Pixelated Crumb

When I first started this blog, I was strongly committed to posting at least three times a week, but then I started to post more like twice a week. And then it was more like once a week, but I figured it was ok because the quality of the photos was so much better. It simply took me longer to create posts that I was happier with. Then I started posting only a couple times a month. And then I had a child. She’ll be 21 months in two weeks and this is the second post on the blog since she was born.

So what compelled me, in the middle of this busy season no less, to come back to the blog when I have a full time job and a toddler to try to keep up with? Well, when I saw a recipe for gingerbread with cream cheese frosting and pomegranate seeds, I just felt so compelled to blog about it. It’s just so festive. I wanted to indulge in it, and I wanted you to too. And so here you have it. A beautiful gingerbread cake totally worthy of any holiday celebration.

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I’ve got a growing number of chocolate peanut butter treats appearing on this site and there is one primary reason for that: my husband. Now, I’m in no way saying that I don’t love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, but whenever I want to do something nice for Joseph, I tend to think towards the chocolate and peanut butter spectrum because he loves this combo.

Joseph was recently out of town for a few days for a conference and I wanted to have something nice for him when he returned, and these peanut butter brownie bites seemed like the perfect thing. They’re easy to make and they certainly met the chocolate and peanut butter criteria. I made sure I had all the ingredients I needed and was all set to make them. But then we were walloped by a huge snow storm.

I was just a few weeks into my third trimester in all it’s glory (oh, the back pain!!), and our neighbor, knowing I was home alone, did all of the shoveling and even cleared our car off for me. I was so overwhelmed by her generosity that I headed straight to the kitchen and made her one of my very favorite cookies, the perfect chocolate cookies from Cook’s Illustrated. Now, I try to be a nice wife, but frankly, that was the only baking I was up for that day, so I just made sure to save a couple of cookies for Joseph. He didn’t complain, but I was still eager to try the peanut butter brownie bites. Continue reading

One of my very favorite Christmas cookies is a meringue – the Forgotten Meringue, a vanilla meringue with chocolate chips – and I was excited to try another recipe out this Christmas. I figured I really couldn’t go wrong with chocolate, almonds, and a Dorie Greenspan recipe.

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By far the most popular recipe on the site is the one for chocolate turtle cookies (with very good reason – it’s one of my favorites too!) and I thought it was about time for another thumbprint cookie recipe. This one comes by way of Food52 and is such a great, easy cookie to add to your holiday repertoire. Just look at the ingredient list – only 9 ingredients, and one of them is optional! I even happened to have everything on hand already, including exactly 3/4 cup of almond meal, left over from making some chocolate almond meringues (recipe coming soon!).

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