I wasn’t planning to bake. I was in the kitchen doing something ordinary — meal prepping, half-thinking about the week ahead — when I kept noticing the bananas on the counter. Not blackened or overly soft, not at that stage where they’re begging to be used. Just ripe. Present. Waiting. Somewhere between chopping and rinsing, the thought landed:  I’m going to want something sweet later.  Because I know myself. Evenings always ask for something sweet. Banana bread came to mind

When I came up with this recipe, I was craving more than just something sweet — I was craving a memory. I was thinking,  damn, I miss being a kid.  I saw myself in the mall on a Saturday with my mom — praying, I mean  praying to the gods that she would stop at Mrs. Fields and let me have a chocolate chip cookie. I loved those miniature ones. Maybe it was some sort of Jedi cookie mind trick, but they made you feel like you were getting more. I just loved holding that little wh

It always starts the same — me, curled up in bed at midnight, half-asleep and scrolling through recipes I’ll probably never make. But then I saw this woman squeezing oranges over caramelized apples, and something in me lit up. I could  smell  it — the butter, the cinnamon, that hint of citrus. My brain whispered,  that’s it. Lately, I’ve been craving warmth — not just temperature, but feeling. That deep, cozy kind of comfort that tastes like nostalgia. Earthy spices. Soft tex

Pumpkin coffee cake is basically edible comfort — soft, spiced, and cozy enough to make your whole kitchen smell like a hug. The one I saw on IG ( @emilyrangel ) looked like a classic  pumpkin streusel coffee cake  — moist pumpkin base, brown sugar–cinnamon crumb topping, a drizzle of glaze. Photo by Jessica Nichole. Ingredients For the cake: 1 cup unsalted butter (browned — divided; half for the cake, half for the crumb) 1 cup pumpkin purée (not pie mix) ¾ cup brown sugar ½

My Artist Date (in Sugar Form) The cravings kicked in this week — sugar plus sugar plus sugar plus more sugar. I doubled the honey in my tea, set it in the window to sunbathe until it was extra strong, and before I knew it, I was deep in late-night Instagram scrolling. Exceptionally dangerous territory. That’s when I stumbled across a video from @piesandtacos making something called a gooey butter cake. First of all — what is that? Second of all — I knew immediately I needed

I’ve been on a tight budget lately, which means less eating out and more cooking at home. But that also means I’ve been craving the...