I found another stand with deep red strawberries, even though they were on the very small side. Some were bruised, but I chose the best ones I could find. I’d been picturing a strawberry shortcake croissant in my head all week—essentially a round danish with an insert of cake, whipped cream, and macerated strawberries on top. I even got some cornflowers to decorate it with.

Then came the next hurdle: my croissant dough. Like I said, it’s been hot, and that doesn’t make a great environment for lamination—but I really love to push the limits and then be annoyed when things don’t come out perfectly! While trying to keep my butter cold enough during the folding, I ended up shattering it. I continued the process and proofed and baked some the next day anyways, but they looked like shit, so I accepted my defeat.

I segued to a batch of brioche, which I always let ferment in the fridge overnight, and I made a batch of pastry cream. With the brioche format, I decided the cake insert wasn’t necessary anymore. I proofed my rolls the next day, tore into them and piped the pastry cream inside, and baked them until golden brown. After the oven, I topped them with quartered strawberries and sprinkled on some cornflowers. They came out beautiful!

This longwinded story is all to say that even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. I’m trying to learn to go with the flow more and not be so stubborn about things… and I’m not talking uniquely about baked goods here. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Strawberry & Cream Brioche Buns

Makes 6

Ingredients:
1/2 batch prepared brioche
Egg wash

For the pastry cream:
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp unsalted butter

For assembly:
1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped cream

1. Prepare the brioche dough if you haven’t already. I like to mix it the day before and refrigerate the dough it overnight.

2. Make the pastry cream (this can also be done the day before!): in a mixing bowl, whisk together the yolks, cornstarch, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and salt. Add the whole milk and remaining 1/4 cup sugar to a medium pot with the vanilla paste and bring to a simmer.

3. Whisk about half of the warm milk into the yolk mixture, then pour it back into the pot and cook on low-medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled.

4. Divide the dough into 80g portions. Roll into balls and place on a lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until very puffy.

5. Preheat the oven to 375º F / 190º C.

6. With damp fingers, make a hole in the center of each roll (video here if you need a reference!). Fill generously with the pastry cream (~2 tbsp).

7. Egg wash the dough and place in the oven. Bake 15 to 17 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and let cool.

8. Meanwhile, combine quartered strawberries in a small bowl with 1 tbsp sugar. Set aside to macerate.

9. Add more pastry cream to the buns if desired (it most likely will have collapsed after baking). Cover with a generous scoop of whipped cream.

10. Use a wet spoon to make a divot in the whipped cream, then top with macerated strawberries. Enjoy!!!

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The Parisian heatwaves have been getting worse each summer, so naturally we ended up visiting during the second one this year. It was around 95º F each day, and even at 8pm it would still be 90º. We brought a small handheld fan with us that we ordered online and I’m being so so serious when I say that $20 purchase was a lifesaver for this trip. We stayed in Paris for 4 nights, then went to Copenhagen for a wedding (much cooler there!). We flew back to Paris for one more night before returning to Los Angeles, and the weather was much nicer for that final evening we spent with friends.

A lot of my list is around the 11th arrondissement and Le Marais. I’m a creature of habit and we often stay in this neighborhood. It’s so walkable and easy to access the metro, so I recommend it if you’re looking for a neighborhood to stay in!

Brigat’

This is a new-to-me bakery that opened in 2021, but somehow I never went until just this year. The pastry case is beautiful and filled with tarts, cakes, and stunning laminated pastries. They offer plenty of bread as well, but I didn’t try any this trip. Make sure you grab the brioche feuilletée!! It was one of my favorite pastries I had during my entire trip. (6 Rue du Pas de la Mule, 75003)

Boulangerie Utopie

My old favorite since I lived in Paris in 2015. Located in the 11th, it’s right down the street from a cafe I used to bake in. They’re a little more experimental than the typical neighborhood bakery, with things like black sesame rolls and different types of savory pain suisse. I love their baguette, chocolate almond croissant, and ham and cheese croissants! The run of the mill croissant are all excellent as well. Bonus points because the employees are super friendly and helpful.
(20 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011)

Du Pain et Des Idées

“Bread and Ideas.” A weekday bakery that’s been popular with tourists since forever ago. Should you go? If you’re nearby and a banana nutella croissant or pistachio croissant scroll sound good to you, why not? I had a friend who worked here for a while and visiting her is such a cute memory. The fig & almond pastry is amazing if you happen to be there during the right season.
(34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010)

Jacques Genin

A chocolate and candy shop in Le Marais. It’s air conditioned (for the sake of the products) and feels like a chocolate shop combined with a luxury designer store. The staff wear gloves for handling the treats as they box them up, and present them to you before sealing them. The pâte des fruits are tasty (we brought some assortments back for friends!) and the chocolates are superb. Try something with tonka bean since it’s banned in the United States.
(133 Rue de Turenne, 75003)

Folderol

A new ice cream shop with a fridge full of natural wine… Which is the best concept I’ve heard of in a long time! I was texting my friend Beth before our trip and she said we needed to try it, and funnily enough, they were having a pop up in LA at Bar Etoile the same weekend we were in Paris. Small world! They have two locations. Apparently, Dua Lipa took a photo at their original location and started a craze. Every ice cream I tried was great, especially the olive oil. Wine selection was A+ as well.
(10 Rue du Grand Prieuré, 75011 )

Tapisserie

I’m recommending something that I didn’t get to try (gasp!). I’ve meant to go here on my last two trips to Paris, but time really has a way of flying by when you wanna go to a million different spots and you’ve got less than a week. Please go and let me know what you think! Everything I’ve seen looks so good.
(65 Rue de Charonne, 75011)

Caractère du Cochon

I really hate lines, but when I’m on vacation, I’m willing to wait a bit longer since it’s a unique experience (and I have nowhere else to be). This sandwich shop is certainly no secret: it’s got a line no matter what time you seem to stop by. We finally decided to wait on a Wednesday at 11am, and even though there were only about 4 people ahead of us, the wait was still 30 minutes. It’s okay, though, because it was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. As it should be, because it was €20.
(42 Rue Charlot, 75003)

Dreamin Man

The coffee scene in Paris is really strong (just like the cold brew), and there’s nothing like sitting in a teeny little cafe with a cappuccino first thing in the morning. Dreamin Man has great homemade pastries (the canelés are perfect, and the scones are good, too!), exceptional coffee, and it’s always buzzing with a cool crowd. Don’t miss it!
(140 Rue Amelot, 75011 - locations in the 1st and 3rd as well)

A La Renaissance

Let’s talk about dinner. The first night we arrived, we wanted something classic and easy. recommended A La Renaissance, a neighborhood bistro with a natural wine list. Maximo and I shared a beautiful stone fruit and tomato salad, a delicious platter of steak frites, and several glasses of wine on the terrace while being perfumed with cigarette smoke in 90º weather. C’est la vie!
(87 Rue de la Roquette, 75011)

Le Grand Cafe

My friend Frank (Cake Boy Paris) suggested this restaurant when we asked him for his favorite. It was stunning! The bar, the interior, the terrace… Literally one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve seen. We shared cheese, steak au poivre, a gorgeous cantaloupe and melon dish, crème brûlée, and the best pommes purée I’ve ever had. Highly recommend for an unforgettable experience!
(1 Pl. Clemenceau, 75008)

Le Petit Célestin

Another recco from Frank – we went here for dinner with him and his partner James. It’s right by the Seine and offers classic bistro dishes, so we got steak frites again (I know… tons of steak on this trip!) and shared some charcuterie. The spritzes were spritzing and having a final meal here was such a pleasant way to end our trip to Europe. I must tell you the lemon meringue tart was impressive looking, but not the best, so try something else. Definitely stroll by the river after if you go here!
(12 Quai des Célestins, 75004)

Other Activities, In No Particular Order

• Swimming in the Seine. I believe it’s a bit of a controversial activity among Parisians, but we really had to cool off. No regrets.

• Shopping at the APC Surplus store in the 18th.

• Wearing nice (new-ish) loafers to dinner, but having to Uber back to the Airbnb to change before we got to the restaurant because my feet were killing me. And they’re still healing…

• Waiting in line at Holybelly because one morning we really wanted a classic breakfast plate.

• Buying way too much shit at Merci, like we do every time we visit.

• Going to the Ron Dorff store for gay apparel. I got the cutest new shorts!

• Trying the Cedric Grolet croissant shaped doughnuts and being disappointed (I should have known better).

• Figuring out you need an app for the metro now instead of the paper tickets. I knew this was a thing already, but when it catches you off guard, it’s confusing!

I recently partnered with Cuisinart on a summertime social campaign and I was sent their ice cream maker to use for the collab. I’ve always had the KitchenAid ice cream bowl, but I was excited to try a standalone ice cream machine! It looks nice and it’s a bit quieter than the KitchenAid, plus, you can peek in the top of the machine to see your ice cream churning, or to add your mix-ins when it’s almost done. Someone commented on my video of the soft and chewy cookies last year saying “these would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches!” and I held onto that until this summer, when the prophecy would finally come true.

Speaking of prophecies… WHO is watching House of the Dragon because my stomach is in knots literally every single episode. LAST NIGHT?!

This is actually my first ice cream recipe I’m sharing here. Ice cream is not that hard to make… it’s more about time and patience than a super complex recipe. Let me just tell you, straight up, that these sandwiches are a multiple day process. There’s not that much active time, though — the bulk of the time is spent waiting on the base to chill, waiting on the ice cream to freeze, and waiting on the final cookies to freeze as well. Annoying, but worth it!

I think the #1 most important thing to consider when making cookie ice cream sandwiches is this: you do not want to over bake or even fully bake the cookies you’re using. They need to be a little bit under and gooey, or they’re going to freeze super hard and barely be edible (trust me! I’ve done it!). This means baking the cookies for 2 or even 3 minutes under the recommended time. They should be just barely firm enough to pick up, and if they’re not, pop them in the freezer to solidify before sandwiching. Otherwise, you get the classic sandwich dilemma (ice cream or not) of biting into it and the fillings slipping out.

The vanilla ice cream for this recipe is a super easy, classic formula with egg yolks and a little cornstarch which acts as a stabilizer and thickener. After heating the milk and some of the sugar, temper it into the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and cornstarch. Return to the pot and cook for a few minutes until thickened, then strain it through a sieve and refrigerate overnight. While it’s curing, make sure your ice cream bowl is freezing for at least 18 hours, preferably 24. I once had an issue with churning my ice cream in the past and it turned out my freezer wasn’t on a cold enough setting, so the ice cream bowl would never get cold enough. That was fun to learn about!

Grab the cookie dough recipe for these sandwiches below:

Let’s start with the easy one: Chewy Lemon Blondies! These take 10 minutes, and it’s ridiculously difficult to eat just one. It’s as easy as melting butter, whisking in the sugars and eggs, and folding in the dry ingredients—all by hand. I really love a reliable, quick bake. Try these ones and I guarantee you’ll be baking them again. I used two (optional but incredible) special ingredients in the recipe: King Arthur Lemon Crumbles and Nielsen Massey Lemon Paste. I had never used either, and now I’m a total convert. The lemon crumbles melt in your mouth and take these blondies to the next level. I love them so much I’ve already ordered a second bag. The lemon paste is punchy, delicious, and bumps the citrus factor up a big notch. Aside from the blondies, it would be great in a donut glaze, a poundcake, or even a buttercream. Somewhat pricy, but it lasts a while and I’ve barely put a dent in the jar that I was sent.

Next up, Oatmeal Cream Pies with Marshmallow Filling. This is a recipe I originally created 6 years ago, but with a brown sugar marshmallow instead. It was one of my first recipes that got some traction online, and I really enjoyed working with Sara Jampel at King Arthur on the revised recipe because she had a lot of valuable insight. We made them a bit smaller, which is actually better—I tend to make everything bakery sized and then people can only finish half of it. One thing with this recipe is that it’s really hard to make a small batch of marshmallow, so there’s some leftover. I like to spread the remaining bit into a pan and let it set, then slice it into cubes and keep in a container tossed with powdered sugar. They last a good week or two (maybe longer but they didn’t make it in my house), and I made a few broiler s’mores with them which came out so good! The really nice thing about these sandwich cookies is they feel lighter than ones filled with frosting. People think they only want a bite or two, but they end up finishing the entire thing. My friend José was really obsessed with them and said he’d never had homemade marshmallow!

For the two recipes in this newsletter, I’ve linked out to the King Arthur website, where you can find them perfectly formatted along with some comments from reviewers. I always get nervous reading the reviews, but they’re positive! If you’re looking for a quick bake, go for the Chewy Lemon Blondies. If you’re an advanced baker or you wanna experiment with making your own marshallow, try the Oatmeal Cream Pies. But! There’s also an easier filling option on that recipe in the “tips” section if you want to make a quick frosting instead. :)

On a personal note, I have been away from Substack for a bit and I’ve missed writing for you all. I just shot my largest social collab yet with a great brand (coming next week to my Instagram and TikTok!), which I’m so so excited about. I’ll also be sharing the recipe for that one here. Hint: it’s a cold one!

Besides that big project, I’ve been continuing my contributions to AllRecipes, and I’ve had 3 new recipes drop over there in the last month. Another new one is coming next week… it’s really good, tbh! I’ll be sharing a summer baking digest in a couple weeks to round everything up in one place.

In 3 weeks, Maximo and I will be going on our summer vacation to Paris (so stoked to be back there) and Copenhagen! If you have any recommendations for either, send them my way! I’m very familiar with the Paris food scene but I may be missing newer spots. Copenhagen is totally new to me as I’ve never been—cannot waittt to try the pastries!

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When I was working my first job at Great American Cookies, M&M cookies were probably our most popular item. We also made cookie cakes, colossal cookies, and “double doozies” (a sickening combo of two cookies plus overly sweet frosting from a bucket). These larger-than-life M&M cookies I’m sharing today would fall under the “colossal” category. Make them for your kids or nieces or nephews, your friends, or yourself. I made them to share with friends while we played a game of Risk: Europe, which has become one of our favorites lately. I recommend it if you like strategy games but maybe don’t want to play a 4 or 5 hour game of classic Risk! This version takes maybe 2 hours.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! I think I’ll be feeling back to normal tomorrow, so this Sunday we’re gonna have a little cookout in our backyard. My friend Danielle is bringing potato salad, I’ll be grilling hotdogs, and Maximo will most likely be batching some kind of margaritas for us. If you need some other sweet options for MDW, might I recommend:

• Homemade Banana Puddin’

• Simple & Sweet Strawberry Shortcakes

• Easy Lime Tart with Biscoff Crust

• Blueberry Cornflake Muffins

• 3 Ingredient Lemon Possets

For smaller cookies: scoop the cookies into 2 ½ tbsp portions (~65ish grams each). Bake 12 to 14 minutes instead.

I love making tarts, especially ones where you prepare multiple components and assemble them together in the end. Without a wet filling holding it down (echem, pie), your tart crust can fully bake to its crisp, golden brown potential. You can cook your filling as far as you want, be it thicker or thinner depending on your textural preferences. You can choose to top it with meringue, whipped cream, ganache, or whatever else you can fantasize. I enjoy the endless customization and LEGO vibes of it all.

Fruit tarts are cute, I’ll definitely be making some this summer—but for spring, lemon meringue tarts are the it girl. I think they’re one of the easier fancy-looking desserts to make. One potential barrier is a blowtorch for the meringue topping, but there are ways around that, like broiling it briefly, if you don’t have one. To be honest, I get a little spooked every time I go to use my blowtorch. Contents under pressure are kinda scary!!

You could break this into a two day project, prepping the tart shells and lemon curd the day before, then making the meringue and finishing the day you want to serve them. I will say that I kept half of the batch in the fridge for 2 days, even after adding meringue and torching… and they actually held up quite nicely!

Some Recipe Notes

• This is the longest recipe I’ve ever shared on here, so bare with me and know that this is a project of a bake! If you bake these and find any of my timing or steps unclear, shoot me a message and I’ll help you out. :)

• Formatting feedback is welcome! I’ve been trying Substack’s new feature for embedding recipe cards, but it’s a little tough to divide into sections by recipe components like tart dough, curd, etc. Do we like this? Is it hard to read? Let me know!

• Fast dough method: you can make this dough easily in the food processor. Place the dry ingredients and butter in the processor and pulse until sandy. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and pulse just until a dough forms.

• When using a double boiler, I mention “whisk the entire time” in the recipe step. This is not a full speed, whisk-as-hard-as-you-can moment. Just keep the mixture moving to make sure it cooks evenly, slow and steady. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with the whisk as you stir.

• This recipe makes 8 tarts, using 3 to 4-inch pans. If you only have a large tart pan, or a long rectangular one, or whatever else—you can use that, too! You could also try using a muffin pan to form your tarts if that’s all you’ve got. I would advise removing the baked shells from the muffin pan after cooling and setting them on a small sheet pan or plate so they’ll be easy to move later on.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: making brioche at home is kind of annoying. It’s time consuming: it takes a while in the mixer to develop gluten and absorb piece by piece of softened butter. But for those of us who are committed and love a good baking project, perfect brioche at home is quite attainable. And worth it!

I first learned to bake brioche while working at Bakeri, one of my first baking jobs in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (if you’re growing tired of me mentioning it, sorry! I learned quite a bit there). The typical shift consisted of one bread baker and one pastry baker, starting work very early in the morning to fill the display cases with freshly baked goods before the day started for everyone else. I’ve never been a huge bread baker, but I loved watching what they did and trying to learn tidbits when I could. Brioche was often the last item on their list for the day, maybe because they were avoiding a 20+ minute mix for as long as they could. A fresh brioche à tête was my favorite thing to eat at the bakery, and I’d often use it for a scrambled egg sandwich—highly recommend doing that.

Eventually, I volunteered to learn to mix the brioche and take the task over for them. We used a spiral mixer and made batches of several pounds to shape into rolls, some plain and some infused with an orange sugar (so good). Sometimes I would make extra dough so I could use it for some sweet stuff, too. I still love brioche. It’s such a good dough to use for donuts, cinnamon rolls, or French toast. We love a versatile recipe!

I originally released a brioche recipe on my old website in 2020 during lockdown. Everyone was baking so I had a bit of a social boom around that time, but I don’t think anyone actually ever made the recipe. I’ve reworked it to make a beautiful, fly, hot and sexy tall brioche loaf, with a little bit of dough leftover to turn into a couple cinnamon rolls if you like. I would not mix this in the mini KitchenAids (tbh I don’t know anyone who actually has one)! You need a standard or pro model to fit this amount of dough and knead it properly. If you do try the recipe, let me know how it goes and send me a pic! I think one of the main things to consider is proofing time—I’m a chronic under-proofer, and I swear it’s taken me over a decade to learn to proof properly. Patience is quite rewarding here.

A Note On Butter: the base recipe uses 200g butter, which is on the lower end of the spectrum for brioche. You can increase the butter to 250g or even 300g (crazy!) for a more buttery and decadent experience. I find 200g is good amount for a dough that’s easy to work with. If you’ve never made this dough before, you can start with the lower quantity and in a future batch, up the ante.

A Note On Yeast: look for instant yeast (I like SAF and Red Star) or use fresh yeast if you can find it. Active dry yeast takes way too long to rise and that has contributed to a lot of my under proofed bakes.

I first had financiers working at Bakeri back in 2014. The ones we made there used almond flour, which is a shortcut to making these if you don’t want to do it completely from scratch. However! A financier is infinitely better if you toast and grind the nuts yourself, just like a good frangipane. I should also mention that if you want, you can totally swap almonds for pistachios here—but the pistachio and raspberry combo is pretty lovely.

Once you’ve toasted the pistachios, you grind them down to a meal in a food processor with a small amount of all purpose flour. Combine it with powdered sugar, egg whites, and brown butter, and you’ve got your financier batter! That’s literally it. The batter is best after a short rest (2 hours, or overnight if you can) in the fridge. I like baking these in a standard muffin tin, but any mold you have will work. If using silicon, they may take a little bit longer to brown.

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I’ve been to Mexico City once before, but it was a really quick trip and I didn’t have as much time to explore as I wanted. I was a bit younger, too, and the focus of that trip was definitely going out and drinking. This time around, I got to check off a lot more on my list and pop into a few museums as well. There are 3 bakeries I went to (some multiple times), and while they’re certainly not “hidden spots” by any means, I really enjoyed them and would love to talk about what I ate. Hope you will oblige me there!

My other favorite thing to do while on vacation is capturing the destination on film. When I was 19, I bought a used Canon Rebel XTI 2000 for $20. Someone on Craigslist was selling it because they said it was broken, and for some reason I believed I could figure out what was wrong with it. Hilariously, all it needed was a new battery. I highly doubt I would’ve been able to fix it otherwise. For the last 13 years, it’s been my camera. It’s lived with me in New York, Paris, and Cape Cod, and I’ve taken it to Barcelona, Sicily, Venice, and many other places. There have been times I’ve neglected it for a year or more because it was put away or I wasn’t feeling creative, etc. But I always bring it back out and load up a fresh roll of film when I’m traveling.

To be clear, my knowledge of shooting film is very limited and it’s a hobby for me. I am not shooting manually and I don’t have a light meter. I have two eyes and a pointer finger to push the capture button with. Of course I could learn more, but there’s a certain joy in not knowing how to do something 100% correctly and just enjoying it. I did recently buy a manual Pentax camera and it’s been sitting in the closet because I’m scared of messing up a roll of film. I’ll get there eventually, though. Maybe.

Odette

This bakery has several locations. I visited the one in Condesa, and when we arrived, there was a line wrapping around the corner of the building. It took maybe 10 minutes and they still had a lot of pastries available when I got inside, except a raspberry croissant which I really wanted to try. Next time! Instead we got a jamón croissant, a guava kouign-amann, and a little cream and fruit and cream filled brioche bun. Everything was really good and the pastry display was gorgeous.

Panadería Gala

Gala is hidden in the back of a building and somewhat hard to find. When we got to the location all we saw was a metal door and no bakery. Luckily, someone came out with a bag of pastries a moment later and asked if we were looking for the bakery, then pointed us to the back of the hallway. This bakery felt intimate and homey, with the pastries on display next to a working kitchen/dining hybrid area. We tried the vanilla concha (amazing!), a chocolatine (pain au chocolat), and a raspberry cruffin. The lamination on everything was great—I will say the raspberry cruffin was dangerously full of jam. This was probably my favorite spot we tried!

Panadería Rosetta

If you’ve been to CDMX you’ve probably been to Rosetta. There’s a line down the block for this bakery, but since there’s 5 to 6 cashiers working inside, the line lasts about 5 minutes. It’s worth waiting for, too. We tried a berries and cream napoleon, a flaky cinnamon roll, a mamey donut (blew my mind), chocolate concha, and a couple other pastries. Our friend Ray loved it so much he went back the next morning! I love the style of this bakery and the friendly service. There’s a park with a fountain right around the corner that’s perfect for taking your pastries to.

A Few Savory Spots

Cariñito Tacos - this place was amazing. A super tiny taco spot with standing tables out front that serves Southeast-Asian inspired flavors—by no means traditional. They had several different pork belly tacos, some vegan options, and a really good take on elote that I’ll be thinking about for a while.

Axolao - Peruvian dishes with Mexican ingredients and techniques. I loved the short rib taco and guacamole with crispy crickets. Maximo enjoyed some ceviche and we had some great cocktails, too. Cool space with more room to breathe than most of the other restaurants we visited.

Mexa Cocina del Alma - this restaurant was very chill, had good cocktails, and delicious tacos. We shared a platter of carnitas which were seriously delicious, tried a bunch of different types of salsa (each one spicier than the last), and a duck à l’orange style tamale. Loved!

El Mekong - trendy Thai spot that our friend Leah recommended. Very good and reminded me of Night + Market, service was alright but they seemed distracted, and the space was very cramped. The dumplings were really good and every cocktail came with a complimentary light bite from a list of several options (we ate a lot of satay).

The end!

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A few weeks ago, I went on a work trip to Northern California. While I was there I got to eat at Chez Panisse for the first time— somewhere I’ve wanted to eat since I started working in kitchens at 19 years old. My friend Spencer Huey, who’s worked there for 5 years, gave me a tour and made the experience extra special. Big thanks to him! At one point in my 20s, I tried to plot a move from Brooklyn to San Francisco. It seemed so hard at that time and I didn’t know how to make it work. It’s fun to look back and think “what if?” while also being happy where you landed.

Since living in LA, I’ve been to the Bay Area maybe 6 or 7 times. It’s one of my favorite places to visit because of the incredible bakery, coffee, and restaurant culture. The city is also stunning and the density reminds me of the best parts of New York and Paris. Being by the water has always brought me immense joy since I grew up on the coast, so add that to the list of reasons I love it up there!

I’ve been working on some recipe videos for AllRecipes over the last few months and thought I’d share a bit about each of them. I pitch recipes to them, usually a list of 4 to 5 concepts, and they’ll pick which ones they think will work for their audience. Sometimes they’ll approach me with recipe assignments too, like the No-Bake Irish Cream Cheesecake I worked on that came out a few days ago.

My favorite recipe I’ve worked on in a long time was for Blueberry Crullers. Crullers have always been one of my favorite things to make, turning pâte à choux into a doughnut shape and dipping it in a pretty glaze after frying. These blueberry-flavored ones were no exception: the color is stunning, and I love of how the video came out. It’s currently at over 1 million views, making it my most successful collab with AllRecipes yet. I’m pretty proud of that!

Blueberry French Crullers (Video)

French crullers start with a classic choux pastry that comes together in about 10 minutes. No yeast required, so these are faster to make than a yeast risen doughnut. Cook the butter, milk, and flour on the stovetop, then mix in the eggs one by one. Add the choux pastry to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe circles of dough onto small squares of parchment (not wax paper!) that has been greased with cooking spray. Heat the oil and fry them off for 6 to 7 minutes each, until doubled in size and deep golden brown in color. If they collapse when you pull them from the oil, they need to fry longer. While they’re still warm, dip them in a simple glaze made with lemon juice, blueberries, and powdered sugar. I love the color of these.

Full Recipe Here!

No-Bake Irish Cream Cheesecake (Video)

This is the perfect dessert for St. Patrick’s Day! It uses a little Bailey’s to make it just boozy enough, plus a quick graham crust with cocoa powder added. I like to bake my crust for 9 minutes at 350ºF to make sure it sets fully, but you can also freeze it for 1 hour instead to avoid using the oven. Cream cheese and sour cream get beaten together until smooth, then you fold in some whipped cream which gives this no bake cheesecake the lightest, almost mousse-like texture. I pour on a quick chocolate topping that comes together in 1 minute, and then I like to pipe on whipped cream for extra pizazz. I was actually surprised by how much I liked the Bailey’s in this!

Full Recipe Here!

Over the next couple of weeks I have several more recipes coming out (usually on my Instagram first!), and I’ll be sharing some work I did for a brand I’ve wanted to work with for years. Thank you for reading!

I originally worked on this recipe for a job I had taken after leaving Buzzfeed. It was another food media job, but I realized within my first week that it was not going to be a good fit for me. I had a friend coming to town to visit me, so on the Friday of that first week, I emptied my desk during lunch and left. I went home and sent an email to HR saying it wasn’t going to work for me— this test kitchen was one of the worst I’d ever seen. Sinks full of gray water with who knows what inside of them, stinky dishwashers with tons of food clogging them, and a fridge full of ingredients a month past their expiration. No one seemed happy to be there (like most jobs, I guess), the things they were working on were uninspiring, and the people I was reporting to seemed clueless. 7 years later, there’s not a single minute that I regret leaving that place.

During my short-lived week there, I developed this recipe. I tested 5 or 6 versions and took the best parts of each and combined them into what I still consider to be a great cookie. These are super buttery, chewy, and soft. They taste like birthday cake, because, surprise: birthday cake tastes like butter, sugar, vanilla, and sprinkles. They look cute and colorful and they’re super easy to make with just a few basic baking staples. I like to order larger containers of sprinkles online, because they’re at least half as expensive as they are in the grocery store.

I bake these at 375º F and pull them out when they’re still a little under so they’re still soft after cooling. It’s also nice to take a large round cookie cutter (or a bowl) and “scoot” the cookies around to give them rounder edges. I used to hate this trick, but I’ve been embracing it recently and the cookies do look tidier after. One last thing: these use 1 cup of bread flour and 1 cup of all purpose flour. I think the texture is better this way, but if you can only use one or the other, they should still be fine (expect a little more spreading with AP flour, a little less with bread flour)!

Recipe Video Here!

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Like a pizza, a quiche is nothing without a good crust. I’ve actually been working on my pie dough recipe for a bit now and getting it ready for sharing. It’s honestly intimidating to publish a base baking recipe, because I want it to be really good and I know I’m going to be linking back to it often in future pie and pastry recipes. I have a little more work to do on it, but I’m 99% of the way there, so I’m hoping I can share it towards the end of this month. Needless to say, I’ve had a lot of pie dough in the fridge lately and this quiche was born as a byproduct of that testing!

I used the same quiche filling from the last recipe, but made a few adjustments—skipped the mustard (forgot it) and the sour cream (didn’t have any) and upped the cream a bit (why not). Instead of cooking onions like I’d usually do, I added a whole package of garlic & herb Boursin cheese that was interestingly co-branded with Emily in Paris... I also threw in a handful of chives.

I chopped my broccolini into bite-sized pieces so the quiche would slice up nicely, then blanched it in salty boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes until it was tender but not super soft or limp. I shocked it in ice water and patted it dry with paper towels. There’s something satisfying about blanching veggies and holding onto their greenest potential. That being said, I wasn’t just trying to keep the color— I wanted to tenderize it since it wouldn’t cook enough while baking inside the quiche.

I pretty much always cook my bacon in the oven instead of on the stove. It’s just easier and gives me time to work on other things. So I lined a tray with aluminum foil, popped the bacon on, and let it bake until crispy. Then I cut it into little bacon bits before adding it to my filling. I really loved the combo of bacon, broccoli, and Boursin with the custard and buttery crust (tbh, it would be good as a pasta dish, too). My partner and I ate it for 3 separate meals, with salad on the side. That’s my kind of meal prep! I like to reheat quiche at 375º F for 10ish minutes to get it nice and hot.

Some people might read this and think, “who the f*ck has time for all of that?” And if that’s you, I totally get it. You can live vicariously through me and even watch this video of me making it! I also know that a certain group of people— hopefully a good chunk of my audience— really enjoy the way a baking or cooking project can seemingly slow down time and lock us into the present, using our hands instead of screens. I love making things like this, and I love writing about them and sharing the recipes with you all.

A good friend of mine recently mentioned how hard it is to create and share things in a political climate like the one we’re living in, and how meaningless or flippant it can feel. I’ve definitely felt that way before, but I said one thing to her in response: we have to keep creating, or they’ve already won. We have to keep doing our thing, finding joy in the kitchen or exercise or game nights or whatever else you like— or they’ve already won. Keep writing, reading, cooking, laughing, and enjoying yourself. Keep an eye and an ear out, too, because we still need to be aware of what’s happening, and when this November rolls around? VOTE!

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When I saw these cookies pop up on my feed (and continue popping up another 10 to 15 times from everyone trying them), I immediately stopped scrolling. I love when someone has such a good idea that it’s instantly successful and everyone’s excited and trying it. What isn’t noticeable with these viral recipes sometimes is that the creator has been putting in their work for years, and a piece of their art has struck gold and gained (much deserved) attention.

While we’re on the topic of creating, and specifically recipes, I’d like to talk about something else. Last week, made a post about one of his recipes being stolen by a brand. A large brand, too. Nothing is more disappointing than when someone derives something from your work and gives no credit, especially when they’re using it for profit or sales. It’s just plain wrong, and I’m not sure how people feel comfortable passing off someone else’s ideas as their own. I really don’t understand what’s so hard about giving credit where it’s due? Isn’t it cooler to uplift others and create some community rather than just ripping something? On the contrary, when someone does give credit and a little shoutout, it makes me think: Thank you so much for seeing me and my work. And that really makes my day.

I recently became a happily paying subscriber to ’s Link In Bio. My day job is social content creation, and I work for a brand (and create for other brands often), so I’ve found her newsletters to be incredibly insightful. An excerpt from her recent post, 30 social media marketers on where they find inspiration, really stood out to me. This often becomes the vibe with social teams, and it’s interesting to think about pushing yourselves to think outside of the box. Who creates the trends we jump onto in the first place, and what if it could be you? Today, Lungi is 100% the trendsetter.

The Process: Jam & Buttered Toast Cookies - Lungi’s Recipe Here

The recipe starts with toasting up some slices of bread, and interestingly, slathering them with butter and jam afterwards. These jammy slices get crumbled up and some of it goes into the dough, while a reserved amount goes on top of the cookies later.

Next, you make the cookie dough. Brown butter and a little miso (yes please) give it a delicious flavor boost. Standard cookie ingredients follow: eggs, flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Another reason I was excited to make these: white chocolate! I just made a new video for my Domino Cookies last week and mentioned how much I love white chocolate in a cookie.

Add the jam to the top and don’t mix it in to create nice swirls. Scoop big cookies, 80 grams a pop. I loved how these looked already!

Roll the cookie dough balls in the jam and buttered toast crumbles. This is crazy, and I’m here for it. I did let mine chill for 2 hours, and then some of them chilled overnight because I didn’t bake them all at once.

Bake them, scoot them around with a cookie cutter, and add remaining white chocolate fresh out of the oven.

The Verdict

This is an incredible recipe and unlike any cookie I’ve had before. If you’re a jam and toast lover like me, you’re really gonna love these. They’re jammy, buttery, and crispy from the toast crumbs on top, and I love the white chocolate aspect. The only “hard” part was breaking out the food processor to turn the toast slices into crumbs— other than that, it’s a very simple cookie recipe to follow. Eventually I’d also love to try Lungi’s recipe for Honey Butter Toast Croissant Cookies, because holy F, that sounds amazing.

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I hadn’t thought of the chocolate choo choo for a really long time, but it came to mind when I was making these extra chocolatey brownies. When I first shared this brownie recipe as a reel back in 2020 (wait, how is that 6 years ago?), it got over 2 million views and 40k likes. It was my first recipe that ever went viral, and I really wish I had dedicated more energy into recipe video creation at that time. But here we are, and I’m finally revisiting the recipe with a few updates.

These are fudgy brownies with chewy edges and corners. My favorite! The lovely texture is thanks to a little whipped egg and sugar action and a whole lot of chocolate. These are incredibly easy to make and hard to stop eating. They demand a glass of milk, and why yes, I do mean cow’s milk.

As I was retesting the brownies, I realized how different they come out depending on what brands of ingredients you use. This is true with a lot of recipes, and if you’re baking one of mine, it’s worth knowing that I always use King Arthur’s flours. I do not like Gold Medal, Pillsbury, etc— it’s weak, both in quality and protein content. Anyways, I tried both Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips (a whopping $11.99 for 10 ounces, truly couldn’t believe it) and some Thrive Market 66% chocolate chunks. The Ghiradelli brownies were shinier and fudgier. The Thrive Market brownies were a little more dull and didn’t get the shiny cracked sheet on top. But to be honest, I liked the latter ones better. If you’re in pursuit of a shiny, crackly top though (aren’t we all?), go for chocolate chips, not chopped chocolate. One last thing, I really like using Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa (or another dark cocoa) for brownies, but I did use a Ghiradelli natural cocoa powder for these.

A few recipe notes! Please use an 8x8-inch metal baking pan, or expect things to bake faster and the brownies to come out thinner in a 9x9. Please don’t use glass! But if you have to, they will probably take a little longer to bake. I really don’t like using glass for baking except the occasional pie with a crumb crust, or other chilled desserts that don’t need to go in the oven. Lastly, use dark chocolate chips if you can. They’ll be a bit sweeter when using semisweet or milk chocolate.

Perfectly Fudgy Brownies

Recipe Video Here!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 38-40 minutes
Servings: 16 small brownies

3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter
1 cup (170g) dark chocolate chips
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp kosher salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup (93g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (42g) unsweetened cocoa powder (dark/Dutch process is best)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan and line with parchment.

2. Cut the butter into cubes and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour the chocolate chips on top and microwave for 1 minute, stopping at the 30 second mark and stirring. If the chocolate and butter isn’t fully melted at the end of microwaving, let it go another 15-30 seconds. Stir until the mixture is smooth. You can also do this in a pot over low heat or in a double boiler if you don’t have a microwave!

3. Add the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and eggs to a mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is pale and doubled in volume. (Note: if you prefer a denser brownie, just mix the eggs and sugar for 30 seconds.)

4. Add the melted chocolate and butter mixture to the bowl and mix until combined.

5. Add the flour and cocoa (I sift my cocoa if it’s clumpy) to the bowl and mix until a smooth batter forms and no flour streaks remain.o

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread in an even layer.

7. Bake 38-40 minutes, until the top is cracked and the middle has risen. It will feel somewhat firm when you press it gently with your finger. I always bake mine for 40 minutes and they’re super moist!

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Okay, maybe the banana bread isn’t parasitic (lol)— it doesn’t take without giving back. I do mean it in a positive way: it absorbs whatever flavors and add-ins you want to utilize and becomes a vehicle for those pantry ingredients you’ve been meaning to use up. Chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins (ew, but go for it if you want), oats, peanut butter. Olive oil, canola or grapeseed, salty butter. Seeds of all kinds, which I always add to the top of my banana bread with some raw sugar. I need a crunch!

Banana bread gives us permission to be imperfect. It’s probably the easiest thing you’ll ever bake, and even when it’s bad, it’s usually still pretty good— like pizza. It’s approachable, unfussy, and adaptable in all the ways we wish to be. And somehow, it’s still predictable and comforting, because at its core, it’s still just banana bread.

When I had a little bakery stand at Melrose Trading Post and the Wellington Square Farmers Market, my one vegan item was banana bread. I baked it in an extra long loaf pan that yielded 11 thick slices. An odd number, but I wanted them to be generous and that’s just how it worked out. This banana bread was delicious and full of flax seeds and coconut flakes. But what I really wanted a couple weeks ago was a banana bread that used nice eggs and brown butter, so this one isn’t vegan (I can send you that recipe if you ask nicely, though).

My first test of this new recipe came out a little dryer than I hoped for, because I had pulled back on some of the sugar. I kept the coconut flakes from the vegan recipe, since I really love coconut and banana together. I added toasted pecans, because I had them in the pantry and they were crying for attention (aren’t we all?). I also added some grated ginger, because it’s so good in a banana bread loaf. This recipe would also work perfectly with some added chocolate chips, if you’re feeling that vibe.

In my second test, I bumped up the sugar, added some maple syrup, a little bit of greek yogurt, and some olive oil. I had to wait almost a week for my bananas to ripen, which was quite torturous. It was worth the wait, though, because the loaf came out perfectly and this is my new go-to banana bread. One thing to note is that I like baking loaves in a tall USA loaf pan. I don’t like how a lot of standard loaf pans are wide rather than tall and they make short little slices when cut. That being said! Taller pan takes longer to bake, regular, standard/wide loaf pan will take a bit less time thanks to surface area and a thinner layer of batter. I’ll include that note in the method below, but just wanted to point that out.

Banana Bread with Ginger, Coconut, and Pecans

Recipe Video Here!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 60-70+ minutes, depending on pan size
Servings: 1 loaf

½ cup unsalted butter
3 very ripe bananas (around 345g)
¾ (150g) cup white sugar
⅓ cup (70g) brown sugar
¼ cup (80g) maple syrup
2 tbsp (25g) olive oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups (224g) all purpose flour
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated (or 1 ½ tsp ground)
½ cup (55g) toasted pecans, chopped
½ cup (40g) shredded coconut
¼ cup greek yogurt, milk, sour cream, etc. (67g)

For topping:
2 tbsp turbinado sugar
Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a loaf pan and line it with a piece of parchment.

2. Melt the butter and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until browned. Stay nearby and don’t let it burn (like I did).

3. Add the bananas to a large bowl and mash them up. Add the white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, olive oil, and brown butter and whisk together.

4. Add the olive oil, eggs, fresh ginger (if using), and vanilla and whisk again.

5. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir with a spatula to combine, then mix in the pecans, coconut, and yogurt.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it to even it out if needed. Sprinkle on the sugar and some sesame seeds and poppy seeds— just enough till it looks covered.

7. Bake the loaf for 60 to 70 minutes, until risen and cracked on top. Check the center with a toothpick or knife, and if there’s no wet batter, it’s good to come out. You can also temp the inside with a digital thermometer to be extra sure, aiming for 190ºF.

   
   Recipe Note: in my taller loaf pan I mentioned above, it took an hour and 15 minutes. If you bake this in a muffin pan or anything smaller, than a loaf pan, it will take a lot less time.

I remember getting my job at Bakeri and thinking “wow, how the hell did I get hired at a fancy place like this?” It was a level up from my previous job working in a wholesale bakery, baking thousands of pastries a day that were mixed by other bakers. Bakeri’s interior was (and still is) beautiful and everyone working there was my age and seemed happy and creative. I made a ton of friends who I still talk to today. Nina, the owner, gave us creative freedom with a hands-off management style that instilled trust in the bakers, while still giving creative direction and quality feedback. Bakeri was what you made of it: some coasted through their shifts, punching in and punching out and waiting for their days off, while others pushed themselves to learn and better their craftsmanship. I really loved working there.

The bakery originally sold frozen croissants from a purveyor called Dairyland. These little croissants were delivered frozen and just had to be proofed before baking. They were yummy and convenient, but I always wanted to make our croissants in house. Somehow I convinced Nina to let me test them out. We started making big batches of croissants fully from scratch, and sold the Dairyland ones alongside them. The in-house croissants gained in popularity over time, with numbers growing each week, eventually replacing the need for any premade ones. I had a few shifts each week dedicated to viennoiserie, which was really fulfilling to me.

It goes without saying, but if you’ve ever wondered what my favorite thing to bake is… it’s always croissants. Years ago I did some pop ups with Fat & Flour, and the final one ended with a fatal error of me killing the yeast and having to toss out 200+ croissants. A massive blow to the heart, and since then I’ve not done anymore croissant pop ups. I’d love to in the future, but finding a spot to collaborate with the necessary equipment has always been tough. Baking them at home is a lot different and a chance to master the craft again with minimal equipment. So let’s talk about it!

A Tale of Two Recipes

So far, I’ve tried two recipes meant for being prepared at home: the classic croissant from Tartine: Revised, and the formula in ’s Sift, which is one of my favorite baking books from the last decade. Let’s break down the results from each and how my experience went. I documented both recipes on my Instagram over a 4 part series, if you’re interested in watching!

Tartine

This recipe starts with a poolish, which only rises for 2 hours before being mixed into the final dough. I’m no bread baker, but a 2 hour poolish seemed a bit odd to me, and if I remember correctly, their older recipe required an overnight poolish (but feel free to fact check me on that if you are a bread baker or you have the old version of Tartine’s book!). I followed their instructions though and went along with how it was written.

When I mixed the larger batch of dough in the mixer, my poor KitchenAid had a full meltdown. Even on the lowest setting, my mixer couldn’t handle this massive amount of dough the recipe created. I was sipping a La Croix and working on my Substack not even 2 minutes into the mix, and I started smelling something I could only describe as burnt computer chips. It was my KitchenAid’s motor beginning to burn out and begging for help. I quickly turned it off and finished kneading by hand, which ultimately led to what I believe created an issue with my croissant dough: not enough gluten development.

After mixing and chilling overnight, I laminated the dough the next day. With the butter block coming in at more than 30% of the dough, this is a very buttery baby. In between folds I chilled in the freezer/fridge to get the temperature down again. After the second fold, the recipe instructs you to freeze the dough before doing a final roll out. During my final roll out, though, the dough was so resistant and firm, and I couldn’t chill it enough to relax it or let it rest at room temperature without warming up too much. In the future, I’d split this recipe in half and see how it came out.

The proofing took forever, 4 plus hours, even in my Brod & Taylor home proof box which was set to 78ºF with humidity. They looked jiggly and fully proofed though, as you can see in my video. After baking, I checked the interiors hoping for some honeycomb vibes and instead I got thick layers that had melded together. This could have been a gluten issue, a lamination issue, or proofing. Who knows? But I decided to try another recipe instead of repeating this one.

Likely culprits:

• Oven may have lost too much heat when I put them in, which led to a ton of butter leaking out rather than the croissants rising and puffing up.

• Since I kneaded by hand to save my struggling mixer, perhaps I didn’t have enough strength to support lamination.

• Maybe could’ve proofed them even longer, but all the typical signs made me think they were ready to bake.

I’m not sure I’d attempt this recipe again, but if I did, I would definitely make a smaller batch and see how things went with a higher oven temp and longer proofing. Flavor wise, they were good and buttery. The outside of the croissants looked beautiful, and the interior wasn’t totally awful, but when I know you can make something better I can’t help but let something like that bother me. If I was going to rate this recipe, I’d give it a 7 out of 10.

Sift

I’ve previously made Nicola’s croissant recipe once and enjoyed the results. I decided to give them another go, starting them right after my Tartine croissants came out of the oven. I mixed the straight dough (no poolish or preferment) the night before, and the next day, I made my butter block. After a single and double fold, I rested the dough in the freezer briefly, then the fridge, then rolled it out.

I typically don’t like doing lamination and shaping in the same day, but I know a lot of people do it and I thought it was worth a shot. After rolling up my croissants, I let them rest in the fridge overnight, allowing for some more fermentation and a slow rise. The next day I took them out of the fridge and let them proof for around 4 hours. They didn’t puff up as much as the Tartine croissants, but they were doubled in size and looked good to go. I egg washed and baked them, and when I opened the oven, I pulled out the most beautiful croissants I’ve ever made at home.

A few things that I think contributed to this outcome:

• Proper proofing - shoulders “melded” together, layers began to separate. Not much jiggle, but that could be because they were smaller in size (75-80g).

• Higher starting temp for the oven — I preheated to 450ºF, then dropped it 50º right after popping the croissants in. I really think this helped a lot.

• As little time in the freezer as possible! I expedited the process with these croissants, laminating and shaping them the same day. Typically I’ve laminated, frozen the dough overnight, and shaped the following day. I think this slows my yeast activity too much, leading to proofing issues.

I will absolutely be baking this recipe again, likely in the next week to try some other variants like almond, pain au chocolat, or a ham and cheese. The flavor on these was delicious: super buttery and rich with a yellow interior. The flaky, light texture was perfection. I’d truly rate this recipe a 10 out of 10. This is just another reason why Sift is one of my favorite books!

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That being said, another big thank you to the handful of people who’ve become paid subscribers when I have nothing exclusive to offer you (yet!). You’ve gotten me iced cappuccinos and bags of flour over the last few months and for that I am so appreciative. In 2026, I’m going to explore offering exclusive paid content and hopefully growing that side of my newsletter. It’s intimidating to think about charging for content, because truly, seeing someone else make one of my recipes makes me happier than money ever could. We will see what the New Year brings!

Back to the sweet stuff. I’ve got cookies for every personality type: the down-to-earth, familiar face that always brings you comfort (Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie), the crazy and fun friend who always makes you laugh (M&M Cookies), and the precise perfectionist who knows a good tool makes the job easier (Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies). The cookie I’m sharing today is for the gourmand, the chef, the tastemaker— these are Deluxe Chocolate Chip Cookies.

These cookies are inspired by one of my favorite I’ve ever had from Bakeri, the bakery I used to work at in Brooklyn. They have a hazelnut & rosemary chocolate chip cookie that I still think about. They’re thick and soft and chewy and scented with rosemary in the most pleasing way. I don’t use hazelnut and rosemary in mine, but if you wanted to try that version, I’d add ¾ to 1 cup of toasted and chopped hazelnuts and 2 to 3 stems of picked rosemary, minced finely. Definitely worth a try.

My deluxe cookies have a secret ingredient: malt powder. I use diastatic malt powder, which is commonly used in baguettes and other loaves for optimal browning and rising. Why use it in a cookie? For that same browning power and a tinge of malt flavor. If you can’t find diastatic malt powder, malted milk powder should work just fine, too.

A note on the ingredients: None of these suggestions are sponsored, I just want to let everyone know what I use specifically. I use half semisweet chocolate and half milk chocolate for these, which makes them so perfect in my opinion. The exact chocolates I like to use in this recipe are Guittard’s Semisweet Chocolate Baking Wafers (66% cacao) and their Milk Chocolate Wafers (38% cacao). You can use chips if you want, but the texture of the cookie is softer and chewier when you use chopped chocolate. For the diastatic malt powder, you can get a good one from King Arthur. I also use their all purpose flour and bread flour for all of my baking.

Deluxe Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe Video Here!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 14-15 minutes
Yield: 16 cookies

1 ¾ sticks (200g) butter, softened
⅓ cup (70g) granulated sugar
1 ¼ cup (250g) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon (6g) kosher salt
2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
1 yolk
2 ½ cups (300g) all purpose flour
1 tbsp (10g) diastatic malt powder or malted milk powder
1 tsp (6g) baking soda
2 cups (300g) dark chocolate and milk chocolate wafers (or chips), roughly chopped
Flaky salt, for topping

1. Cream together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until light and pale, 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add the eggs one by one, mixing to incorporate each. Add the yolk and mix to combine. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula.

3. Add the flour, malt power, and baking soda and mix until no flour streaks remain.

4. Roughly chop the chocolate (you can skip this if you’re using chips) and mix it into the dough just until combined.

5. Cover the surface of the dough with plastic wrap or pop it in a plastic bag and chill overnight.

6. The next day, let the dough soften up for 20 to 30 minutes. Portion into 75g balls (¼ cup) – I use a 2 oz cookie scoop. You should get 16 cookies. Wrap them up on a tray and chill again for at least 30 minutes to firm up (I like to portion them a few hours before baking).

7. Preheat the oven to 350ºF / 175ºC and line a baking sheet with parchment. Place 6 cookies on the sheet with plenty of space between each for spreading.

8. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Let them cool on the tray for as long as you can wait. Enjoy!

Psst! If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, I’d love to see ya over there!

This recipe is versatile and can be made in a food processor (my preference) or stand mixer. The choice is yours. The dough comes together quite quickly and after a 30 minute chill, you can roll them out and cut out your cookies. The bake time is short, too, so you could really make these cookies the morning of one of your holiday functions if you’re looking for something to bring last minute.

The dough is just a few ingredients: all purpose flour, sugar, butter, peanut butter, an egg and a dash of vanilla. I love sandwiching these with a strawberry Bonne Maman jam, which is my favorite kind they make. If you have homemade jam, feel free to use it as long as it isn’t too runny. Wetter, thinner jams will cause the cookies to “bleed” when they absorb the excess moisture and make them look a little less-than-perfect. If you’re looking for a huge quantity of cookies like some people expect during the holidays, you may want to double this recipe. Otherwise, you’re going to get around 2 dozen sandwich cookies (a few more if you re-roll the scraps!). You can make these a day or two ahead and they’ll keep fine in an airtight container at room temperature.

I wrote a little about this in an earlier newsletter, but Christmas has really changed for me since three of my family members passed away over the last several years, including my mother. Forming and carrying on my own traditions has really helped me stay positive throughout the holidays, which can sometimes make me feel a little sad and homesick for a home that no longer exists as it once was.

Participating in the seasonal festivities, decorating the house, and making holiday recipes brings me a lot of joy and comfort. We picked up our little 4 foot tree last week, decorated it with some ornaments we’ve collected over the last few years, and hung our stockings and a wreath on the front door. Home is where you are. Home is a feeling and not so much a place. It’s the memories we carry and the new ones we choose to create.

PB & J Linzer Cookies

Recipe Video Here!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 11-13 minutes
Servings: 24 sandwich cookies

10 tbsp (140g) butter, cold and cubed
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 cups (240g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (70g) peanut butter
1 egg, whisked
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Jam of choice, for assembly

1. Add butter, sugar, flour, and a pinch of salt to a food processor (see note below for stand mixer method). Pulse a few times until a sandy mixture forms.

2. Add peanut butter, egg, and vanilla to the food processor. Pulse until a soft, crumbly dough forms. Knead the dough together into a solid block and split it into two halves. Wrap both in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

3. Remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to soften until rollable (this can take 10ish minutes depending on how cold it is). Place one half of dough between 2 sheets of parchment and roll to about 1/4” thick. Roll out remaining dough, then sprinkle on the turbinado sugar (only on one of the sheets of dough — this is for the top layer of the sandwiches) and press it in firmly. Place both sheets into the freezer for 15 minutes, until firm.

4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

5. Cut both layers into cookies using a 2-inch cookie cutter. Cut a center window out of half of the cookies using a piping tip or small round cutter. Place the cookies on the baking sheets.

6. At this point, if the cookies are not cold and firm, freeze them again briefly, Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.

7. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of jam on one of the bottom cookies, then sandwich on the top cookie. The jam should poke through and look super cute!

To mix these in a stand mixer instead of the food processor: add the butter, flour, sugar and salt to the bowl and paddle on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until the butter is broken into the dry mixture and no large chunks remain. Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla and mix the dough forms.

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Savory scones (or biscuits) are one of my favorite things to eat. When I was working at Fat & Flour a few years ago, they made a savory cheddar and old bay scone that was so freaking good I ate one almost every shift. My friend Krystle showed me a trick for getting cheesy pockets of heaven in every bite: cut the cheese into small cubes instead of shredding it. I had never seen or thought of doing this before and now it’s the only way I add cheese to my scones because it’s truly genius.

I tested these scones a few times last month and I shared a post on Instagram showing my results. People loved them and have been asking for the recipe since. Teasing recipes kind of stresses me out for this reason, but I also want to show what’s coming up and some behind-the-scenes vibes, so it’s sort of a catch 22. If you follow me on Instagram and you’ve also been waiting, thank you for your patience!

Let’s get one thing out of the way: you have to caramelize onions for this recipe. We don’t want blonde, barely caramelized bits. We want deep brown, sweet, savory onions. This is gonna take 40 to 45 minutes and I’m sorry for that — but it’s so worth it, and at least I’m not lying to you and saying it’s going to take 15 minutes like some recipes do. The way they flavor these scones makes them so so delicious, and I promise I’d never ask you to do something laborious if there was no payoff. Other than that, these come together pretty quickly after the onions are cooked, no mixer required. They smell freaking amazing while they’re baking, too.

A tricky part of making scones can be the bake time and temperature. In my initial test, starting them at 425ºF and lowering the temp later produced an excellent flakiness, but a bottom that was too crisp. I later changed them to bake at 375ºF the entire way through, and the bottoms still get a bit crisped and brown, but in a good way. Baking them on the upper rack of the oven helps counter this somewhat, or doubling up the baking sheets. If you’re wondering if they’re done baking, you can insert a digital thermometer in the center of one and check if it’s reached at least 195-200ºF. You can also crack one of the scones open and make sure it doesn’t look too moist inside if you don’t have a thermometer. If you make a double batch and freeze them (a real life hack), I’d probably bake them at 350ºF and note that they’re going to take a while longer in the oven from frozen.

French Onion Scones Recipe

Recipe Video Here!

Prep Time: 1 hour (including the time for caramelizing onions!)
Bake Time: 24-27 minutes
Servings: 6 large scones

For the caramelized onions:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced (or 1 1/2 bigger ones)

For the scones:
2 cups (255g) all purpose flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp (20g) granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
4 oz (114g) Gruyère, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
Egg wash (1 egg + 2 tbsp milk, mixed together)

1. First, caramelize the onions. Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onions and season with a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, until translucent, then reduce the heat to medium low. Continue cooking, stirring often, 40 to 45 minutes, until a deep golden brown color is achieved. Add a bit more olive oil if it starts to stick. Set aside to fully cool (note: you want at least 1/3 to 1/2 cup of caramelized onions in the end).

2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF / 190º C. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

3. To make the scone dough, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, black pepper, onion powder, and chopped thyme to a mixing bowl. Whisk together.

4. Add the butter to the bowl and pinch between your fingers to break it into the flour. Keep working it into the mixture until only small pieces remain. Add the Gruyère and caramelized onions, then pour in the cream and mix until a crumbly dough forms.

5. Dump the dough on a work surface and knead together. Roll into a long rectangle and give a letter fold (like you would fold a sheet of paper into thirds), then roll it out again and fold one more time.

6. Shape the dough into a 6-inch circle. It should be 1-inch tall. Cut the dough into 6 scones and place them on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash and pop them in the oven.

7. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes, until the scones are golden brown. Let cool slightly and enjoy warm while the cheese is melty.

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It’s not that I don’t want to be with my family during Thanksgiving or Christmas… Of course I do. But if I’m going to be in a bad mood after getting stressed out from air travel, endless traffic, store closures, etc., I think it’s better for me to go after the holiday rush is over. Not to make anyone sad, but things really changed after my mother and uncle passed and the holidays at home haven’t felt the same. It was a major shift, and I also feel like I’m growing up even at 32. Choosing what’s best for me has been one of the best parts of adulting, and helped heal the grief that has lingered for so long.

The best thing about opting out of holiday travel (other than avoiding airports, lol) is that it opened up the door for new traditions to form. Maximo and I do a Friendsgiving dinner and a Christmas Day brunch every year. It’s so nice to spend time in an empty Los Angeles, with our dogs, cooking together and playing board games with friends who are also still in town. I’m so excited to cook this weekend and spend time with chosen family. It will be my first time cooking a turkey breast, so wish me luck! I just salted it this morning and placed it into the fridge. I’m also definitely making my Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie.

If you’re looking for a dessert to take to someone’s house for dinner (or brunch!), I’ve got the perfect thing for you: pecan sticky buns! These are so delicious and indulgent and the recipe came from an Instagram collaboration I did with Land O’Lakes Butter. I still have about 8 lbs of butter in my fridge, which is good because a Christmas collab is on the way, too!

If you wanna prep this ahead, you can make everything up to the proofing in step 8. Before proofing, pop the tray of buns into the fridge for an overnight rest. The next day, let them come to room temperature and rise until nice and puffy. As another option, you could just make the dough the day before and let that rise in the fridge overnight, then finish everything else the next day. Hope you enjoy!

Pecan Sticky Buns Recipe

Recipe Video Here!

Servings: 9 buns
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 45 to 50 minutes

For the dough:
1 cup milk, warmed
1 envelope (7g) instant yeast
3 tbsp (36g) granulated sugar
1 egg
3 ⅓ cups (415g) bread flour
3 tbsp (42g) unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt

For the filling:
6 tbsp (84g) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup (66g) brown sugar
⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

For the topping:
1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) brown sugar
⅓ cup (100g) maple syrup
⅓ cup heavy cream
Pinch salt
2 cups (200g) chopped pecans

1. Grease a 9x9-inch baking dish and set aside.

2. Add the milk, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk together. Add the egg and bread flour and mix using the hook attachment for 1 minute.

3. With the mixer running on low, add the butter in three additions. Continue kneading for 7 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides.

4. If using the same day, let rise 1 hour at room temperature. Otherwise, cover and refrigerate overnight.

5. To make the filling, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon until smooth and spreadable. Set aside.

6. Add all of the ingredients for the topping (except the pecans) to a pot over medium heat. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until melted and bubbling.

7. Pour the topping into the greased baking dish and sprinkle the pecans over it. Set aside for later.

8. On a floured surface, roll the dough to a 10x15-inch rectangle. Spread on the filling and roll into a long log. Cut into 9 rolls and place each into the baking dish. Let rise 1 to 1 ½ hours, until doubled in size.

9. Place the dish on a baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered, then uncover and bake a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the rolls are risen and browned (a thermometer inserted in the center roll should reach 190ºF). Let cool 15 minutes before releasing from the pan. Enjoy!

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