• Baking

    Chocolate Granola

    Add a little chocolate to your breakfast or simply snack on this homemade granola. With Halloween approaching, this is also a healthier treat to enjoy throughout the day. Sweetened with pure maple syrup, the combination of oats and mix-ins in this chocolate granola recipe become even more delicious when tossed with cocoa powder and baked until toasty.  As a final touch, I add some chopped chocolate toward the end of baking. Sprinkle on more or less depending on just how chocolatey you like things. On the weekend I may flip some ricotta pancakes or make a more extensive breakfast, but granola is my preference midweek, and I make lots of…

  • Pineapple Linzer Cookies
    Baking

    Pineapple Linzer Cookies

    The first snow of the season fell outside my kitchen window as I baked these cookies, and by the time I sifted powdered sugar onto the rows of cooled tops with their cutout stars and other shapes, both sides of the pane had quite a snow globe feel. When you make these buttery linzer cookies and their pineapple filling, your kitchen will take on a festive feel regardless of view, though if you can time it right, there is nothing like a roaring oven for coziness during a snowstorm. Ingredients Cookies 2 ½ cups flour 1 cup pecan halves ¾ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 1 ¼ cups…

  • Earl Grey cocoa pecans
    Food

    Earl Grey Cocoa Pecans

    Lately I have been combining chocolate with earthy ingredients like smoked salt. While enjoying some chocolate covered pretzels I had sprinkled with an applewood variety, I had a craving for a strong cup of Earl Grey. Later that night I found myself coming up with these delicious cocoa pecans. As a poet, I love delving into the meaning of words and the connection between strings of words. Playing with ingredients and their qualities is a process that can be similar to the act of writing. Understand and test the limits of individual parts. Combine them. Take them apart. Often poets and novelists will say they have to write – that…

  • apple cider streusel muffins
    Baking,  Food

    Apple Cider Streusel Muffins with Glazed Pecans

    The scent of apple cider signals the coming of crisp fall days and cozy nights. Apple picking is fine, but when we head to a local orchard, the true pleasure for me is returning home with gallons of apple cider and way too many doughnuts. Experimenting with some of this cider led to delicious muffins that feature a middle layer of cider glazed pecans and a cinnamon streusel topping. With cider incorporated into the buttermilk batter, they smell so good that we always eat them while still freshly-baked and warm.