Almost-Homemade Cake

While I do have recipes for from-scratch cake – and I’ve even made them – a boxed cake is somehow so much easier. But is it delicious? Not particularly. I found a series of online recipes that claimed you could “doctor” box cake mix to make it taste super-yum. But really, if you’re adding this … Read more

Chiffon Cake

I was asked to bring dessert to Easter dinner this year. After sending 4 choices over to Jay and the kids – lemon layer cake, strawberry pie, berry tart and something called “Easter cake” – the vote came back 3-2 for the Easter cake. Having already made them an angel food cake for their birthday, … Read more

Potato Donuts

This recipe comes from one of my favorite TikTokers, B Dylan Hollis. I made them with my friend Birdie one rainy afternoon using her electric deep fryer. They make a rather heavy, but melt-in-your-mouth donut that’s not quite a cake donut and not quite a raised donut. The cashiers at Trader Joe’s loved them!! Varieties: … Read more

Strawberry Angel Food Cake

I had volunteered to make the kids’ birthday cake and asked them what kind they wanted. I was really surprised that they both wanted angel food cake!! (I mean, who actually likes angel food cake??) It turns out that this is a fussy, pain in the ass cake to make – even though it’s so … Read more

Cherry Pie

It was my mom’s 81st birthday (or would have been) yesterday; and since she always asked for cherry pie instead of birthday cake, I decided to make one in her honor. I used this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction (the same folks who gave me this awesome bagels recipe). But I’ve got a few notes: … Read more

Oatmeal-chocolate-chip-raisin cookies

The top note in this recipe is definitely the oatmeal. Meaning, your first bite tells your brain, “This is an oatmeal cookie.” The raisins give it the chew and fruity sweetness I find I can’t do without in an oatmeal cookie; and the chocolate chips just bring the whole thing home. I’m thinking that some … Read more

Jello Salads

Ahhhhhh 2020, are there no limits to the havoc you will wreak? You’ve got me eating Jell-O! Mixed with Cool-Whip and sour cream, no less!!! Side bar: on all these recipe blogs I researched for this compilation, the writer always feels the need to clarify that we aren’t talking about salad, as in lettuce and … Read more

Coconut Macaroons

Holy moley, are these good!!! And sooooooo superior to anything you can buy at the store. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and a filling dose of healthy coconut besides. Plus they’re so easy! If you want them a little chocolatey, stir a few chocolate chips into the batter before baking. Way easier … Read more

Vanilla Pudding

This fast, easy homemade pudding is delicious on its own. But it’s also the base for all kinds of desserts: cream pies – add sliced bananas or other fruit and pour into a baked pie shell Boston cream pie – which is actually vanilla cake with pudding instead of frosting between the layers, and chocolate … Read more

Swedish rosettes

These cookies have lost part of their charm for me, now that a similar confection is so widely available at street fairs. Sometimes called an elephant ear, sometimes just “fried dough,” it’s all basically the same – a very simple batter deep fried and then dusted heavily with powdered sugar. The addition of the lemon … Read more