cake One true love My, my, things have been busy. I haven't posted a recipe in months. Oh, I've done plenty of baking, but life keeps distracting me from the important business of recording recipes. This must stop! Herewith, a recipe for Valentine's Day. My love for all
cupcakes One surprise after another I sometimes think the world is divided into cake people and frosting people. You know what I mean: some people are all about the cake, while others view cake as a means to a sweeter, more frosting-filled end. (All right...I am sure there
tart For your inner child One day recently The Resident Food Critic remarked that her favorite restaurant pie was Peanut Butter Pie. Over the years, I've eaten many a peanut butter cup, of course, and probably more than my fair share of peanut butter cookies, but I'd never had
pie Once more unto the beach Here we are, coming up on Labor Day. Originally instituted to celebrate the contributions of working people, Labor Day has long been recognized as the end of summer. Here in the Carolinas, it's often celebrated with a weekend at the beach. Which got me
cake Great minds don't always think alike The best thing about self-imposed rules is you can break them whenever you want to. My general rule for what I put on this blog is that it is something I have made and enjoyed enough that I intend to make it again. After
galette Lazy summer days There were days, and there were days, as Jerry Garcia said. Days when you have a lot of time to fill and are itching to tackle a big project in the kitchen. Other days when you're feeling pretty lazy, maybe more interested in eating
Basics: Pie Crust I've been baking pies lately, and want to share some pie recipes. Half-size pies, as it turns out, are adorably cute as well as delicious. In writing up the recipes, I realized it would simplify matters if I just put out a basic pie
pie The language of pie My relationship with pie is ... complicated? I love making pies! Truth be told, I enjoy making pies more than I enjoy eating them. Making great pie can be viewed as a challenge, and serving it to friends and family is deeply satisfying: a pie
pie Basics: Gluten-free pie crust I have mixed feelings about gluten-free pie crust. On the one hand, it's more complicated to make than regular pie crust, with more ingredients, and requiring additional care in rolling out and assembling. Without any gluten to hold it together, it tears very easily.
cheesecake Pinup Once upon a time, "cheesecake" was the word used to describe slightly risque photos of young starlets. Apparently this slang was adopted because the original term "pin-up" came to be considered rude. Hard to imagine, but then it's also hard to imagine that those
biscuits Strawberry head In Spring, as the poet says, a baker's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of strawberries. Here in the Carolinas, every farm stand is boasting of strawberries, and I am powerless to resist. Why would I even want to? What could be better than freshly-picked
For science In which a vast number of scones are baked and eaten. And there is great rejoicing in the land. It happens at least once a week. The algorithm that decides what I want to read turns up an article with a title like "Twelve
brownie Genius Remember the year 2000? In the 2000 presidential election, it was said that Al Gore grandiosely claimed to have "invented the Internet". For the record, I don't think Al Gore ever said such a thing, but that discussion (politics and/or stickiness) belongs on
bread Cinnamon-swirl bread It's been many years since I first came across a recipe for cinnamon-swirl bread. (For the uninitiated, cinnamon-swirl bread is something like raisin bread, but without the raisins. Just a lovely swirl of cinnamon sugar throughout the loaf.) At the time, it struck me
pie Take it easy Possibly the most annoying phrase in the English language is "Easy as pie". No one who makes pies says this! The truth is, pie can be tricky. Pie crust requires a light touch to remain flaky and tender: over-handle it, and you'll have a
pancake Miss Congeniality Way back in the olden days, when phones had cords, a camera was an expensive piece of equipment. A photographer outfitted for a shoot was weighed down with a giant bag full of lenses, film, flashbulbs, and nameless arcanery. Back in those days, my
angel food Spring! I remember my grandmother as a stout little old lady who walked with a cane. But in her heyday, she loved to bake and was locally famous for her angel food cake. Weddings, picnics, and school outings were all made special by Anna Flanagan's
pie She's so fine The Office Manager remarked the other day that she'd never had chocolate pie, and was pretty sure she wouldn't like it. Talk about throwing down the gauntlet! There was no way I was going to let a challenge like that go unanswered. So I
gougeres Madam, will you have a gougere? The writer Mary Stewart once described a (fictional) dish as something that "would have tempted an anchorite to break his penance". Mary Stewart was one of a kind; I don't think most of us could get away with writing like that. When I first
pie Pi Pi Day celebrates the mathematical constant π (3.14). It is celebrated in countries that follow the month/day (m/dd) date format, because the digits in the date, March 14 or 3/14, are the first three digits of π (3.14). Pi
cake Vanilla Beane My mind wanders a lot when I'm baking. As I was making this cake, I was absently pondering Suzuki Beane, a book I loved when I was a kid. Published in 1961, it is the first-person story of Suzuki, a little girl who lives
muffins Unsecret Garden The story of Garden of Eden seems endlessly fascinating, for people of many faiths as well as those of no particular faith at all. Some critics read it as an allegory of the agricultural revolution, where Adam and Eve are given dominion over the
cake Heart's Desire Here at Half-Size Bakes, there are certain holidays we always celebrate at home: New Year's Eve, Mother's Day, and Valentine's Day. Even when restaurant dining was a regular part of our lives, we avoided restaurants on those days, which we thought of as the
apple crisp Uncomplicated I don't have a favorite movie; there are just too many to choose from. Lately I've been thinking a lot about Bull Durham, one of the many movies I love. It's richly evocative of a time and place, the on-screen chemistry among the cast
cake Winterlog Part of the Pandemic Baking Adventure for me has been about trying new things. Back in former days, I would think about trying a new recipe, but I was busy with a lot of other things and just didn't have the mental energy to
