Dessert Recipes

It was 11:47 PM on a random Wednesday in early November, and I was supposed to be asleep. But my brain had other plans — … Read more

I wasn’t expecting party planning advice from my accountant, Mr. Henderson, but there I was, standing in line at the post office, listening to him … Read more

My neighbor Gina wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to borrow a bag of sugar—classic, I know—and this smell hit me before I … Read more

“Why can’t you just mash them with a fork?” my nine-year-old nephew asked, eyeing the potato masher I was about to dirty. I was visiting … Read more

It was 10:47 PM on a rainy Tuesday, and I had a very specific vision of a perfectly spooky Halloween cookie. I didn’t have the … Read more

My brother had claimed to hate Halloween baking for fifteen years. Fifteen years. Every October, he’d watch me fuss over royal icing and fondant with … Read more

My neighbor wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to return her measuring cup—one of those small errands you put off for weeks—and the … Read more

I wasn’t expecting to get dessert advice from the high school biology teacher at my son’s parent-teacher conference. But there I was, sitting in a … Read more

My neighbor Marcus asked me why I couldn’t just pour the pecan pie filling right over the crust and bake it like a cobbler. I … Read more

The company potluck was in twelve hours and I’d completely forgotten. I mean, I’d known about it for weeks, but somewhere between the Tuesday night … Read more

This was supposed to be a simple batch of chocolate thumbprint cookies. You know the kind—press a little indent into each dough ball, fill it … Read more

It was 11:47 PM on a random Tuesday in mid-October, and I had a very specific, almost ridiculous craving for something chocolatey, crunchy, and creepy. … Read more

I was standing in the checkout line at the hardware store last October—of all places—when the woman in front of me pulled a bag of … Read more

My brother-in-law Mark had refused to participate in Christmas dessert for seven years. Seven years of watching him wave off pie, cake, cookies—anything sweet—with that … Read more

This was supposed to be a batch of shortbread. I had my butter softened, the flour measured, and the sugar ready to go. My plan … Read more

Jen wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by her place on a random Tuesday afternoon to grab a casserole dish I’d left at her … Read more

My niece Mia asked why I couldn’t just pour the jello in layers and let it set in the fridge. I started to explain why … Read more

My neighbor, a retired baker named Mrs. Kowalski, watched me trying to pipe frosting onto a batch of sad-looking sugar cookies last October. I was … Read more

This was supposed to be a batch of pumpkin muffins. I had the recipe memorized—flour, sugar, eggs, the usual suspects. But somewhere between answering a … Read more

My neighbor Carol watched me wrestling with a wobbly piping bag one October afternoon, my kitchen counter looking like a frosting explosion had gone off. … Read more