Cranberry Orange Bread

RALEIGH, N.C. — I’m working from home this week and after a long day of sitting at my parents’ kitchen table on my laptop, I decided it was time to bake. I declared my intentions outloud to my brother who had just woken up (at 12:30 p.m….oh, to be in college), “Don’t you think [...]

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Chocolate Layer Cake

Hold on to your hats ladies and gentleman — this cake is rich! If there could be a theme song to play while eating it, it would have to be “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” This music video is pretty strange and has no bearing on how good this cake is. The cake uses 99% and [...]

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Thanksgiving Check List

If you haven’t started thinking about what you’re doing to make for Thanksgiving…now would be a good time to start (wink, nudge: there’s less than a week to go!). You have the weekend to plan your meal, create a grocery list and spring into action. I haven’t gone as far as practicing serving the [...]

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Pumpkin Scones

The scones come out of oven, I immediately try one, burn my mouth slightly and wonder if they’re not sweet enough. But after I let my mouth recover and the scones cool a little more, I realize that these not being so sweet ain’t a bad thing. I reminded myself that these are pumpkin scones, [...]

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Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

Recognize that placemat and napkin? Yes, this photo and the roasted tomato soup were taken on the same day — I admit! And here’s another secret: there’s nothing in that mug! It’s all for photography’s sake. Now that you have the inside info, here’s the open-secret: you can never have too many chocolate chip cookie [...]

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

A one-bowl cupcake recipe that delivers on the promise of being very chocolatey and really good. James called them “a sugar seizure,” but I think it’s because the frosting had one-cup-too-much of sugar (the recipe below reflects the change). I made these for Halloween hence the green frosting in the background. I also attempted [...]

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Apple Spice Bars

We’ve moved on from our apple hiatus and came back swingin’! These apple spice bars have a super moist inside and a delightful crunchy topping — probably helped by the generous addition of a cinnamon sugar topping. Note this: even after 40 minutes of cooking, they may taste a little undercooked but I’ve decided that [...]

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Apple Cranberry Crisp

I told you I’d have lots of apple recipes for you, and here’s one more! It may look like a funny mass of oats and apples, but it’s actually a heap of pure autumn goodness with a kick of cranberry tartness. We’re a bit appled-out here at the Kotecki Kompound (i.e. our one bedroom apartment), [...]

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