Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the “Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie” recipe from Cooks Illustrated, and it is hands down the best one I've found. I have tried everything from the Joy of Cooking to the Bouchon Bakery cookbook, and I will keep going back to this one!

Pitta ‘Mpigliata #2

Traditional Calabrian Christmas dessert for our friends at a Casa Mia in Marblehead!

Recipe: http://kitchenchem.kericolabroy.bergbuilds.domains/chm114/how-to-make-pitta-mpigliata/

Baklava

1st baklava attempt for Mediterranean ELEVENsgiving! So fun to work with phyllo dough. Recipe from: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/baklava

Pear Galette

Delicious, aromatic, perfectly November vanilla pear galette!

Recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/10/pear-galette-recipe.html

Brownie Sundaes

These deliciously rich and chocolatey brownies were made for a coworker's birthday and topped with ice cream, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and (of course) a maraschino cherry. Recipe from BraveTart.

Summer Fruit Tart with Pastry Cream

This summer fruit tart has a a buttery, crisp crust filled with rich, lightly sweetened pastry cream topped with beautiful fresh fruit. So much better than a bland crust filled with whipped cream (which isn’t substantial enough for the sturdy crust) and tasteless unripe fruit. I recently had this rendition at a restaurant and had to rectify it! I made this at my brother and sister-in-law's house when visiting for their baby shower. The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated ("Classic Fresh Fruit Tart with Pastry Cream").

Strawberry Tart with Pastry Cream

To accompany a dinner party with friends on a beautiful April Saturday, I made this delicious and visually stunning strawberry tart with pastry cream. Recipe from aseasyasapplepie.

Hazelnut Almond Dacquoise #2

Made this incredible hazlenut almond dacqouise with espresso buttercream for the 2nd time, this time for a design summit at Keurig. Recipe from the Flour Bakery cookbook.

Strawberry Parfaits

These beautifully layered desserts were made for Easter, and then adapted for a 2 hour baking workshop that I ran with neighbors. In place of the mousseline cream, we used sweetened whipped cream. It wasn't as decadent, but it worked well in the time we had! Recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook.

Chocolate Mousse

This soft, indulgent chocolate mousse topped with a drizzle of olive oil and fleur de sel was made to follow dinner with friends. Recipe from Barbara Lynch's Stir cookbook.

Mardi Gras King Cake

It's always fun to find the baby in the King Cake at Mardi Gras! I didn't have purple, green, and gold sprinkles this year, so I settled for blue, green and white. Recipe from NY Times Cooking.

Oh-Ohs

For this year's Superbowl, I made Oh Ohs, Thomas Keller's version of Ho Hos.

Ricotta Cookies

For a baking workshop with neighbors, I chose ricotta for the theme and made ricotta gnocchi and these fluffy ricotta cookies. Recipe from cookiesandcups.

Dinner rolls

Baking bread is so rewarding when it behaves! This easy recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated: “Fluffy Dinner Rolls.”

Neighborhood Pie Workshop

Here's a mini demo pie for the pumpkin pie workshop I’m running with JP neighbors on Sunday! 

Pumpkin Cheesecake

This was an EXCELLENT cheesecake. So smooth and creamy! I used the Cook's Illustrated Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe, which has you blot the canned pumpkin puree with paper towels to remove the moisture. Worth it! I made this for a belated birthday celebration for our engineering coop, Marina.

Wedding Cupcakes!

Carrot, Gluten Free Carrot, Ginger, and Red Velvet Cupcakes with Flour Bakery Cookbook cream cheese frosting, at my wedding!

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cake

An elaborate cake from Rose's Heavenly Cakes for my friends Ed and Sarah's wedding! Under the shiny dark chocolate frosting are 3 layers of fluffy strawberry mousseline buttercream sandwiched between 4 layers of soft white cake.

Banana Bread

Banana bread made from bananas that were super ripe and left behind at the office on a Friday! I snagged them and made this beautiful bread. Score! I believe I used the Cook's Illustrated Best Banana Bread recipe.

Wedding Cupcake Trials!

Carrot, Gluten Free Carrot, Ginger, and Red Velvet Cupcakes with Flour Bakery Cookbook cream cheese frosting, as practice for my wedding!