If you’ve read our “About Us” section, you’ll know that we’re Oregonians, born and raised. We both were born in Ashland, Oregon, a small town nestled in the folds of the Siskiyous and celebrated for its theater (Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a must if you haven’t seen one of the dozen shows they put on a year), beautiful parks, extensive hiking trails that you can hop on anywhere in town, and a tiny but growing culinary and wine scene. If you’re ever driving up I5 (for international folks, this is the interstate freeway that connects everything from the Mexico-California border up to Canada) and need a rest in an idyllic…
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Cranberry Clafoutis
Cranberries are the deceivingly beautiful but unfortunately tart fruit of fall. I grew up on Costco bags of dried Ocean Spray cranberries, grabbed by the handfuls for after school snacks or tossed together with almonds or cashews for a between-class snack. I remember the revelation that took hold of my sister and I the first time we witnessed the marvel of a cranberry harvest on PBS: millions of marvelously smooth rubies floating in washes of flooded fields. It was practically the red sea, waters parted by wader-clad farmers in checkered flannels and baseball caps. As a proud Pacific Northwesterner, it was another shining example of the quiet gloriousness of the…
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Classic Pecan Pie Bars
Sometimes a baked good just exudes coziness. Oozes curled up evenings under the covers with a good book (or four) or with the projector on and a Harry Potter movie playing out on the canvas of your apartment wall. These pecan pie bars do just that, with a kick of wickedly sweet corn syrup custard and the nutty fall crunch of caramelized pecans held together by the flakiest of shortbread crusts. If this sounds like the perfect Saturday evening, then by all means, read on. And, if you toss them in the oven before dinner, they’ll be done just in time for that movie night, or start them on the…
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Pistachio Swiss Roll with Raspberry Rose Cream
Ladurée is hands down the best shop for macarons in Paris. The rose flavor is undoubtedly the best (if you like floral dessert flavors), and is the perfect pairing of deeply satisfying chew, light almond cap, and ephemeral rose flavor. Since trying my first rose macaron from Ladurée, I’ve wanted to create something even remotely similar to at least the flavor of that delicately-pink treasure. The rose gold financiers come close, but this pistachio Swiss roll with raspberry rose cream is the closest I’ve come so far. Pistachio and rose is a classic pairing in Persian sweets, and the two create a sublime harmony of earthy green nut and lighter-than-air…
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Chocolate Coffee Swiss Roll with Fudge Sauce
Case of the Mondays? We’ve got you covered. Mondays sometimes need a kick, and a strong one, to get the creative juices flowing or get through that dreadful traffic. This cake is is the answer to all of you problems and all the problems that are undoubtedly going to get thrown your way today because that’s just how Mondays are. To help you tune out all of that beginning of the week haze, we invite you to take a slice of this coffee and chocolate-laden roll of decadence. A light, fluffy swirl of chocolate, filled with the creamiest coffee whipped cream, and all enrobed in rich coffee + chocolate fudge…
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Pumpkin Molasses Whoopie Pies
These little clam-like cookie sandwiches are apparently called whoopie pies – and what a delightful name. Upon investigation of the name origin, it seems the Amish were very fond of using up leftover cookie batter (I’ve personally never heard of having leftover anything when baking cookies – it all gets used) and Amish bakers turn the leftover dollops into these cream-filled drops of happiness. The story gets even better, though, because the name Whoopie Pie is said to come from the exclamation of joy each child makes if one of these treats is found in said child’s lunch box. Thanks to the Amish for these things and for Amish children…
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Pumpkin Chocolate Snacking Cake
And, after a short break, we’re back with the scheduled programming of pumpkin, pumpkin, and more pumpkin this October. For those of you outside of the US, the pumpkin craze may seem a bit strange. If you do have access to a fresh squash or canned pumpkin, though, give it a try and see if it doesn’t grow on you. This pumpkin chocolate chunk snacking cake is one of the easiest pumpkin desserts out there, and I wouldn’t even count it as a full dessert! It’s only a touch sweet, heavy with pumpkin (a vegetable), and a scattering of chocolate chunks, making it the perfect snack for after lunch, after…
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Pumpkin Swiss Roll
Tis the season for all things orange! And get ready for the onslaught of pumpkin recipes (which have undoubtedly already inundated your Instagram feeds, we’re a bit late on our side). Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies or cakes or muffins have an enduring comfort to them that other baked goods may fall short on. The warmth of the color, quite simply, lends itself to cozy evenings and afternoons or time curled up on the couch next to a fire after a brisk walk down the street to crunch leaves and admire the brilliantly-hued trees. What I would love after such a walk, is to come inside and be met with a…
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Pumpkin Saffron and Cardamon Crumb Cake
After trying a few modifications on Kendra’s pumpkin coffee cake recipe (which will be up here soon!), I ended up with a cake that was infinitely denser, a layer of crumb that could serve as a paperweight, and an eggy, almost pie-like center. At first slice, I deemed it a failure – but lo and behold, the texture and hint of sweetness was a resounding hit at the office! So, armed with a personal recommendation from my CMO for a few key ingredients to add, I returned to the modified recipe a few weeks later and concocted this ethereally spiced, hazy-sweet ode to so many spectacular Persian and Indian treats.…
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Spiced Apple Crisp
Apple crisp is one of my enduring fall favorites. It exudes warmth (quite literally but also figuratively), the coziness of spices, the sweet, soft abundance of homey apples, and the crunch of an earthy, deeply spiced crumble. It’s a humble dessert that melts me back into worn couches, a cracking fire, and cousins and family members teasing and laughing over plates and plates of food. Or to after dinner instant apple crisps that my grandma would whip together in about 10 minutes (without measuring a single ingredient much to the lament of me, who wanted her recipe) and that we would dig in to once the dishwasher was rumbling away…
