Wishing everyone a safe, happy, fabulous New Year!! To all my readers, Thank You so much for trudging through my sometimes random jottings. :D (And for baking along with me!)

I cannot wait to share even more dessert ♥ in the coming year! xo

A cupcake like this belongs on the thick armrest of a worn-out leather chair that sits in an antiquated room full of books and artifacts overlooking the Serengeti.

Men can eat these cupcakes, come away with a chocolate covered nose, and still feel like they could play rugby, climb a mountain, eat a steak, or finally paint one side of the house.

(Can you tell how much I love to read J. Peterman catalogs?)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! It certainly doesn't feel like a Monday, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I'm also at peace with a few more days of indulgence. This is one of the few times when it actually feels "normal" to bake a ridiculous amount of...everything.

Wishing Everyone an enchanted, safe, food-filled holiday season! ♥

Can you believe that it's already the 22nd?! (Wasn't Thanksgiving Halloween just last week?)

It's okay, really. Everything will be fine. And as soon as I can locate the source of glitter that's Everywhere (on the kitchen counters, on table tops, in the utensil drawers, in my hair, on the cats, inside coffee cups...), things will be even better.

Know what also makes everything better? Cookies. Especially sandwich cookies. Especially sandwich cookies that sandwich a layer of ganache.

Since my previous attempt at a layered carrot cake failed, I decided to make cupcakes instead. Unlike other pans, the muffin tin rarely throws batter-filled fits, over issues like depth and diameter. (Yes, cake pans, I'm eyeballing you.)

Cupcakes have kind of become the baker's pet of my cake world.

They're adorkable.

Is there anything more lovely than the fragrant marriage between almonds and limes? Maybe. (Especially if you're a chocolate fan.) But sometimes you just need something refreshing, perky, and light.

Despite the fact that I've made it several times, I still get antsy when it comes to making caramel. (And not because of the scars it left on a few fingers.) What scares me more than molten lava burns? Drama.

This Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was actually one of last week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipes. (The other was a honey almond fig tart.) This week's recipe options include ice cream and plums. Confused? Probably not. I am. But I didn't have any coffee today (my default excuse for everything lately).

If you're feeling a bit lethargic from all the holiday decorating, shopping, cooking, baking, card-writing, wrapping, and ribbon-curling screaming, then I have just the recipe! You don't even need the oven for this, just a willingness to patiently watch butter and sugar transform into luxurious, molten toffee.

I don't know about you, but I find butter transformation kind of therapeutic.

My views on fate and destiny are somewhat skewed, in that I tend to believe in them only when it's convenient to do so. But, when I can muzzle the logical half of my brain (not an easy task), part of me likes to believe in fairy tales, happily ever afters, and soul-mates. These brief lapses in reason may not last long, but they visit just often enough allow for wishing on stars, stray eyelashes, and birthday candles. :)

The good: This recipe!
The bad: A cake, lost.
The ugly: Overflowing batter, everywhere.

This weekend I attempted to make a basic carrot cake. Apparently my cake pans are not deep enough to accommodate carrot cake's lofty standards. (I blame the shallow pie pans they've been spooning with for the past few months.) Luckily my oven was already a hot mess and the cake batter spillage merely added to it's edgy, artistic appearance.

Oh goat cheese, not only do you shine in appetizers and entrées, now you've stepped into the sometimes discriminating world of desserts...way to shatter that glass ceiling (you too, bacon).

When I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens, I had to make it, immediately. I love recipes that call for an ingredient that's way out of left field (or is it "from" left field? I'm terrible with sports adages). Black pepper, chili powder, butternut squash etc...the line between savory and sweet is only as thick as we want it to be.