While on vacation in France, I indulged in so many fresh baguettes and pastries. Since returning home, I’ve been craving that same fresh quality, but without the hefty grocery store prices and unnecessary ingredients. So, I decided to give bread baking another try and refine my skills until it becomes second nature – something I can easily fit into my weekly routine. Honestly, nothing compares to a fresh loaf straight from the oven so it’s a worthwhile pursuit!

I’ve had a long hiatus from baking sourdough bread. Last year’s chaotic schedule and my dormant starter sitting in the fridge kept me from fitting baking into my routine. However, with my summer class now over and a renewed interest in self-sufficiency, I found the inspiration to start baking bread again. Unfortunately, my dormant starter had turned moldy and unusable. I tried to cultivate a new starter using a dry starter mix, but the fermentation activity never took off.

I have been searching for the perfect brownie recipe since I first started baking, and this is THE ONE. In the past, I’ve struggled with cakey dry brownies, brownies that lacked a rich chocolatey flavor, crispy brownies… you name it, I’ve baked it. I almost gave up on making them because they were so variable every time. But alas, the craving for chocolatey goodness hit me again, and I gave it another shot. And thank goodness I did!! This batch came out perfect – crackly top, melt-in-your-mouth soft, full-bodied chocolatey fudgy goodness.

This past holiday weekend, I decided to make pumpkin pie as a final hurrah to the pumpkin season. Instead of making a full 9″ pie, I made little tarts so I could gift some to my friends. With smaller tarts, there was no need to blind bake the crust and it also resulted in a higher crust to filling ratio, win-win! These tarts blew away all my expectations and I’ve deemed them the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had. The silky pie filling contrasted well with the flaky butter crust, and it was lightyears beyond the drabby refrigerated pumpkin pies that we bought in previous years. Needless to say, I will be making my own pumpkin pie from now on!

This past weekend, as I pondered my afternoon snack, I thought of these shortbread cookies. They’re light, crumbly, and pair perfectly together with a warm cup of tea and a good book. I usually add variations to my cookies, as I’m not a fan of just plain shortbread, so I decided to use up some tea leaves I had sitting around. The tea adds a hint of floral / earthy notes and balances the butteriness of the cookie quite well.

About a month ago, I made Levain Bakery’s Chocolate Chip Walnut cookies and have not stopped dreaming about them. Rich, thick, gooey golden mounds of happiness. I received order requests the week after I made them, and recently received another request for those delicious cookies. However, instead of the traditional chocolate chip walnut, I wanted to experiment with a new flavor. My favorite flavor. DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER.

As I was cleaning out my pantry, I found several jars of odds & ends ingredients. Chia seeds that I never touched, a leftover chocolate baking bar, nuts, oats. I’m a big fan of clearing out the food I have in my pantry before grocery shopping, so that’s how I thought of making these energy balls. They’re a breeze to make, healthy & delicious, and you can keep a batch in the fridge for when the snack cravings hit.

After making this banana bread, I wasn’t sure if I could ever buy another slice at the store. This was not only the best banana bread I’ve MADE, but the best banana bread I’ve ever EATEN. Seriously, I would just skip to the recipe now and get started. And get back to this intro while it’s baking in the oven.

This quarantine has really set off a few trends that I’m sure many will come to remember Covid-19 for. The hoarding of toilet paper, whether Carole Baskin killed her husband, and the viral dalgona coffee.

Lately, I’ve been really into mug cakes. For one, I have a major sweet tooth so it’s a rare occasion when I’m not craving sugary carbs. But especially with the shelter-in-place orders here in San Francisco, most of my favorite bakeries have shuttered their doors. Baking a dozen muffins is also not logical, since I can’t share them with my neighboring friends. So I’ve had to experiment with single serving mug cakes and this is my best recipe yet!