holiday baking

Add this irresistible cranberry-orange loaf cake to your holiday baking list right this very minute. Effortless in preparation, this loaf cake has a moist, tender crumb, with a sweet and tangy seasonal cranberry flavor. Lightly drizzled with glaze, this easy, fruit-forward loaf cake is perfect for breakfast, dessert, or anything in between. Unlike most cranberry […]

Pumpkin season has arrived and is in full swing so here’s my favorite pumpkin recipe this year, a pumpkin bundt cake with a chocolate-cinnamon swirl. I find it fascinating that pumpkin goes practically unspoken about for 10 months out of the year, only to creep up in September and hit hard in October. From pumpkin-spiced […]

I am a self-proclaimed cookie lover and while I don’t discriminate, I have a weakness for sugar cookies the most.  This year old-school holiday stamp cookies (aka, sugar cookies) are #1 on my holiday baking list.  July 9th is National Sugar Cookie Day but I’m a bit perplexed by that. One would think any day […]

White chocolate cranberry cookies created just for me. Well, not exactly. I say that, because none of my crew likes white chocolate or cranberries, at least in a cookie. Honestly, I find this shocking. But you know what, I’m okay with it because it means when I make them, they are all for me. And […]

Old-fashioned brown sugar peach cobbler is the perfect, simple dessert you should be making for the July 4th holiday. A Cobbler is a dessert consisting of a fruit (every so often, they can be savory) filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or at times, dumpling, before being baked. Let’s […]

The first thing my boys said to me when I made Easter bread for the first time, was; why the heck are you baking Easter eggs into the challah? Those, are Jewish kids for you. I had a good laugh, but in fairness to them, I get it. When you break it down, Easter bread […]

German Stollen, also called “Christstollen” has been around for nearly 700 years and is considered one of the most famous Christmas treats. Sweet bread and cakes flavored with candied fruits and nuts are perhaps the hallmarks of the Christmas baking season in many countries around the world.  Examples of this include; fruitcakes which are traditional […]

Vanilla and chocolate cream cheese spritz cookies are my holiday go-to this year. Soft, buttery, petite cookies in decorative designs, baked to perfection. Straight up or topped with glaze and festive holiday sprinkles make for a classic holiday cookie that’s easy to pull off during that crazy time of year. These make a wonderful cookie […]

Babka, (Yiddish for “little grandmother”), is one of the most iconic Jewish sweets there are. Considered part bread, part cake, babka is traditionally baked in a loaf pan, but can also be braided into a wreath shape (called a krantz). The secret to making a great babka is making sure there are lots of sugary twists, […]

My love of oats is no secret, if you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m a big overnight oat fan. Oats are a great addition to many things in the baking world, power bars, smoothies, dessert bars, cookies, and of course, muffins. Oats add texture and I’m a big fan of that when it comes […]

Tis the season. And by that, I mean cookie season. It’s what December has become, and in all honestly, I adore that. For me, baking cookies is calming, and a welcome escape from the grind and stress of everyday life (especially now). My love of cookies, which includes both making and eating them, has never […]

And so we approach our first COVID Christmas. Who could ever imagine this is where we would be? Cookie season is in full swing, yet to be honest, my spirits are nowhere near where they typically are this time of year. I don’t feel particularly festive. Many are back in lockdown, gatherings are not permitted […]

Popular all over Latin America, dulce de leche confections called alfajores come in many varieties. Here is my twist on this beloved classic, halvah-caramel alfajores; delicate butter cookies with an irresistible halvah-caramel center and dusted with powdered sugar that will make you swoon at first bite. I’m serious, this is the cookie to kick off cookie […]

Sufganiyot, also known as, Israeli jelly donuts or “Hanukkah donuts” are deep-fried jelly donuts that are traditionally eaten in Israel during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Here the oil used to fry the donuts, like a traditional latke, is reminiscent of the oil that miraculously burned— according to the Hanukkah story—in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. Filled […]

During the Christmas season, Americans enjoy decorated sugar cookies, the English have plum or Christmas pudding and the Italians have panettone, a sweet Milanese bread with hints of citrus, vanilla, and candied fruit. Panettone is a staple of Italian festivities dating back to the Middle Ages. Back then, people celebrated Christmas by replacing their traditional […]