Daily Loaf

(Check out Vegan Thanksgiving part 1 and part 2.)

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Best. Cookies. Ever.

We need to talk about vegan almond-raspberry thumbprint cookies.

This is an amazing recipe. I found it two Thanksgivings ago, the first time I had to cook for myself as a vegan. I loved it so much, I decided to experiment with all kinds of vegan pastries and then give them out as Christmas presents (more about that next month, when I share some of my Starving Artist Tricks with you). Read the rest of this entry »

Each year around this time we’re inundated with requests for help or financial support from almost every nonprofit organization under the sun. While most, if not all, are very worthy causes, it can still be a bit daunting. This year, perhaps more than ever, the needs of our community are great while our resources are dwindling. With unemployment at over 10%, writing a few checks to our favorite charities is simply not an option for many of us right now. But there are still lots of small ways that we can make a difference, some of which can be very rewarding.

What we may not be able to give in dollars, we most likely can give in time. Volunteering at a local charity during the Holidays is a always a great way to support our community and make the lives of those less fortunate a little bit brighter. Hosting a Drop In & Decorate Party is a sweet way to pay it forward and have a swell time doing it.  Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not normally a huge fan of cookies. Not that I don’t enjoy a good a good cookie from time to time, because I do. I just don’t go crazy for them the way I do other sweets like, say…ice cream or eclairs. But when I do reach into the cookie jar, it’s a pretty safe bet that there’s oatmeal involved. And, a combination of dried fruits. And definitely, some toasted nuts too.   Truth be told, I usually don’t even bother with the cookie jar unless there’s a batch of these lovelies waiting in there for me. I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to tell you about my Scandalously Good Oatmeal cookies!

I call them Scandalously Good Oatmeal Cookies for good reason. They are scandalously good! In fact, they are the best oatmeal cookies ever, if I do say so myself! These little babies are everything a fabulous oatmeal cookie should be – shatteringly crispy around the edges, yet chewy and almost lacy on the inside. They’re made with real butter and brown sugar which makes them caramelize just the slightest bit when baked. And, they’re studded with an assortment of dried fruits and nuts. I found the original cookie recipe in an old issue of Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve played around with the ingredients and tweaked the recipe until I came up with what I think is the perfect oatmeal cookie.  Read the rest of this entry »

Let me start right off by saying that no, that is not the official name of these cookies – but it should be.  They are actually called Peanut Butter Corn Flake Balls. That’s a decent enough name. It is accurate and descriptive. However, it comes nowhere close to describing the flat out, mind-blowing awesomeness of these sticky, gooey, creamy, chewy little blobs of edible bliss! How did they end up being called HolyCrapTheseAreAmazing Cookies, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because that is pretty much what everyone says the first time they bite into one of these decadent little guys.

The first time I ever ate one was when my daughter was in the second grade. Each year, from the time she was in kindergarten through the fifth grade, I had the dubious distinction of being the Room Mother for her class. A Room Mother is a mom who is in charge of taking care of all of the “extras” for the class that the teacher doesn’t have the time or inclination to do, like collecting for the teacher’s gifts, lining up chaperones for field trips and, of course, organizing class parties.

Anyway, that particular year, her class had a Halloween party, and one of the moms brought these cookies.  Now, being a Room Mother often requires you to make certain sacrifices, one of which is taste-testing all of the snacks, just to make sure that they are okay for the kids to eat.  Really!  It says so in the Official Room Mothers’ Code of Conduct. Okay, I made that up, but if there was an Official Room Mothers’ Code of Conduct, I’ll bet the whole “taste-testing” thing would be in there.

So, I ate a cookie. As my eyes were rolling back into my head, I groaned out loud and spontaneously exclaimed: “Holy crap! These are amazing cookies!” From then on, they have elicited the same response from everyone I’ve served them to. Read the rest of this entry »

Few things in life are certain.  We’re born. We die. And somewhere in between the two, we all get our hearts broken at least once. There’s no escaping it. It’s as inevitable as the rising and the setting of the sun.  That is the risk we take for the giddy, glorious feeling of being in love.

I’ve certainly experienced my share of heartbreak, beginning in the 5th grade when Benny Buffamante threw me over for Mary Rose Kelly. Who could blame him, really? With her big blue eyes and long, golden curls, she was adorable. Plus, she had three first names! How could I compete with that!?!?

I survived being spurned by Benny and lived to love again. And, of course, my heart was stomped on many more times in the process. I’d like to think that it made me stronger and more resilient. I’d like to think that, but the truth is that each time I lost in love, it hurt just as much as the time before. Thank heavens I met my Mr. Right before my tender heart was completely pummeled into a quivering, bleeding mass of mush!

Although I don’t normally advocate self-medicating with food, there are some situations where a decadent, sticky, gooey, creamy and chewy dessert is just what the doctor ordered — and a broken heart is one of them.  Allow me to introduce you to just such a treat: Break-Up Bars! Read the rest of this entry »

Tagalongs and Thin Mints for me, thanks. A freezer full, if I can find the room. Cookies went on sale two weeks ago and continue until March.

But before you buy, there’s a few things you may want to know. Read the rest of this entry »