Tag: baking
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Tales from the kitchen: Shortcrust Pastry Fruit Cups
Writing has kept me happily busy lately, and my oven has been unusually quiet. But the first hints of spring always make me crave something light, fresh, and a little sweet. These shortcrust pastry fruit cups are one of my favorite seasonal treats. Buttery little shells filled with cream and topped with colorful fruit. Sunshine…
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Tales from the Kitchen: Melted Chocolate Heart Brownies
One of the scenes in the YA novel I’m currently working on features a batch of warm, melt-in-your-mouth brownies fresh from the oven. Writing that scene made me crave them, so naturally, I had to make a batch in real life. Valentine’s Day seemed like the perfect excuse. After all, what novel involving growing teens…
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Tales from the Kitchen: Blueberry and Raspberry Cake
Nothing says October like pumpkin, apples, and spices, right? Wrong. Well, at least not for everyone. If you’re like me, who prefers a little tanginess to cakes, blueberries and raspberries are your go-to fresh ingredients. There’s no right or wrong season for baking with fresh berries—or frozen ones, for that matter. With the long summer…
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Tales from the Kitchen: Pecan Butter Balls
Pecan balls are my go-to cookie when I need something quick, easy, and delicious, especially when I’m short on time and want to show up with something homemade. They’re buttery, nutty, and basically melt in your mouth. Plus, they only take a handful of ingredients. I made a batch recently to take to a friend…
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Tales From the Kitchen: In search of the lost Costco muffin
I’m dealing with a domestic crisis over here. Someone in my household (name withheld to protect the muffin-obsessed) developed an all-out love affair with Costco’s famous jumbo chocolate muffins—the kind where you paid for one pack and got two boxes of eight. Yup, past tense, because they’ve recently been discontinued. Cue full-blown panic. The replacements…
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Tales from the Kitchen
Homemade Artisan Bread My mother made her own bread at home for longer than I can remember, and as much as I loved the warm and comforting aroma of baking bread that filled the kitchen, I couldn’t understand why she would go through so much effort week after week. Now that I’ve started making it…
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Tales From the Kitchen
Valentine’s Day Pancakes-From Scratch!