Tag: brown sugar

It turns out, chocolate chip cookies are a much newer invention than I would have thought. An article on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library website notes that the famous cookies were first invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield. Wakefield and her husband, Kenneth, ran the Toll House Restaurant in Massachusetts, hence the enduring “Toll House Chocolate …

Continue reading “We now know for whom the pie shell tolls”

“They have some gross cookies over here,” a gentleman said into his cell phone at a Hesston event we held this weekend, making sure to say it just loud enough for me to hear. Luckily, he was joking. Or at least I think he was. The cookies, made with lots of fresh raspberries ended up …

Continue reading “Chewy cookies can be a real ‘raspberry’ in blue”

On a recent free evening, Joey and I decided to watch a movie together, and I wanted popcorn. Of course, I couldn’t just toss a bag of microwave popcorn in to cook; I needed to make the real stuff on my stovetop. I melted a spoonful of coconut oil in a pot and waited for …

Continue reading “It’s good to have a fallback recipe for whatever pops up”

When I began writing this column over 10 years ago, I had grand illusions of people sending me their favorite recipes and me trying them. What I found was that people are normally pretty guarded with their best dishes, and even more so, everyone wanted me to tell them something new to try instead of …

Continue reading “Say ‘oui’ to this yummy overnight breakfast casserole”

I was so glad this week that the smoke detector in my kitchen isn’t particularly sensitive. As I sauteed thin slices of steak on my stovetop, the room filled with a fine smoke that my exhaust fan just couldn’t keep up with. I am normally really nervous about cooking anything on high heat. I think …

Continue reading “Make a great Asian dish like you’ve never had ‘beef’ore”

I was remarking to some friends the other day about how Joey and I are complete opposites when it comes to socializing. As an extroverted social butterfly, Joey draws his energy from being around people and generally loves a crowd. For me, while I love to socialize, I tend to be reenergized by some alone …

Continue reading “Don’t crumble under hosting pressure; make a quick and easy dessert”

If anyone tries to tell you that I don’t suffer for my art, please correct them. After all, I spent a lovely afternoon recently, shoulders deep in my oven with some Easy Off and a scrubber, all thanks to this week’s recipe. Did my oven probably need a good scrub down anyway? Yeah. Probably. But …

Continue reading “Turn cookies on their heads with these pineapple treats”

I have had cinnamon rolls on the brain lately. Making them from scratch has always intimidated me a bit, and after making a particularly dry batch a couple years ago, I just haven’t had the bravery to try them again. I have two distinctly different recipes—one from my grandma and one from my great aunt—that …

Continue reading “Overcome your baking fears and give these rolls a ‘swirl’”

I caught Joey eyeballing the bowl of peaches sitting in our fridge this week. “I’m going to use them this time,” I promised him. “They won’t end up in the freezer until next summer.” His facial expression betrayed a lack of confidence in my promises, so of course, I had to do some baking this …

Continue reading “Fresh peaches are ‘muffin’ short of delicious for breakfast”

I had a great dinner night with my family over the weekend. After going out for some greasy food, topped off with ice cream and helping my niece extract every last quarter from my purse so she could eventually win a tiny stuffed turtle from a claw machine, I headed back to my parents’ house, …

Continue reading “‘Galette’ yourself enjoy some tasty, fruit-filled pastry”