Some Things I Just Love...

for the foodie - 1. | caramels from mother peach 2. | chai caramel sauce from herbin' spoonful 3. | organic ginger sesame caramel popcorn from 479 popcorn 4. | pear, honey and ginger small batch preserves from quince & apple 5. | cold brewed black coffee from la colombe 6. | sipping chocolate from askinosie 7. | rainbow sprinkle pretzels from fatty sundays & co. | 8. | peppermints from brooklyn hard candy
Even better, for someone special you can order a subscription from Black Box Desserts. Most of the delectable items above are available in an assortment of dessert boxes. As a lucky recipient of one myself, I can say without a doubt that it will be received with joy.

for her - 1. | monogrammed french linen towels from frog goes to market 2. | plant hanger from makr 3. | french linen striped apron from alder & co. 4. | thermo-pot from black + blum 5. | 2013 wildflower calendar from linea carta 6. | recipe notes bookmark pad from knock knock 7. | dead sea bath salts from herbivore botanicals 8. | porcelain merry pot from alluvial 9. | "marshall" strawberry plant from marshall strawberry

Maple Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries & Pecans

It's that time of year again. The time of year when I start planning what cookies I'll be including in this year's packages. Like I did last year, I plan on simplifying the process because my life has become much too full for the days of arduously decorating hundreds of cookies, one by one.
Because baking is where my mind is at these days, when I was asked to review a new cookbook by Kathleen King, the founder of Tate's Bake Shop, it felt like kismet. I'm a big fan of Tate's chocolate chip cookies {I even made them here} and as selective as I am about acquiring new cookbooks, I'll always make an exception for a baking book I can get years of use from. Baking for Friends is that kind of book.

While this book doesn't have a photo for every recipe and I tend to prefer cookbooks that do, it has just enough to keep me interested in reading further {yes, I read cookbooks}. It's actually funny because of all the recipes in the book that had a photo accompanying them, I chose to share one here that didn't. For me, that's just further proof that all I'll need is an occasion to bake something to make the next one...or maybe I won't, as her cookbook even has a section full of healthy desserts.
Something I really love about this collection of recipes is that there's certainly more than enough to please everyone. If you'd love simple and classic recipes for birthday cakes, breakfast baked goods, brownies, or holiday pies this cookbook has you covered. Yet for the creative foodie in the kitchen, she's also assembled plenty of desserts with an unusual spin on them, containing ingredients that intrigue me, and make me want to haul out the Kitchenaid. Adding candy canes to chocolate chip cookies, bacon to scones, cardamom to cake, or chocolate to butter ball cookies.
And if you're by chance one of those strange people that don't like impossibly thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies, like Tate's, you'll be happy to know that the book also features a recipe for "Chubby" Tate's.