Dessert Recipes

This was supposed to be a pumpkin pie. I had it all planned out—the deep dish, the flaky crust from scratch, the careful lattice top … Read more

I was elbow-deep in potting soil at my local nursery, trying to decide between two identical-looking ferns, when the woman next to me—a tiny, silver-haired … Read more

The community bake sale was in three hours and I’d completely forgotten. I mean, I’d been so focused on finishing a work project that the … Read more

I was standing in the frozen food aisle of our local grocery store last Tuesday, staring at a bag of cranberries that had somehow found … Read more

There used to be a little coffee shop attached to a bookstore on the corner of Elm and 4th—the kind of place with mismatched armchairs … Read more

Jen wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to borrow a bundt pan—mine had mysteriously vanished after a friend’s birthday cake incident—and the smell … Read more

My neighbor, Mrs. Gable, watched me haul a grocery bag of canned pumpkin out of my car and didn’t say anything at first. Then she … Read more

I’m not supposed to play favorites with recipes, but this peppermint cheesecake has me completely hooked. It all started last December when my neighbor, an … Read more

I was standing in the frozen foods aisle of a grocery store I don’t normally go to last Tuesday when the cold air hit my … Read more

The holiday cookie swap was in three days and I’d completely forgotten. Everyone else would be bringing their grandmother’s legendary shortbread, intricate French sablés, or … Read more

I was standing in the canned vegetable aisle last December — a place I have no business being during the holiday rush — when this … Read more

This was supposed to be a batch of copycat Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes—the ones with the marshmallow filling and that waxy, bright green coating. … Read more

My husband claimed to hate red velvet cake for eleven years. Eleven years. He called it “chocolate that forgot to be chocolate” and swore it … Read more

The office holiday party was in 24 hours and I had completely forgotten. Everyone else would be bringing elaborate cookie platters, homemade fudge, and those … Read more

The cookie swap was in eight hours and I’d completely forgotten. Not just forgotten—I mean, I’d mentally RSVP’d “yes” with the confidence of someone who … Read more

I was standing in the frozen foods aisle last December, staring at a bag of cranberries, when the smell hit me. Not the cranberries themselves—they … Read more

I wasn’t expecting cooking advice from my accountant, but there I was, knee-deep in spreadsheets for our quarterly taxes, listening to Frank describe exactly how … Read more

I was standing in my own kitchen last Tuesday, staring at a carton of egg whites left over from making dinner, when a specific, almost-forgotten … Read more

The dinner party was in six hours and I’d completely forgotten I was supposed to bring dessert. Everyone else would be bringing those elaborate, multi-day … Read more

I swore I hated gingerbread cookies for almost a decade. The whole decade of my twenties, actually. Dry, crunchy little things that snapped in half … Read more