i'd rather be baking

Ooh, biscotti. If you haven’t made some form of it to give as a gift, well, you really should. I’ve mentioned before that biscotti is a sure-fire way to an easy and impressive gift. And if you’ve never made your own even for yourself, you really should as well. It bears so little comparison to that coffee shop junk!

And don’t even get me started on chocolate and peanut butter together. This isn’t rocket science, people, it’s pure deliciousness! Please do us all a favor. Bake yourself some biscotti, tie it up in a little plastic bag and give it with a cute coffee mug. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t enjoy that for a gift.

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I love pomegranate anything, but until the last few months I’d never actually brought fresh pomegranates home to work with. They are definitely pricey as fruit goes, but they do go on sale from time to time! Winter is an especially great time to find good deals on pomegranates. We were lucky enough to get a couple in one of our CSA bags awhile ago, and it turns out that pomegranates keep longer than I thought!

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It’s turned off especially cold here the last few days, and we’re supposed to get some snow this weekend! I’m feeling more and more ready and excited for Christmas. Gingerbread is such a classic Christmas flavor, and I love its spicy kick in the mouth. I also love lemons more than anyone should, and this week I found out that they go wonderfully together.

Have you ever made lemon curd? It used to intimidate me, but honestly, it’s super simple. Whatever you do, don’t shell out six or seven dollars for a jar of it at the specialty foods store. Silly. All you need to do is zest and juice some lemons and add butter, sugar, and eggs. Easy! And so delicious.

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Hi again! I’m still here, baking, covered in flour, and stretching out tight leg muscles. Business as usual. Today’s post is a gift for your more vanilla friends. You know, the ones you’re afraid to go too crazy on gifts for, because it might freak them out. I don’t know anything that’s a safer bet than pumpkin bread.

And yes, okay, I put walnuts in it. You can leave them out if you want, but gosh, they’re tasty. I don’t know. I eat weird things like quiche for dinner, so maybe you shouldn’t listen to me after all. But Joy definitely knows what she’s talking about, and this is her recipe. That’s good enough for me.

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I’m excited to share this recipe with you. The success of these meringue kisses is a personal triumph for me, which is perhaps a bit sad considering how easy they are to make. But the first time I tried to make them (maybe six months ago?), I’d never made meringue before and did NOT know what I was doing. More importantly, I did not have anyone to tell me what I was doing wrong. But now I know! Now, I’ve made meringue hundreds of times at the bakery and therefore had no worries about making these little beauties. And now I can teach you how!

If you have a stand mixer, this could not be simpler. Let it do the work for you. If you have a handheld electric mixer, well, you’re going to need strong arms. But I think you can still do it! And really, aren’t these just adorable? Does it help that there are only three ingredients involved?

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