Frosted Gingerbread Bars

Frosted Gingerbread Bars

Most of my childhood memories revolve around food. And being upset when little girls made fun of my clothes. So yeah, I’d rather think about the food.

There was a cookie shop (a Mrs. Fields-type place) in the student union of the university where my parents worked. Sometimes, we’d go visit my dad at work, and on a really good day, we’d get a big gingerbread man as a treat. Or at least, it seemed big. If I looked at the cookie as an adult, it would probably be tiny.

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Linzer Cookie Bars

Linzer Cookie Bars

Do you ever wake up with a crick in your neck?

I never used to. I honestly never felt much pain at all in my now squandered youth. But these days, this persistent and quite literal pain in my neck just pops up most mornings and reminds me of my mortality. If I try to stretch it out or massage it, people just look at me funny. And since my mornings start with tons of students, it’s better to leave well enough alone.

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Peanut Butter (Reduced) Sugar Cookie Bars

Peanut Butter (Reduced) Sugar Cookie Bars

A few months ago, a reader wrote in to ask if I ever make recipes that are lower in sugar. To be honest, I typically don’t. My dessert approach is extreme, but to clarify, my lifestyle doesn’t reflect what I do on this site.

I love dessert. And so when I enjoy it, which is every day, I enjoy it at its best. But I also do so in moderation. Every recipe on this site gets tested by yours truly, but after those initial bites, the rest goes to other people. Sometimes I eat quite a bit more than a few bites, or something is just too amazing to give away. But I also temper that with lean proteins, veggies, and a daily and extremely rigorous exercise schedule.

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Double Fudge-Glazed Brownies (Gluten-Free!)

Double Fudge-Glazed Brownies (Gluten-Free!)

I never used to think about when I ate. Until I had children.

Turns out, kids like to eat on a schedule. A predictable one. They like to know that they’ll eat, I guess. Constantly. And as a result, I now always contemplate my next snack or meal as well. I think I used to spend that spare energy napping.

But seeing as how I haven’t napped since 2008, I spend a lot of time preparing meals and snacks for my brood. You’d think that I’d be eating a lot more as a result, but I kind of lose my appetite after I’m done fetching milk and napkins and yogurt squeezies and more napkins to wipe up the spilled milk and then more milk because, you know, it spilled.

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Triple Chocolate Cheese-Filled Brownies

Triple Chocolate Cheese-Filled Brownies

Help! There’s a chocolate shortage!

I’m not kidding, you guys. I just saw this article and I’m freaking out! I don’t want this to happen. How can we stop this from happening? Now I feel really awful about using so much chocolate all the time. This is my fault!

And this post isn’t helping, either. I swear I made these before I learned about the shortage. But I can see that really, using three times the amount of chocolate that I need to in a recipe might be going too far. But isn’t that what makes baking fun?

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Black And White Cookie Dough Fudge Bars

Black and White Cookie Dough Fudge Bars

I’m about to go on a little rant here. Y’all ready?

I have very strong feelings about food safety. A few years ago, Nestle released a batch of tainted cookie dough and a few people ate it raw. One woman died. And Nestle closed their plant to clean it and disinfect it, but the bottom line is, somebody made a huge mistake.

The same thing has happened with bags of salad mix. I mean, really. Tainted spinach? And peanut butter. How did salmonella get into peanut butter? And of course, eggs and raw meats are always an issue.

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Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

I’ve noticed that my fellow bloggers are moving on to peppermint. That means Christmas, right? No more pumpkin? But it’s not Thanksgiving yet!

And I might also take this moment to reveal that I hate mint. Put down that pitchfork! Sorry, but it reminds me of toothpaste. I can’t associate toothpaste with dessert. I’ve tried. I’ve failed. It’s over.

So will you see any mint recipes on this blog? Maybe. I can put aside my personal feelings and bake with mint every now and then. But I won’t be jumping on that holiday peppermint bandwagon. It’s just not who I am.

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Peanutty Magic Bars

Peanutty Magic Bars

I have to love my office the day after Halloween. Teacher after teacher troops in and I watch as each one sighs and drops a bag of leftover candy on the table for people to share. “Gotta get rid of this,” they say, eyeing the candy with great misgiving, “or I’ll eat it all.”

I scoop up the Reese’s and Snickers and Twix and M & Ms, shove them in my desk drawer, and have snacks for the next few weeks. Believe me, I have no qualms about having candy around. It doesn’t bother me at all. Candy was meant to be eaten!

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Maple-Glazed Bronuts

Maple-Glazed Bronuts

I warned you this was coming. The mashup of all mashups. The moment in my baking career all will look back upon and point to as that one, special instant when everything came together.

Or maybe it’s just a nice post for a nice day.

Boys, this one’s for you. You like beer. You like donuts. And your feminine counterparts are pretty wild for brownies and anything with maple syrup. Actually, we like beer and donuts, too. Why gender stereotype?

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Peanut Butter Intensity Bars

Peanut Butter Intensity Bars

Hey, it’s been almost a week since I’ve posted a PB and chocolate recipe. In my world, that’s one week too long!

There are times when life gets a little intense, friends. This is one of those times. It’s been a rough month, and reading the newspaper really doesn’t help. I don’t understand how people can watch the news before they go to bed. Do they want to have nightmares? Lie awake in their beds imagining worst-case scenarios?

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