I come from a long line of Christmas cookie makers. Like my mother and grandmother before me, the holidays awakens an urge in me to bake – I am talking dozens and dozens of cookies. December inevitably turns into a cookie avalanche around here. Luckily, cookies make great gifts. I give them to the neighbors…
Desserts and Sweets
Pumpkin Gobs
For a couple of days now, I’ve been contemplating baking up this sweet treat from my childhood. When I woke up this morning, the urge was overwhelming – I just knew that it was time to make these Pumpkin Gobs. Sometimes you just crave a taste of home. And so maybe gob is an unfamiliar…
The Easiest Homemade Apple Butter
Every year about this time, I make a nice big batch of homemade apple butter. My goal is to have enough jars in my pantry to last me well through fall and winter. It’s delicious on biscuits and toast, of course, but apple butter is also perfect in holiday appetizers, in pumpkin pie, in cheesecake, and…
Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
I am a big fan of recipes for simple, frugal, homemade food (even more so when it allows me to use some of the half-ton of zucchini I seem to have on my counter at the end of every summer!) This Double Chocolate Zucchini bread is one of those beloved recipes – frugal, homey, comforting…
Skillet Blueberry Cobbler
Blueberry season is a time I look forward to every year. Here in the mountains of western North Carolina, they are some of the earliest berries to arrive, showing up in early summer, right after the juicy, red strawberries of spring. Then, come the end of summer, we have the wild blueberries to look forward…
Blueberry Lemon Jam
Every summer, I eagerly await the first ripe berries of the season to appear. Frozen berries are fine for the rest of the year, but when they are juicy and fresh, straight from the bush, they are simply heavenly. We always eat some of the berries fresh, and then use the rest for pies and…