It all started when I ran out of vanilla extract. I’ve always been a firm believer that good-quality vanilla’s the secret to a killer chocolate chip cookie. (Well, that and plenty of brown sugar to get that caramel-y flavor.) When I ran out late Friday night, I wasn’t in the mood to load up the…

These chewy, chocolate toffee cookies use Heath bar bits to give the fudgy treats a little crunch. You can’t mess up this recipe.

This whole experiment started because I bought one too many cake mixes. I know, I know — who does that, and when is it ever a problem?! The thing is, since it’s just Nate and me at home, there isn’t much of a need for an entire vanilla cake. Plus, I’m less of a cake…

Even when I think I’ve found the perfect chocolate chip cookie, I’m always looking for a fresh riff on the recipe. I’ve tried them with oats, molasses, cream cheese, bananas, straight-off-the-back-of-the-chip bag (and I mean every chip bag), all kinds of mix-ins, the 24-hour refrigeration method, even the latest smack-the-pan-before-baking technique. So, when I ran…

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little woo-woo. Not quite hunting-down-Bigfoot-while-wearing-tin-foil-hats, but more like, I’m into trying new things, no matter how bizarre they might seem. It’s good to be open minded, right? So, when a box of Moon Dust — the very stuff raved about on Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle site, Goop — crossed my desk,…

Chocolate chip cookies are my go-to “feel productive” project. Whenever I’m spinning my wheels or feeling stuck on an issue, I take a break to pull out flour, butter, sugar and eggs, and get mixing. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, in particular, are my specialty — largely because they’re my husband Nate’s favorite, and because I…

When it comes to Thanksgiving pies, only one matters in my family’s household: Chocolate pudding pie. It’s my dad’s specialty; so coveted he has to make two whole desserts (plus several pudding cups) to keep us from stabbing each other with forks, fighting for each morsel. I’m only just barely exaggerating here. The only one…

It’s so many things! So many wonderful, lick-your-fingers-and-scoop-up-the-crumbs wonderful things! My all-time favorite banana bread recipe comes with a hearty scoop of shortening, and as delicious as it is, I’m trying to eat a smidge healthier, so I set out to create a lightened-up version. After a few “meh” attempts over the past year, I…

Last week, we shared a list of 21 Things to Do This Summer, and we found ourselves talking a lot about food. (Seriously, we need hobbies that don’t involve eating, but let’s not dwell on that right now.) Longer daylight hours somehow make us feel like there’s more time in our weeknights — perfect for a…