Gluten-Free Monk Fruit In the Raw Sugar Cookies for #EWR13

GF Monk In The Raw Sugar Cookies for EWR13

Before we get to these delicious gluten-free sugar cookies, let’s take a little flashback, shall we? Two years ago, I went to my first food blogging conference. I had just graduated from graduate school and decided to treat myself to Eat Write Retreat, an intimate conference for food bloggers focused on learning new skills in things like writing, food styling, photography and blog PR/social media practices. It made me realize that blogging could be more than sporadically posting yellow-tinged pictures of my dinner with a brief description underneath. It could be a thing. With styled pictures and sensory, evocative descriptions. I met people who were doing it, and doing it big. I even had the opportunity to work with brands, promoting their products and giving my own “brand” exposure. 

Flash forward to the present day… [Read more...]

UConn Sugar Cookies

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It’s rare that I post two days in a row, but let’s make an exception for these UConn sugar cookies, shall we? It’s not every day that the UConn women’s basketball team wins the National Championship (though with their 8th National Championship now behind them, it sure feels like it!) [Read more...]

Going Against the Grain: Salted Lemon Thyme Shortbread for #LeftoversClub

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Admittedly, I’m stubborn. I don’t like doing things the easy way. I take on too much. Worse still, I rarely cut myself slack. I realize this isn’t healthy, nor is it wise, but it’s a part of who I’m inclined to be and something I need to learn to change. Yesterday was a great day to start. [Read more...]

Dulce de Leche Digestive Cookies

Dulce de Leche Digestive Cookies

 

Have you ever had a day like Alexander? If you’re not familiar, he had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I wish I were a stranger to them, or that, like Alexander, I could refer to one singular day instead of days in the plural form. But, sometimes life just seems like it wants to give you a swift kick to the shins and you just have to get up and deal with it, even if it’s only going to kick you down again. Despite my growing familiarity with days like this, I’ve been unbelievably lucky these past few months. Whenever I’ve been dealt an Alexander-esque day, God seems to smile down in my direction… [Read more...]

Brown Butter Banana Madeleines with Bourbon Glaze

Brown Butter Banana Madeleines

Banana bread reminds me of my mother. This isn’t because it’s both comforting and sweet, like my mom [it is and she is]. Rather, banana bread reminds me of waking up on Saturday mornings to the house smelling like buttery, banana goodness. During the week my mom left for work before my sister and I got up for school, so weekends and days she had off were special. On those days, we got my mom’s undivided attention. And, more than that, she baked us banana bread (whoops…did I just say that? sorry, mom! love you!). [Read more...]

Salted Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almonds & Tips for Food Swapping

Salted Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almonds

I don’t have children, but I imagine one of the things I have to look forward to someday is imparting knowledge to my offspring. By this, I mean I hope to use all of my embarrassing life experiences to provide examples of what not to do. Luckily for me [and probably you too], we won’t be talking about any traumatic anecdotes today, but instead I wanted to share a few pearls of wisdom on how to approach your first food swap. [Read more...]

Nutella Shortbread Bars for #SundaySupper

Nutella Shortbread Bars

Nutella and I have a long, sordid history together. It started when I was living in Florence, Italy for a summer, pining for peanut butter, my favorite medium for stress-eating. Living in another country with 5 housemates had its trying moments and I missed the creamy comfort of Skippy schmeared on a sandwich, warm and melty on toast or sticking to my mouth straight out of the jar. At seven euro a tiny container, I couldn’t justify the price. [Read more...]

All My Life’s a Cookie Swap: Homemade Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

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The past two weeks have been the most cookie-laden weeks of my life. It all started with the #CookieSwapNYC, an event put on by Maggy Anderson-Keet and Lillian Huang of the amazing group, Bloggers Without Borders. Like most things in the blogging world, I’m a little late to the game, as this was the second annual swap, but my first time going. I’m certainly glad I did! Half of the ticket cost went to benefit WhyHunger, a leading advocate for community-based solutions to problems like poverty and hunger. I was excited to be a part of BWoB to begin with, but partnering with WhyHunger was even more meaningful for me because it was founded by Harry Chapin, who I’ve been a fan of since I was little. My mom listened to him while I was growing up and always spoke about what a good heart he had and how she admired his commitment to helping others. [Read more...]

Raspberry Thumbprints for my first #SundaySupper!

Raspberry Thumbprints

Admittedly, the holidays make me a little emotional. When I hear Perry Como sing “There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays,” I can’t help but get a tad bit weepy. Ever since moving to Pennsylvania, I’ve had a tough time not feeling left out in December because I’m four hours from home and can’t always partake in my family’s traditions. If I do get to particpate in things like decorating the tree, it has to be done before I leave for Philly the day after Thanksgiving or as soon as I get back to CT a few days before Christmas. I don’t have the luxury of taking a ton of time off, so holiday traditions seem to be a little rushed. [Read more...]

Gettin’ Beyonce with peanut butter bacon nutella cookies with smoked salt

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“If ya like it then you shoulda put some salt on it. oh oh oh…” [That's what seems to be my motto these days, anyway.] Let me explain…

[Read more...]

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