Psst! Here’s a quick-and-easy dessert for the Thanksgiving groaning board. And, since it’s served right from the pan it’s baked in, it’s incredibly easy to wrap and take to wherever your moveable feast is being held this year.

We posted a blog on a berry-topped cake back in September. Now that Thanksgiving is upon us, it’s time to take that same recipe and substitute fresh cranberries for the raspberries.

Take a look at our recipe for Late Summer Berry Torte. Make the following changes, and Bob’s your uncle: Thanksgiving Cranberry Cake.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 8″ round pan. Top with 2 cups fresh cranberries. Sprinkle the cranberries with 1/3 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons coarse sparkling sugar; or with 1/2 cup granulated sugar.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and serve warm – as is, or topped with ice cream or whipped cream.

Bookmark this blog, and let the Thanksgiving countdown continue!

Whoa! It’s not even Thanksgiving, and the parade of holiday goodies has begun. The eggnog French toast. The chocolate-dipped vanilla cookies. And that butter-pecan kringle…

It may be time to add something a bit less disastrous to your dessert diet. (more…)

“Help!”

That was the cry coming from my colleagues on King Arthur’s merchandising team yesterday.

“We love these little bakers, but they’re only online, not in the catalogue; and no one is SEEING them! Could you…?”

“Do a blog?” I finished the sentence for them. “Well, you KNOW I’m not one of those fussy bakers. Ummm…” (more…)

Chocolate lovers rejoice – this one is SO for you.

Feast your eyes on these cookies. See the chunks underneath that thin skin of satiny chocolate cookie? Break one of these babies open, and you’re met with pure chocolate bliss.

Chocolate chips. Or chocolate chunks.

Or our new chocolate-coffee chunks, semisweet chocolate mixed with finely ground coffee, which gives this confection a compelling, super-light crunchiness.

Coffee chunks are my new best friend in the kitchen. And a perfect excuse to make these cookies. (more…)

What’s the ONE thing you simply have to bake for Thanksgiving every year?

You know, your signature dish; the pumpkin pie, or cranberry bread, or even the stuffing that everyone demands of you. You might get tired of making it - but show up at your brother-in-law’s without it, and I tell you, Mr. Man, you’re in deep… trouble. (more…)

Wait a minute. It’s less than 2 weeks till Thanksgiving. Shouldn’t I be seeing a pumpkin pie here?

Well… yeah, if you’re totally wedded to tradition. And admittedly, this is the time of year when many of us are. Grandma always made pumpkin pie. Or Mom always bought Mrs. Smith’s frozen apple pie (and passed it off as homemade by “distressing” the edges).

Whatever. If it’s your family tradition, it’s a comfortable raft to cling to.

Then again, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” (more…)

Oh, boy…  just look at these rolls.

I mean, feast your eyes on them. The golden, buttery crust. The soft, tender interior. Can’t you just imagine these, warm from the oven, the tiniest bit of steam wisping into the air as you pull them apart and reach for the butter dish?

Well, imagining is fine. But reality is right around the corner.

It’s called Thanksgiving.

(more…)

Now that November is a fact of life, rather than a somber cloud on the horizon, it’s time to accept it:  summer’s gone for good. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

After all,  autumn signals the start of the holiday baking season. And that’s a very good thing indeed. (more…)

Hurray! It’s one of my favorite times of year again – cookie decorating time! Sure, you can decorate cookies at any time of year (and I do), but there’s something special about decorating holiday cookies. Last year, my very first blog ever was about decorating cookies, so this blog is special in that I feel like I’ve come full circle. It’s been a great year, and I’ve loved every minute of it. (more…)

How many different pizza recipes are there in the world?

Well, how many imaginative pizza bakers are there? Millions?

Then there are certainly millions of pizza recipes.

If Pizza Hut One-Topping is the base of the pyramid; and the “Special Pie” (Brussels sprouts, béchamel, shaved chestnuts, bufala mozzarella and smoked bacon) at New York City’s current hot pizza restaurant, Co, is near the top; then think how many variations on the pepperoni/Hawaiian/barbecue theme lurk in between. (more…)