A homemade muffin mix makes it easy to whip up a quick batch of muffins anytime!

This recipe is perfect for spur-of-the-moment cravings people like me. If you also wake up some mornings wishing there was fresh baking, but there is none, or you have kids who come creeping down after their homework is done looking for some baked goods for a snack, you need to keep this mix in your cupboards. It’s so quick and so versatile, you’ll wonder how you ever kept house without it.

Must-Have Sugar Cookie Recipe

A basic sugar cookie recipe is a must-have in your baking repertoire. Simple, versatile and keeps well, this is a recipe you'll come back to again and again.

If you’re like me and don’t bake all that often, I’ve found it helpful to have a few standard no-fail baking recipes to reach for over and over again. Recipes like ginger cookies and chocolate cake which suit many occasions, and make you look like a rock-star chef.

Espresso Brownies Using a Boxed Brownie Mix

Happy Monday friends!  And happy new week, the last one in February…yay!  Thanks for all your lovely feedback on my doggy story last week!  Sounds like at least a couple of people are off in search of a foster dog. Awesome!

Nutmeg Spice Mini Loaf Cake

Deliciously spiced and light nutmeg spice cake, baked in mini loaf pans it's perfectly sized for snacking or gift-giving.

Last summer we had the good fortune of spending a few days in Boston, MA to do a bit of sightseeing, shopping and eating well.  I looked up some of the most highly recommended restaurants ahead of time and one of them was the Flour Bakery.  It didn’t disappoint.  It had all the charm and character you would want in a neighbourhood bakery/cafe.  Plus a completely decadent assortment of baked goods and yummy beverages to go with them.

Hot Cross Buns in the Breadmaker & Easter Plans

Well Easter's right around the corner!  It seems to have snuck up on us a bit, falling right at the beginning of the month.   Here’s just a quick post to share with you some of our traditions old and new, and then give you a recipe for hot cross buns you can make in your breadmaker.  If you try them I promise you’ll never buy them at the bakery again!

Candy Cane Shortbread + Christmas Playlist

candy cane shortbread

So when I’m having a complete Christmas moment, and I’m baking away, and the tree is up, I love to have a great Christmas playlist happening that I can sing along with, and love every song that comes on.  If your Christmas playlist needs some mid-season additions, then here are my top three albums for this Christmas.  I could put this set on shuffle and listen to it all day.  I think.  That opportunity hasn’t come up yet!

Classic Ginger Molasses Cookies

A classic old-fashioned gingersnap recipe with a perfectly crinkled top and chewy center.  A must-have for Christmas baking, but delicious all year long!

With the Christmas season around the corner, serious bakers will getting busy stocking up on cookies for the holidays.  I wouldn’t call myself a Serious Baker, but these ginger molasses cookies are always on the list of Christmas baking.  If you’ve been around here very long you know that I stick to the tried-and-true.  Recipes that never fail and that everyone will love.  Christmas baking is no exception.  In my repertoire I have gingerbread, shortbread, sugar cookies, lemon thumbprint, plus something chocolate.  With chocolate I’m willing to experiment…you can’t really go too far wrong.

How to Take This Smartphone Photo: Baking Cookies

don’t eat the cookies yet

Hey bloggy friends!  This is my second edition of How to Take This Photo.  I don’t discriminate against cameras…I hope you don’t either.  I took this one with my smartphone.  I take a lot of my blog photos with it.  And photos to send to family and friends.  Photos for instagram.  Photos of cookies.

Easier Than Pie: Galette with Fresh Fruit & Almond

Hey there everyone!  How are you today?  Are you still loving the fresh-picked local fruit season?  We really are.  The strawberries are starting to be hard to find, but that means other berries like raspberries and blueberries are ready.  And personally I have my eye out for peaches.

Almost Homemade Hamburger Buns

Yummmmm.  Don’t you wish your screen was scratch ‘n sniff?  But guess what?  You could make these for real, in your own kitchen, by yourself.  It’s super easy, especially if you pull out your….breadmaker.  Who has one?  Raise your hand.  Is it buried in your basement?  Lurking in the back of a corner cupboard?

Homemade Cinnamon Spiced Granola

Recipe for homemade cinnamon spiced granola stored in mason jars with a chalkboard label lid and printable recipe card.

Well it’s back to the kitchen for this post, but this time something that’s crazy good for you and also addictively delicious.  Would you have guessed it was granola?  I don’t know if it’s the cinnamon spice that puts this over the top, plus the awesome crunch factor, but this has become a must-have in my kitchen. 

Best Banana Cake from Scratch

Best old-fashioned banana cake recipe, from scratch.  This is a family favourite for birthdays that still tastes delicious the next day, if there's any leftovers!

Oh yeah.  Carve yourself a big slice.  I know you want to.  This is seriously the best banana cake you can bake from scratch.   Even my dad, who is a self-professed non-liker of banana cake…likes this cake.  In our spree of spring family birthdays, this one almost always get chosen by someone.  And even though this was the third cake in as many weeks, there is only one slice left, just in time for the next birthday cake to make an appearance today.  You’d think I was a full-on pastry chef these days but trust me I’m not.  I do binge cake-baking in the spring for birthdays and Easter and then it’s back to muffins, loaves…and cookies if they’re lucky.

Perfect Chocolate Cake from Scratch

So we had a birthday in the family last weekend.  And we all make a big effort to make the day special for the birthday person.  Although parties and outings may not happen till another day, it’s nice to be spoiled on your special day, right?  And around here nothing says “spoiled”  like having cake for dessert. 

Favourite Brunch Menu Plus Recipes

OK guys here it is…finally…our brunch menu from Christmas Day plus the recipes to go with it. 

Overnight Brunch Casserole (I know…so descriptive!), muffins, fruit, juice, and coffee/tea.  It’s a basic combination that works for most brunch occasions and requires minimal work in the kitchen the morning of.  Since the whole point of brunch is that you want to be able to sleep in, right?

Chocolate Zucchini Loaf (or Isn’t She Loafly?)

So the other night it was sinking in that I have one more week till I need to perform a complete lifestyle overhaul for the whole household.  Also known as Back to School.  Maybe it causes that amount of upheaval in your home too?  I went into planning mode and pulled out all the stops…chips, wine, Pinterest.  I figured I would use this week to ease into some healthier routines, add a few more go-to foods, while continuing the organizing/nesting mode I was in.

Brown Sugar Drop Cookies

So my little sous-chef and I were feeling a little peckish yesterday afternoon.  Everyone else away, and only a bare minimum of groceries had been shopped on Re-entry Day One.  He felt that some baking was in order.  OK, I was up for it.  But it needs to be something quick and easy and foolproof…and good.

Responding to Tragedy

One of those hard hard times…as a person and as a mom.  What do you do when you are so vividly reminded that there is horror and evil in the world?

Maybe go out into the garden and collect a few blooms and branches for a kitchen table arrangement.  To remind yourself visually that there is still beauty in the world.  Maybe stare blankly at your computer screen till your coffee gets cold.

Maybe bake something that the kiddos love so they’ll hang out in the kitchen for awhile after school.  Maybe send one more text to Husband to make sure he’s still there.

Definitely say extra prayers.