On November 29, 2018, my best friend’s father, Don Beebe, passed away. Don, whom I have known since I was 11 years old, was just two weeks shy of his 88th birthday. Don introduced me to mincemeat pie as a child, something he baked every holiday season. So, with an extra helping of nostalgia,…
Category: Desserts
Butter Bar “Salad”
Andrew and I have been trying to improve our diet and fitness lately. Naturally, this involves eating more salads, exercising more, and generally getting outdoors more (difficult in Illinois this “spring”). In furtherance of our health initiative, I developed the “salad” recipe below. There are different kinds of salads in this world — green salad,…
Lemon Cobbler
I love lemons. In fact, lemon is my favorite dessert flavor, better than chocolate, better than mocha, better than pumpkin. If you ever feel yourself doubting the existence of God, make a pan of lemon bars with Meyer lemons (actually a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange), and you will understand that such…
Butterscotch Pecan Blondies
Butterscotch’s primary ingredients are butter and brown sugar. What’s not to love? Because I am a cook, I always notice the foods characters eat in books that I am reading, so much so that I am right now on my third revision of a lamb stew with prunes, inspired by the sponsor gift that Katniss…
I Scream, You Scream
The exact origins of ice cream and its inventor(s) remain some of life’s great mysteries. Historically, it is known to have existed as far back as the second century B.C. Historians conjecture that sherbet evolved into ice cream during the 16th century, and it is documented that Charles I regularly enjoyed “Cream Ice,” during the…
Buttermilk Pecan Breakfast Cake
This recipe is adapted from the Tanyard Farm Buttermilk Cake recipe published by King Arthur Flour. Tanyard Farm, in West Hartford, Vermont, is an old-fashioned, family farm that includes Jersey cows, chickens, and pigs, and vegetables and flowers. Although it no longer exists, it used to also have a bakery, where the original recipe was developed. Thanks…
Pecan Cobbler
Cobblers originated in the British American colonies. English settlers were unable to make traditional suet puddings due to lack of suitable ingredients and cooking equipment, so instead covered a stewed filling with a layer of uncooked plain biscuits or dumplings, fitted together. This recipe sounds weird when you read it, but it is extremely easy…
Erika’s Chocolate Chocolate Shortbread Pecan Pie
I love pecan pie. I hate corn syrup. Most pecan pie recipes use the loathsome ingredient, an unholy union for sure, and that is a situation that we can no longer in good conscience tolerate. What is corn syrup? It’s a tacky, syrupy substance made from corn starch and contains maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on…
Spumoni Drop Cookies
Spumoni (from spuma, meaning foam), is an Italian flavor of ice cream containing chocolate, fruits (usually cherries) and nuts (typically pistachio). Like Neapolitan ice cream, it is created in layers, and it is very popular in countries with large Italian populations such as the US and Argentina. (I am a US citizen of Argentine descent, so…
Honey Orange Cake with Honey Cream Mascarpone Frosting with Orange Essence
Honey is a magical, sweet and healthy food made by bees using the nectar of flowers. Humans have been collecting honey for at least 8,000 years, as depicted in ancient cave drawings in Valencia, Spain. The ancient Egyptians, Eurasians, Indians, Chinese, Romans and Mayans all cooked with honey. The Hindus believed it to be…
