Dessert Recipes

I was standing in the middle of Target last October, right between the seasonal candy aisle and the baking supplies, when a woman walked past … Read more

There used to be this little bakery tucked into a brick building on the corner of Maple and Third—a place called The Copper Kettle. They … Read more

Introduction My neighbor, an older woman named Betty who gardens in her bathrobe every Saturday morning, watched me struggling with a batch of sticky, failed … Read more

My neighbor, a woman named Carol who once told me she “doesn’t do cute food,” had avoided Halloween baking for her entire adult life. She … Read more

My sister-in-law Jen wasn’t trying to impress anyone that Tuesday. I’d stopped by to drop off a casserole dish she’d lent me, and the smell … Read more

I wasn’t expecting to find baking wisdom from our apartment building’s maintenance guy, but there I was, locked out of my kitchen on a Tuesday … Read more

This was supposed to be a fancy layered trifle for a spring brunch. I had it all planned out—angel food cake, fresh strawberries, a vanilla … Read more

Introduction My neighbor wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to pick up a package that had been misdelivered to her house, and the … Read more

I was sitting in the waiting room of a car repair shop—the kind with plastic chairs and a coffee machine that hasn’t been cleaned since … Read more

There used to be a tiny bakery tucked between a laundromat and a vintage shop on the corner of Elm and 4th that made the … Read more