I'm so excited to be making Pecan Snowball Cookies as my book-inspired recipe for One Day in December. I mean, you can't get a better culinary concoction for a wintry romance than a snowball, right?? Why are Pecan Snowball Cookies the book-inspired recipe for One Day in December? When Laurie sees love interest Jack through a bus window on a wintry day in London, the frigid air is swirling with snowflakes. It's magical, it's...
Blueberry Molasses Cake is on my short list for favorite cake of the year. It's mouthwateringly moist, packed with unique flavor, and downright delicious. Why is Blueberry Molasses Cake the book-inspired recipe for The Invited? Since The Invited takes places in Vermont, I wanted a book-inspired recipe that's quintessentially New England. You can't get more New England than Yankee Magazine, and I don't think you can get more New...
I can't stop staring at these gorgeous Hocus Pocus Cupcakes. *all the heart eyes* The sprinkles! The frosting! THE SPRINKLES AND THE FROSTING!! Although The Hocus Pocus Magic Shop takes place around Halloween, these delicious confectioneries flavored with chocolate, cherries, and roses are like Valentine's Day shoved into a cupcake. Which is exactly what you want in a dessert modeled after a love potion. You heard me: love potion. These are...
This Apple Crumble Galette is about as close as to making a pie as I’m ever going to come. And, I’m TOTALLY okay with that. My husband asks me to make apple crumble every autumn. We love to go apple picking, and we usually end up with more apples than we know what to do with. But, I always know to set aside some apples to make my All Day Apple Butter and an apple crumble. This year, I think a new fall tradition has been born with this Apple...
It may be September, but I’m hanging on to summer like whoa with this creamy, dreamy Coconut Iced Caramel Macchiato. About a year ago I found myself with some time to kill before an appointment, so I ducked into a nearby Starbucks. I spied a gorgeous photo for a Coconut Iced Caramel Macchiato, and my tongue practically unfurled onto the floor. I looooove all things coconut. Plus, a quick look at the calorie count display (which I love and hate...
I really should call this Mint Chocolate Cake the “Hot Mess Cake.” Because that's totally what it looks like until the cake comes out of the oven. It’s just a whole bunch o’ ingredients dumped unceremoniously into a food processor that magically becomes one of the most delicious, moist, and mouth-watering cakes you’ll ever taste. Even though The Mother-in-Law wasn't inspired by author Sally Hepworth's mother-in-law, my book-inspired...
Fair warning, Tartlets: once you taste a Pineapple Mint Agua Fresca, it will be your new summer drink obsession. #SorryNotSorry I know a lot of people prefer alcoholic summery drinks (Rosé all day, and all that), but we at the Cottage aren't really a booze-lovin’ bunch. That said, I still enjoy a good refreshing drink, especially when I’m reading under my pergola during the sweltering New Jersey summers.
What is the book-inspired...
Do I really need to write a post about this Cardamom Banana Cake with Coconut Frosting? I mean, LOOK AT IT. A picture’s worth a thousand words, so I’m just gonna peace out for the rest of this post… KIDDING! Just kidding. I’ve been blogging for almost a whole year now; I know how all this works. I have to entice you to make this dessert through words and photos. Really, the best advertisement for this Cardamom Banana Cake is the fact...
You know what’s really hard to take pictures of, you guys? ICE CREAM. I’ve made ice cream before for the blog, and I think I managed to pull off some pretty good photos. This time, however, I got cocky, and I tried to do my Mint Chocolate Chip Hot Fudge Sundaes photo shoot after I got home from work. Since I’m basically awake around 4:30am each day, doing anything after work that involves patience and a modicum of creativity is not the...
Brush up your Play-Doh skills, everyone! Because we’re baking Rainbow Pinwheel Cookies on the blog today. Colors are a big theme in The Things She's Seen. Beth sees beautiful, beckoning colors that she knows she should go toward ("the afterlife"), and Catching and Crow have "the colors" viciously torn out of them by the Feed. The concept of colors represents SO much in this incredible novel -- hope, strength, happiness, peace -- that I knew...