Monogrammed Cupcakes

Oh where to start? How about with this: My friend Leora is engaged! And she had a party. And I baked. Of course. Cupcakes! With their initials on them! I cannot speak in full sentences! I don't know why.

Pies, Pies, Pies

If you're a last minute-baker like me and you're still looking for dessert inspiration for your Thanksgiving feast - look no further! Here are some tried-and-tested pies, tarts (and one shortbread) that will be happily welcomed to any holiday table. P.S. If you're looking for new reasons to make fun of me, click here.

1. Apple Pie
This is the classic, and this recipe will wow just about everyone. Use pie dough scraps to make decorative cutouts if you're feeling crafty.

2. Quadruple Berry Pie
This juicy dessert is more of a summer staple - but if you use a frozen berry mix - defrosted and patted very dry, it will be a welcome surprise after dinner.

3. Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Ok, not a pie, but still a perfect addition to the banquet - pumpkin and cheesecake are a great combination.

4. Pear-Filled Shortbread
Also not a pie, but a seriously, sweet, seriously delicious, unique dessert. 

5. Snickerdoodle Pie
This is a slightly off-the-beaten-track pie, but delicious nonetheless - and really amazing when served warm.

6. Mini Apple Pies
My last pie suggestion is the ultimate in last-minute desserts - and the quickest option  here. Storebought crusts (and even store bought pie filling - I won't tell) make these a snap to whip up.








Have a great weekend!

New Things

Hi all -


A couple new things around here at Baking and Mistaking. 
First - The layout! I felt like a little winter cleaning. Things may keep changing if I get bored. Anything could happen!
Second - All blog posts now jump to a new page. This allows for more posts to appear on the home page for easy scrolling around. 
Third - I added an FAQ page - it's on the right here. Feel free to check it out and see if I answered all your questions. Sorry, I'm still unclear on the meaning of life.


Well that was pretty boring. Here's a picture of three doughnut ice cream sandwiches to make it up to you. Yes, doughnut, ice cream, sandwich. Take a doughnut, slice it in half, fill with ice cream. Don't worry, I only ate one of them (obviously the middle one). And it was insane! Jealous?

Honey Granola Bars

This might be the healthiest thing I've ever made. Seriously. If ingredients like wheat germ, and sunflower seeds scare you, then maybe you should skip past this and come back another day. But if you're open to things that don't start with a stick of butter, try these granola bars!

Pear and Bittersweet Chocolate Cake

I feel bad. I feel really awful that I made this cake so long ago, and haven't shared it with you yet. It's that good. It's just the right balance of fluffy and dense, it's sweet, but not too sweet, it uses both fresh fruit and chocolate...basically heaven.

This pear and bittersweet chocolate cake is a way to take some pretty simple ingredients, and turn them into something extraordinary. One of the keys to this recipe is having the eggs and room temperature - since that will help them attain the volume they need.

Pumpkin Muffins....the hard way

I'm not big on free time these days. Or sleep. But somehow, when I managed to have a few hours on a Sunday free of all obligations, I decided to buy a pumpkin. Some people buy pumpkins to carve into scary faces and put on their porches. I bought a pumpkin to eat. And about six hours later...my pumpkin became muffins.

Butternut Squash Bread - Two Ways

I love cooking seasonally. Using what I find on the supermarket shelves, produce that is really at it's peak - nothing frozen or canned. Lately there has been a butternut squash on my dining room table almost constantly - I'll buy a new one as soon as I use the old one. And when I made this recipe for butternut squash bread, I only needed about half the puree. So I made another one - but I changed one key ingredient, to conduct a little experiment.

Lemon Squares

When I realized a couple months back that I had no recipe for lemon squares on this blog, I was shocked. Lemon squares are a dessert classic - a must-have recipe for every serious baker. And now you have one. And these aren't just any lemon squares - with slightly more effort that usual, you can produce a creamy, tangy and sweet confection.

Oatmeal Fudge Sandwich Cookies

As I proved last week, sandwich cookies are awesome. I also proved it a year and a half ago. Either way, sandwich cookies are a little more work than your average cookie - what with all the matching up, spread and sandwiching together. No more! These fudge sandwich cookies are baked up in one pan. Oatmeal, fudge, oatmeal. Done.