Bake or Break

Toffee Squares

One of my favorite things about New York City is that there is no shortage of amazing bakeries. After we moved here, I told myself that I would visit as many as possible. That's a tall order. But, I do it in the name of all the baked goods in the city. How unselfish, right? In the West Village, there's an incredibly quaint little spot called Milk & Cookies. As you might guess, this place is known for its cookies. Quinn and I stopped by last weekend, and we both had a hard time choosing our treats. Ultimately, there were cookies. And maybe a couple of other things.

Continue reading...

Caramel-Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

On my refrigerator, there is a little card from Penzeys that reads, "Love people. Cook them tasty food." With all the things I bake, sometimes I like to come up with something especially for a particular person. In the case of these bars, my intention was to make something for Quinn. I incorporated a few of his favorite things, like caramel and chocolate. If I had been making these for anyone else, I would likely have included some chopped nuts. When given the choice, he opted to leave those out of the equation. In this case, I have to admit that he was right.

Continue reading...

Triple Chocolate Brownies

It's been two weeks since chocolate made an appearance on BoB. Two weeks! No need for alarm. I assure you that I'm fine. I'm also going to try to make up for lost time with brownies. Not just brownies, though. Not even double chocolate brownies. Oh, no.  These are TRIPLE chocolate brownies.

Continue reading...

Blondie Cupcakes

As a big fan of all things brown sugar, I can really get behind a good blondie. These are a bit different from the traditional in that they are baked in muffin pans, much like cupcakes. Of course, doing that doesn't make them automatically have the normal texture of a cupcake. They are still dense and very much blondies. In fact, you can bake them in the more traditional way by using a square baking pan.

Continue reading...

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Bundt cake and I are great friends. The pure genius of them is that you can make a beautiful, delicious cake without all the layers and frosting. I have had this recipe in my to-bake file for almost two years. I have no idea how I waited this long to make it. A Bundt cake with chocolate chips, brown sugar, and pecans??? Yes, please!

Continue reading...

Coconut Pecan Blondies

I have always adored traditional German chocolate cake. My mother used to bake one for me for special occasions and for some ordinary days, too. Of course, the very best part is the frosting. I'm not even sure I need the cake. Just give me a little bowl of frosting, and I could be happy as can be. With these blondies, we have all the components of that fantastic frosting. Pecans, coconut, brown sugar, and butter come together to make a pan full of bars very reminiscent of my childhood love. Plus, I threw in some chocolate chips for good measure. Continue reading about Coconut Pecan Blondies.

Continue reading...