Hong Kong Style French Toast

My hands-down favorite dessert to order at Hong Kong cafes growing up was Hong Kong Style French Toast (西吐司). Unlike traditional French toast, this classic Western-inspired recipe is made with thick fluffy bread slides and peanut butter (or sweetened condensed milk) sandwiched in the middle!

You know how people say weird things like “I love you like a fat kid loves chocolate cake”? Don’t get me wrong: chocolate cake is pretty darn amazing. This year, though, I’m petitioning the Global Committee of Overused Catchphrases to update this (terribly outdated and somewhat unsavory) simile to something a little more fun. Something … Read more

7 Gluten-free Recipes to Get You Through Social Distancing

How’s the social distancing been treating you guys so far? As recently as last month, I had never even heard the term “social distancing,” but this abrupt new guideline has translated into a LOT of spare time in my apartment, which suddenly feels as tiny and constricting as a Victorian corset. So naturally, I’ve begun doing what I always do when I’m stuck at home, stressed, or grappling with the existential reality of a worldwide crisis: Baking. Lots of it.

Of course, chances are many of your grocery store aisles have been swept clean by panic-goaded herds of … Read more

Honey Fruit Waffle Parfaits

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #VansFoodsWaffles #vansfoods #CollectiveBias Sometimes I do silly things: for instance, signing up for my second half-distance triathlon, which will be coming up in May (eeks! remember when I used to joke about this being a real thing?). And then sometimes I do incredibly smart things: say, making the best post-training snack EVER in the form of these Honey Fruit Waffle Parfaits.

The toughest part about training for a long-distance sport isn’t the time. It isn’t the energy, or the ten workouts … Read more

Drama-Free Cinnamon Rolls {Using a Bread Maker!}

It’s a new year featuring dramatic lighting, dramatic photos, and–you got it–these absolutely drama-free cinnamon rolls (made with a bread maker)!

Whether or not you own a bread machine, the only thing you need to know about them is this: they are legally, certifiably authentic products of WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY. If there’s one thing I always dread making from scratch, it’s bread–in small part because the zombie toast in the video game Overcooked 2 is really terrifying, but mostly because I suck at it. Overkneading, underkneading…Every crime against dough that you can ever imagine has been committed in my … Read more

One-Bowl Sour Cream Coffee Cake (with Brown Sugar Crumb Topping)

You know you’ve hit the recipe jackpot when your usually self-moderating co-worker eats not three–not four–but FIVE slices of the dessert you bring to work in one sitting, and several senior executives stop by your desk to proffer glowing reviews what they declare to be their new favorite sweet treat. Friends: Meet this One-Bowl Sour Cream Coffee Cake (with Brown Sugar Crumb Topping) that you absolutely need in your life right now. Friends, cake. Cake, friends!

If you’re like me, you LOVE a healthy dose of crumb topping on any sweet you meet…which is why, when I started writing … Read more

Extra-Easy Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

This Extra-Easy Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips is the perfect treat for the beginning baker. Filled with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and ripe bananas, this recipe requires only one bowl and minimal brainpower to create. Sub in healthy extras such as walnuts, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds for an extra-healthy kick! (This post is sponsored by OXO. All opinions are, as always, 100% my own.) #OXOBetter ##healthyishcookbook

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There’s nothing more joyful to me than coming home to a deskful of sweet treats or baking supplies. When I went home last week to take care of family … Read more

The Perfect Muffin for Chocolate Lovers

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The holidays are here! Sorry for the shortage of posts lately: I spent the last few weeks braving REAL winter and cavorting through the chilly climes of Cancun…

Just kidding! Cancun, as you can probably imagine, was amazing, winter weather included. We spent our early December days simply basking under the tropical sun at our seaside resort, dipping our feet in the warm Caribbean waters, and trekking through some of the gorgeous intra-cavern rivers that wound their way through the old Mayan ruins in Xcaret. Needless to say, I was spoiled silly and am making a rather graceless transition back … Read more

Mini Churro Donut Muffins

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If you love churros, donuts, and the excuse to justifiably eat them both for breakfast–trust me, these sugary babies are for you.

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Mini Churro Donut Muffins are, as their name implies–ahem–the perfect balanced breakfast food. Okay, so they’re rolled in glorious cinnamon sugar post-baking, and maaaaybe they’re more like a donut/cake than a muffin–but they’re baked instead of fried, which has got to count for something…right?

And that makes them okay to consume for breakfast.

And lunch.

And dinner.

And maybe dessert, if your stretchy pants are feeling particularly stretchy.

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We’ve been having a lot of sweets around here lately…and … Read more

Fluffy White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

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I never used to love scones. They always looked so bland sitting on the tray of continental breakfast pastries that I never gave them a second glance as I reached for an apple Danish or blueberry streusel muffin—poor dry, dusty hockey pucks!

Then a few years ago, I had my conversion moment. It happened during one of my friend’s weekly movie nights. We had all just settled down for the opening sequence of Singin’ in the Rain when she brought out a tray of scones—warm, buttery, fragrant scones that resembled their hotel counterparts about as much as Dobby looks like … Read more

Easy DIY Peanut Butter Honey Greek Yogurt Scoops

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Have you ever heard that saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”?

Well, I’ve got a will–so can we pleeeeeease just have a few more weeks of summer? Please?

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Not that I have any reason to complain: here in the southern locales, the sun is still beaming and the temperature these days ranges from a svelte high 80s to a sweat-bullet-projecting low 100s…

But then again, who ever needed a REAL reason to gripe anyway? If we all waited for legitimate concerns to crop up before we started moaning and groaning about them, I’d never get to embark on … Read more