National Historical Baking Society

My first nut butter love will always be peanut butter. I will forever and always be happy to spend entire Sunday afternoons with a few fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches and Arrested Development. Peanut butter figures prominently in our latest cookbook, and our Peanut Butter Crispy Bars still sit atop my list of life’s favorite [...]

Let’s take a break from working or not working or whatever weird stuff you’re doing and play a fun game.  (Yes, it’ll be fun!  I can almost promise.)  Remember these things (click here)?  Well this is something like that — only better. Anyways, here’s how it works: I wrote a little something that includes sound [...]

[In honor of this upcoming Mother’s Day, I thought a post about my mom was in order. And don’t forget Moms everywhere this Sunday. Heck, maybe you should even order your mom a Lemondrop cake ] My mom had a thing for butterscotch chips. She used to eat them like M&M’s – popping a few pieces [...]

My addiction to the buckeye candy is well documented.  It is not something I am proud of, and – truth be told – I wish my addiction skewed more fabulous a la caviar and Krug Grande Cuve. I suppose I should be thankful that the buckeye, a ball of peanut butter “candy” dipped in chocolate, [...]

This is not a Baked brownie. Well, not exactly. A Baked brownie is mostly – decidedly – pure and doodad free.  But this is a special week. This is brownie week (um, not officially in any government recognized sense) and we are doing things to our brownies that haven’t been done before (don’t worry purists, [...]

I’d like to apologize in advance for the cupcake shake. It wasn’t supposed to happen to me. I believed I was bigger than the cupcake shake. Smarter, and more refined. I told myself cupcake shakes were “gilding the lily”. I told myself cupcake shakes lived in the same horrible space as doughnut burgers (two doughnuts [...]

I really like LA. A lot. And I try to go as often as possible. Los Angeles provides a soothing balm to New York’s ever lengthening winter (i.e. why is it snowing in March and barely above freezing in April?). More importantly, LA is the perfect antidote to the unsavory sights and smells of a [...]

Salty caramel is everywhere. It went from trendy to pantry staple (and near ubiquity) in a mere flash and we are okay with that. When deployed correctly (as in our Sweet and Salty Cake or Sweet and Salty Brownie) and with restraint, salted caramel can add color and meaning to life (dramatic but true) and [...]

I am having a moment with Black Cocoa powder. I am using it carelessly and I am using it often. I am abusing it with glee. And I am ignoring all of the hushed tones and stern caveats that accompany the use of Black Cocoa powder (see the Debbie Downer precautions below), because they all [...]

If left alone in the candy aisle for too long, I am certain to walk away with a few ridiculously large bags of M&M’s and maybe one or two Kit Kat bars. [Ed Note: Can we stop referring to mega-portioned food-stuffs as “family-sized”? That naming convention makes me feel inadequate and lonely and shameful since [...]