Or should I call them “chocolate and cassia cupcakes?” What I always thought of as cinnamon apparently is not as it seems. Why is food so tricky? Remember what I found out about currants? “Ceylon” or “true” cinnamon comes from the bark of the cinnamon tree, originated in Sri Lanka and is the type of [...]
Posts under ‘Dessert’
More Granola
I’ve always loved granola. Chewy granola bars, crunchy granola bars, the granola that’s used in yogurt parfaits — I’m an equal opportunity granola eater. While not exactly low calorie, the majority of the fat found in a nutty granola is unsaturated so you don’t have to feel too guilty about eating it. As with most [...]
Blueberry Ginger Snap Ice Cream
It turns out that California and Texas have something in common other than historically belonging to Mexico. The residents of these two states have good taste… maybe not in fashion or political candidates, but at least when it comes to summertime dessert. Or maybe they just have more cows than anyone else. California and Texas [...]
Peach Kuchen
There are some family recipes whose origins are a delicious mystery. For me, that recipe is a dessert we call “peach kuchen.” If you speak German you’re probably thinking “ooh, cake” – but no, it is actually a type of tart. This tart has sliced peaches pressed into a shortbread style crust that is then [...]
Chocolate Pudding Without A Packet
Chocolate pudding is a wonderful comfort food that few people make for themselves anymore. That’s such a shame because it is really easy, tasty and satisfying to make at home. I know what you are thinking, why bother making pudding from scratch when I can dump and stir from a packet without any cooking at [...]
Blueberry Buttermilk Tart
Why light a field of blueberry bushes on fire? What I was told, growing up, is that burning the blueberry bushes after they’ve given up their crop at the end of the season makes them healthier and set for new growth in the spring. Eating blueberries is one of my memories from lazy summers in [...]
Chocolate Cherry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
What did you give your mother for Mother’s Day? My new-ish tradition is baking cookies (I know, shocking for someone who professes to hate baking cookies, but I make this sacrifice for some). Cookies have won out over other gifts because they’re easy to ship, and who doesn’t like a cookie? Really. Can you think [...]
Double Chocolate Cookies
Somewhere along our enlightened path of whole grains and health-conscious cooking, we took a detour. A very rich, very chocolatey, and very satisfying detour. There’s not much to say about these double chocolate cookies. No lengthy cultural or culinary background (see, e.g. gefilte fish, char siu bao). No romantic-ish anecdote about where the recipe comes [...]
2 + 4 + 6 + 8 = The World’s Easiest Cake
Eaten any drupes lately? If you’ve nibbled on plums, cherries, almonds, mangos, pistachios or slurped down a cup of coffee, you’ve ingested drupes – defined as fleshy fruit with a stone pit. For the World’s Easiest Cake, I like “drupaceous” plums. It’s not exactly the season yet for plums, so keep this recipe top of [...]
Chocolate and Cinnamon – A Warm and Winning Combination
The ancient Maya were on to something when they combined chocolate with spices. They knew that chocolate was delicious on it’s own but when combined with the heat of chiles or cinnamon it really sings. An easy way to try spiced chocolate is to add a little cinnamon to your next chocolate dessert recipe. Together [...]