me, this essential ingredient is often cocoa powder! Other culprits are also chocolate chips, leavenings and eggs. Check your pantry to make sure that you are well-stocked with all of the baking ingredients and supplies. Extra butter, sugar, eggs and flour can’t hurt if you intend to do a lot of baking this holiday season!

3. Clean Your Kitchen the Night Before

No one wants to start baking only to realize that before you start, you have to clean up first. Give your kitchen a little TLC the night before and you’ll be forever grateful when you’re eager to start that holiday baking the next morning. So wipe down your counters, clean your stove, sweep your floors and make sure your dishes are all put away or just require a 5 minute emptying of the dishwasher in the morning. It’s also good to have a designated extra work space cleared as well. If you have a small kitchen like me, I like to make sure that my dining room table is also free of clutter. In addition, I set up an extra table on baking day to set out all of my trays and cooling racks.

4. Pull Out Your Room Temperature Ingredients

If you live in cold place during the winter, pulling out your butter the night before is not a bad idea. If you don’t feel comfortable with this idea, know that it will take an hour or two for your ingredients to come to room temperature so plan accordingly.

5. Use the Vanilla to Chocolate Spectrum

I found the most efficient way to make 7 cookies and 2 other sweet treats in one weekend was to use the vanilla to chocolate spectrum. If you can, start with the cookie dough that is the most neutral and work your way up to the most chocolatey or intensely flavored cookie dough. If you are like me and only have one stand mixer bowl, try to pair cookie doughs that are similar in ingredients. This means you can reuse your stand mixer bowl without having to wash it between each round. Having an extra mixing bowl will help but you will eventually still have to find time to wash the bowls with each round.

This same spectrum also applies to baking cookies. Cookies with chocolate tend to leave melted chocolate on non-stick baking sheets/parchment paper but if you start with vanilla-based cookies first, you can minimize the amount of washing in between each round.

Note: This tip does not apply to baking for people with food allergies. Please do not follow this rule if you are baking for those with nut, egg, dairy or gluten allergies as equipment must be washed and sterilized thoroughly to eliminate cross contamination. If making any meringue-based recipe, you will need to make sure that your mixing bowl is completely clean, dry and devoid of any fat to ensure that your meringue can be whipped up.

6. Reuse Equipment Wisely

Having a bowl that is just for cracking eggs or mixing dry ingredients means that you won’t have to be constantly pulling out equipment for each new cookie. Most cookie recipes use the same creaming method, so you know that the only things in that dry ingredient bowl are probably just flour, leavening and salt. You can also use this bowl to place finished cookie dough in if you find your cookie dough is too soft to scoop and you only have one stand mixer bowl.

7. Day 1: Cookie Dough Assembly

If you can, dedicate one day to cookie dough assembly. Most doughs have to chill at least 2 hours anyways, so it makes sense to prep them all the day before. If you are making drop cookies (cookies using a cookie scoop), pre-scoop your cookie dough for easy baking the next day. It is also very challenging to try to scoop rock hard cookie dough, especially if it is chocolate cookie dough. Place pre-scooped cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet and cover in plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out in the refrigerator overnight.

8. Day 2: Baking Day

Most cookies don’t take that long to bake so you will be able to tackle multiple cookie doughs in just a few hours. It helps to have 4 baking sheets so you can rotate new trays in while taking finished trays out. If baking with two trays at a time, be sure to switch and rotate them half way through for even baking. It also helps to have multiple cooling trays as well. Stack cookies as they cool to find more space to add new ones.

9. Clean as You Go

This tip seems pretty obvious but it does help to clear away used ingredients and dishes. Take a little bit of time to reset without feeling overwhelmed at the amount of opened ingredients and piled up dishes.

10. Listen to Instrumental Holiday Music

If you like listening to holiday music while baking, but are like me and have to reread recipes multiple times to know what is going to happen next, try listening to instrumental holiday music. I find it is much easier to get into a rhythm if I listen to instrumental music only. Reading and listening to lyrics don’t pair well in my brain and causes a lot of starting and stopping. If you don’t have this problem, listen to any music at your heart’s content! Here is my favorite playlist.

Bonus!

Above all, have fun while baking! If you want to do things another way or find another method works best for you, go for it!

My Holiday Cookie Bakes

Last but not least, here are the 9 holiday cookies and treats I made this past weekend and that inspired this post. From top to bottom, left to right:

• Scandinavian Almond Bars (print-out from a friend)

• Pecan-Topped Toffee

• Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Sugar Cookies (print-out from Popo)

• Swedish Nuts

• Chocolate Sablés with Date Sugar from Bon Appétit

• Taylor Swift’s Chai Sugar Cookies from Joy the Baker

• Yuzu Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam (I used this base recipe minus the poppy seeds)

• Chocolate Almond Praline Cookies from Bon Appétit

• Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies from Bon Appétit

What is your favorite holiday baking tip? I would love to know!