Apple Crisp Parfait
A parfait is a great party dessert — elegant looking but essentially quite simple. This one is really fun to put together, and I have the kids help me: they love to crack and crumble up into hundreds of pieces the big brown sugar crisp I’ve baked, then layer them in the parfait glasses (and [...]
Multicolored Meringues
Choose any colors you like, but use food coloring sparingly. One drop at a time. To make: 50 minutes To bake: 30-35 minutes (+ 45 minutes cooling in oven) You Will Need: 3 egg whites (medium) 3/4 cups superfine sugar 1/2 tsp cornstarch 1/2 tsp lemon juice Food coloring — red, green, yellow. Use a [...]
Peanut Butter Bears
Great for a Teddy Bear’s picnic, tea time treat, or birthday party. To make: 20 minutes To chill: 30 minutes You Will Need: 1 1/3 cups Rice Krispies 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar 2 tbsp sesame seeds 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter 3 tbsp unsalted butter To Decorate: 16 chocolate buttons or nonpareils Mini colored candies [...]
Glitzy Chocolate Puddings
If you’ve got an electric mixer — either a handheld one or a freestanding mixer — this is very low effort indeed, but it is a real showstopper. There’s something quite extraordinary about the greedy silence that falls over the table as you put these out. You can almost feel it. The glitz is provided [...]
Snickerdoodles
These tender cookies — rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before they bake — are a childhood favorite, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the adults in the family were the ones getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Dipped in hot cocoa or tucked inside a lunch bag, these lightly [...]
Mickey Mouse Cake Pops
You’ll need: 1 box cake mix (bake as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)* 1 16 oz can of ready made frosting Wax paper Baking sheet White candy coating / bark coating Black candy color Chocolate candy melts Round cookie cutter Paper lollipop sticks Styrofoam block Peanut butter morsels White candy coating (face) [...]
Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cider Icing
Subtly spiced, these tiny cakes fill your home with a comforting aroma as they bake. They would make a perfect dessert at an autumn picnic, but the kids probably wouldn’t complain if you packed one in their lunch box. Topped with a cider-laced drizzle, these are the kind of cupcakes your grandma would bake. Ingredients [...]
Fresh Veggie and Canadian Bacon Pizza with Homemade Crust
Crust: 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup set aside 1 envelope instant yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups tepid water 1 tablespoon olive oil Cornmeal for dusting the peel Toppings: 2 cups part-skim mozzarella or other reduced-fat cheese 2 medium tomatoes, sliced 2 ounces Canadian bacon, diced 2 cups sliced [...]
The Moment Between Past and Future
We’re eating soup, sitting around our beautiful oak table, the one I bought a decade and a half ago with my friend Robin in Santa Cruz, California. (“Masons,” Michael corrected me at the time, when I explained who we’d bought it from. “Masons are the people. Masonite is the Formica.”) Is it the season that does [...]
Granola
I seriously considered adjusting the last photo here-and by “adjusting,” I mean, of course, blurring out the box of Corn Chex in the background. Because it’s a bit tricky to make the case for whole grains and whole foods, for investing in your family’s health in every possible way-time, money, the womanly art of persuasion-when [...]