Easy Sweets

This was supposed to be banana bread. I had three overripe bananas on the counter, the ones with the freckles that say use me now … Read more

My neighbor Karen wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to borrow a bundt pan—mine had mysteriously vanished after a particularly chaotic Thanksgiving—and the … Read more

I was sorting through a box of old cookbooks at a library book sale last spring when the woman running the cash register—a retired librarian … Read more

My friend Jenna asked why I couldn’t just toss the dried cranberries directly into the dough without chopping them first. I started to explain why … Read more

It was 10:47 PM on a random Tuesday in early November, and I had a very specific, slightly unhinged craving for something that looked like … Read more

My father-in-law claimed to hate pecans for forty-seven years. Forty-seven years, people. He’d push them aside in salads, pick them out of baked goods, and … Read more

Last November, I was at the community garden harvest swap, clutching a bag of pecans I had no real plan for. A woman named Rosa, … Read more

The neighborhood pie contest was in twelve hours and I’d completely forgotten. I mean, I’d been so busy helping my sister move apartments that the … Read more

I was standing in the baking aisle last November, staring at a tube of pre-made sugar cookie dough I had no intention of buying, when … Read more

It was 11:47 PM on a rainy Tuesday in October, and I had a very specific craving for something warm, spiced, and wrapped in pastry. … Read more