Maple Apple Pie Bars Try as you ‘maple,’ you can’t avoid these delicious bars forever

I generally make the exact same New Year’s resolution each year. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure my resolution messes up some of your resolutions, so I’ll apologize in advance for the calorie-laden recipes that will continue to grace my column in the coming months. It’s necessary, though, in order for me to meet my ultimate goal: …

Beans in a Pot Easy recipe proves the crock pot is no has-‘bean’

On Jan. 23, 1940, the United States awarded a patent to inventor Irving Nachumsohn’s newest creation: the crock pot. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, it was originally marketed as the “Naxon Beanery,” with its name coming from a shortened version of Nachumsohn’s last name. With the public’s opinions of German last names during the mid-1940s, …

Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Blondies Bake a ‘cinn’sational treat to celebrate autumn weather

In 2024, the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University released a study about the ongoing popularity of pumpkin spice lattes. Apparently, according to their study, apple spice was starting to edge out pumpkin on the popularity scale last …

Apple Strudels Can’t tell the varieties apart? You just have to ‘apple’y yourself.

“Those apples were kind of pricey, weren’t they?” Joey asked me as we exited the grocery store recently. “They’re honeycrisps,” I told him. “So, they’re high-end apples?” “I mean, kind of.” It’s amazing that after 15 years of marriage, I can still discover new things about my husband. Case in point: he has no knowledge …

Brownie Cookies Earn brownie points with your friends with these awesome cookies

Last weekend, our house was the scene of an end-of-season party for Joey’s bowling team. I always love when that crew comes over. They are a super nice group, and it’s always fun to share a big meal and hear them tell stories and tease each other about their bowling gaffes. It’s also a great …

German Chocolate Cupcakes Cupcakes the best way to say ‘auf Wiedersehn’ to a good friend

Someone told me last week that I don’t really qualify as an amateur baker, since I’ve been writing this column way too long for that, but I still claim the title, especially after taking on a recent huge project. A dear friend of the newspaper, Debbie Pierce, celebrated her retirement last week, and since we …

Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas You ‘nita’ stop what you’re doing and try this pressure cooker recipe

Any time I find pork shoulder at a great price at our local grocery store, it’s a no-brainer for me to put it in the cart and let Joey know that I wouldn’t mind if he threw it on his smoker over the weekend. That’s why it was a little weird last week when Joey …

Pumpkin Caramel Pie Oh, my ‘ganache.’ This pie is absolutely incredible!

It’s Friendsgiving season for Joey and me, so that means I’m playing around with some new pie recipes. Our poor friends never know what to expect when I show up, but being the troopers they are, I haven’t heard too many complaints, either. This comes from the Milk Bar website. You can find the original …