This was a busy and happy summer for my family, since my baby sister Tara and her boyfriend Jim tied the knot over Labor Day weekend. I was beyond flattered (and admittedly a little terrified) when she asked me to make her cake, but she stressed it would be a small wedding, and I could […]

If there was ever a perfect cookie for me, this is it. These gifts from heaven are chewy, brown sugary, the size of hamburgers, and loaded with tart dried cherries, toasted pecans, oats, and chocolate chips. Truth be told, I would have liked these just fine without the chocolate chips, but since I was bringing them to […]

Is anything as iconic in the realm of hand-held American desserts as the chocolate chip cookie? As I learned when I made Team Toll House Cookies, the first chocolate chip cookie was made in 1930 by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.  The Toll House recipe is a classic, and since I am a sucker for […]