Recipes

If baking them on a dark, nonstick baking sheet, reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees (this is a good general rule for all baking).

The best things about soda bread -- in cookie form.

Apples baked in cider somehow taste more of themselves. It goes without saying that this is comfort food, easy to put together and pop in the oven just as soon as dinner is underway. If possible, use cider from a farm stand or farmer’s market—it has a deeper, more concentrated flavor than the grocery store brands, which wash out in comparison. The comfort extends to those times when you are not eating dessert for self-improvement purposes, but want something just a little sweet. These won’t do much damage. You can even omit the sugar if you want to feel pure.

This dessert is a joy to prepare, bake, eat and love! The beautiful fluffy batter transforms in the oven to a billowy cloud of crust that puffed over the pie plate edges after about twenty minutes! Worried that I did something wrong, I gently coaxed the sides back in, which settled the crust back to the bottom of the plate. My crust was done in 25 minutes. wanderash calls for 5 extra-large egg whites, so to compensate for the large size ones I had on hand, I used 6 whites (maybe that explains the billowing). Nevertheless, it came out beautifully. I used sliced peaches from my own trees (last year) and the filling was delicious. I made a syrup first, reduced it, then added the sliced peaches so they wouldn't disintegrate. Instead of flavoring the whipped cream with vanilla, I used a touch of pure almond extract to accentuate the almond flavor in the meringue. An absolute standout editor's pick!

These are very good cookies -- chewy and hearty and not as ugly as the name implies. The hazelnut definitely shines through more distinctively than the almond but the overall rich, nutty and toffee-like flavor was great. Next time, I'd make sure to grease the baking sheet and consider making them smaller than the 2.5-tablespoon heaps (might help with the ugliness -- anything teeny is infinitely cuter). These were delicious with a cup of good, strong coffee.

This is a traditional bread pudding (if the traditional bread pudding was on a tropical vacation, that is). Coconut, raisins, brown sugar, and rum come together to create a truly sweet dessert. The recipe would probably work just well with a variety of other breads, so don’t be afraid to try it with whatever you may have on hand.

This is a standard royal icing recipe. You will find many different variations online but I find this one works best for me.

This recipe is a version of one passed down from my great-great grandma. Thanks to an old beaten-up recipe card, these donuts are a family legacy.

2 drinks (can easily be doubled)

Brownies with all the classic fruitcake goodies...well, okay, not those scarily colored red and green mystery candied fruits, but you get the point. Lots of dried fruit and nuts surrounded by melt-in-your-mouth deep chocolate brownies.