Not everyone wants their edible to taste like they just bit into a nug of weed. That earthy, herbal flavor can be a dealbreaker, especially for people who are new to cannabis and just want the effects without the plant taste.

For years, that “weedy” flavor was just part of the experience. Back in the day, the main ingredient in edibles was green-tinged cannabutter or cannabis-infused oils that smelled and tasted exactly like the plant. If you’ve ever had a brownie that tasted like someone blended up a handful of trim and dumped it into the batter, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

But the edible market has come a long way. The science behind making edibles has improved, and most products today use processed or refined extracts that help mask the plant’s natural flavor while isolating THC, the compound responsible for the high. That way you get the effects without the strong cannabis taste. These days there are plenty of options for people who want the effects of cannabis without that loud weed flavor.

Here are some edibles you’d never guess had weed in them. I’ve tried and reviewed a few in this list. As for the ones, I haven’t, don’t worry, I made sure to check their reviews about their taste.

Best Non-Weed-Tasting THC Edibles Snapshot

• Best THC Gummies: KANHA’s 15mg THC Fast-Acting Gummies
• Best THC Chocolate: 3Chi’s 15mg THC Milk Chocolate Bar
• Best THC Baked Good: Hometown Hero’s Cinna Crunch Cereal Bites THC + CBD
• Best THC Drink: Keef Cola’s 10mg THC Root Beer
• Best THC Warm Drink: MOOD’s Sleep Hot Cocoa
• Best THC Tablets: 1906’s 2mg THC Drops (pills)

Best THC Gummies: KANHA Nano Fast-Acting Gummies

KANHA Nano Fast-Acting gummies have been around for over a decade and are still one of the most reliable options if you want something that tastes like gummy candy instead of cannabis. The company uses distillate in many of its formulations, which helps remove that strong plant flavor you sometimes get with more “full spectrum” products.

The flavors lean toward fruit-forward profiles—think sour melon, berries, or citrus—and the dosing is straightforward. Depending on the flavor and SKU you get, each gummy is usually 10mg or 15mg THC. It has a perforation in the middle to make them easy to portion out to get the right dosage.

Edibles can be tricky for newer consumers. Some people swear they didn’t get high (because they didn’t take enough), while others end up way too high (because they took too many). KANHA tries to make that process a little more predictable with its “fast-acting nano” formulations, which are designed to kick in faster than traditional edibles.

Best THC Chocolate: 3CHI’s Chocolate Bar

Infused chocolate can be a hit or miss… don’t forget the dreaded weedy brownies. But if made right, chocolate has a great potential at covering up some of the cannabis flavor. The decadence of well-sourced cocoa tends to overpower that earthy plant taste, which is one reason cannabis chocolate bars have been around for so long.

3Chi is a good example with their high-dose 300mg THC Milk Chocolate Bar. Just like the average chocolate bar, it can be broken up into small squares, each piece containing 15mg THC, so it’s easy to control how much you’re taking. You can even snap one square in half if 15mg is too much for you.

If THC gummies aren’t really your thing but you still want something that tastes familiar, THC chocolate is usually one of the easiest places to start.

Best THC Baked Good: Hometown Hero’s Cinna Crunch Cereal Bites THC + CBD

Hometown Hero’s Cinna Crunch Cereal Bites are basically what would happen if a Rice Krispies Treat and Cinnamon Toast Crunch had a baby. They’re sweet, buttery, a little crunchy, and heavy on the cinnamon. More importantly for this list, they don’t have that unmistakable weed aftertaste that can ruin an otherwise good edible.

Each bite has 20mg THC + 20mg CBD, so the dosage is no joke even though the actual treat looks pretty innocent. If 20mg is more than you normally take, just cut it up. And if you really want that cereal experience, pair it with some milk.

I also like that it’s something besides another gummy. I would imagine there are approximately eight billion THC gummies at this point, enough for every human on this world. Sometimes I just want an edible that feels like an actual snack.

Best THC Drink: Keef Cola’s 10mg THC Root Beer

Drinking is often easier than chewing, and cannabis beverages tend to be one of the more approachable ways to consume. Over the last few years, cannabis drinks have exploded in popularity, and brands like Keef Cola are part of that shift.

A lot of cannabis drinks today are low-dose sparkling tonics or flavored seltzers, usually around 2–5mg of THC. But there are also higher dosed options like this 10mg THC root beer that don’t carry that strong herbal taste.

Root beer does a good job covering it up. The vanilla and spice flavors are strong enough that the herby taste is barely noticeable. For people who want something a little more social without the classic “weed brownie” vibe, drinks like these can make a lot of sense.

Best THC Warm Drink: MOOD’s Sleep Hot Cocoa

MOOD’s Sleep Hot Cocoa is probably one of the coziest ways to take an edible. I’ve reviewed the Advanced version before, and it tastes much more like an actual cup of rich hot chocolate than some weird cannabis-infused wellness drink.

The Advanced packet contains 30mg THC + 15mg CBD + 15mg CBN, plus ingredients like magnesium, L-theanine, reishi, and ashwagandha. So despite the innocent-looking mug of cocoa, it’s definitely one of the stronger products on this list and is geared more toward nighttime use.

Most importantly for this roundup, I didn’t get any weed taste from it. The chocolate is rich enough to cover most of the earthy flavor from the cannabinoids and other ingredients, and the little marshmallows make the whole thing feel even more like regular hot cocoa.

Read my full review on MOOD’s Sleep Hot Cocoa here.

Best THC Tablets: 1906’s 2mg THC Drops (Tablets)

Some people would rather avoid flavor entirely, and that’s totally fair. In that case, edible tablets are probably the easiest option. 1906’s Drops tablets are small, swallowable pills infused with THC, other cannabinoids, plus herbal ingredients. They’re designed to be taken more like a supplement than a traditional edible, which means there’s basically no cannabis taste involved.

1906 also offers a range of different formulas depending on the effect you’re looking for. Some tablets are CBD-forward, while others blend THC with CBN or CBG in different ratios. Each tablet is precisely dosed, often around 2.5mg to 5mg, which makes it easier to control how much you’re taking.

They also tend to be faster-acting than some traditional edibles, which can make the whole dosing guessing game a little easier to manage. For people who want the effects of cannabis without tasting it at all, tablets like these are about as straightforward as it gets.

How I Chose the Best Edibles That Don’t Taste Like Weed

Taste was obviously the biggest thing I was looking at here. If an edible still has a strong grassy or herbal aftertaste, it doesn’t really matter how good the effects are. It doesn’t belong on a list for people who don’t want to taste weed.

I also wanted some variety. Gummies are probably the easiest edible to find these days, but they’re far from the only option. So I looked at chocolate, drinks, other sweet treats, tablets, and other formats that either cover up the cannabis flavor well or avoid it altogether.

Does an Edible Have to Taste Like Weed to Work?

Not at all. The part that gets you high is THC, not the flavor of the cannabis plant. That might sound obvious, but I think there’s still an assumption that an edible that really tastes like weed must somehow be stronger or more “legit.” That’s not how it works. A gummy that tastes like watermelon candy can contain just as much THC as a brownie with a very obvious cannabis aftertaste.

How hard an edible hits is going to depend much more on the dose, your tolerance, the formulation, and how your body metabolizes THC. So definitely don’t judge the strength based on how little weed you can taste.

A Quick Tip for Avoiding “Weedy” Edibles

If you’re trying to avoid that strong weed flavor, shop for edibles made with distillate or other refined extracts instead of full-spectrum oil. Distillate sometimes gets a bad reputation from cannabis purists because it’s more processed, but that refining step is actually what strips out a lot of the plant material that causes that earthy taste while isolating THC—the part that actually gets you high.

And if you really don’t want to taste cannabis at all, drinks and tablets are usually the easiest place to start. The cannabis industry has spent years figuring out how to make THC products more approachable, and it shows. These days you can enjoy the effects of cannabis without tasting the plant at all.

My Final Verdict

If you just want a familiar edible that doesn’t taste like weed, KANHA’s gummies are probably the easiest place to start. But I think the more interesting picks are the ones that don’t feel like traditional edibles at all. Hometown Hero’s Cinna Crunch Bites taste like an actual snack, MOOD’s Sleep Hot Cocoa turns THC into a nighttime drink, and 1906’s tablets skip the whole flavor issue completely.

The main thing is to pay attention to dosage. An edible tasting like regular candy, chocolate, or soda doesn’t make the THC in it any less real.

The post The Best Edibles That Don’t Taste Like Weed appeared first on VICE.

I had so much fun when Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen came to my kitchen in Paris and made a batch of Chocolate-Olive Oil Spread, a delicious recipe from The Great Book of Chocolate.

The spread is easy (and fun!) to make, and is just one of the more than 50 recipes in the book, which includes Chocolate Mug Cakes, award-winning Blue Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies, Individual Warm Chocolate Cakes, Chocolate Truffles, Homemade Rocky Road, Chili with Chocolate, and lots more.

You can find the recipe for the Chocolate-Olive Oil Spread in my newsletter, too!

Get your copy of The Great Book of Chocolate at your local bookstore or online retailer from one of these links:

Amazon | Bookshop.org | Now Serving | Barnes & Noble | Omnivore | Book Larder | Kitchen Arts & Letters | Bold Fork | Books are Magic | Amazon France | Powell’s | RJ Julia | Strand | Smith & Son Paris | Amazon UK | Politics and Prose | Vivienne Culinary Books | Book Passage | Elliot Bay | Village Books | East End Books | Indigo Canada

Friends! The fluffiest, most satisfying, Nutella lover’s dream dessert is here: vegan ice cream made with chocolate and hazelnuts. It’s creamy, dreamy, oh-so delicious, and kind of perfect! Especially when craving a sweet treat on a warm summer day.

Just 6 ingredients required for this (dare we say) MASTERPIECE. It’s going to be on repeat in our ice cream maker all season long. Grab your cones. Let’s make Nutella ice cream!

Vegan Nutella Ice Cream from Minimalist Baker →

You’re going to love this chocolate chia seed pudding. Seriously, though! I’m always suspicious of chocolate “desserts” made with sneaky healthy ingredients like avocado or sweet potato. I can taste them, so they don’t taste like a real dessert.

This chia pudding, however, is a wholesome treat that I truly enjoy. It actually boasts some impressive nutrition stats, including 8 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and some healthy plant-based fat. It’s easy to make, too—much easier than traditional custard-based puddings.

You’ll need only four ingredients for the base recipe: your milk of choice, chia seeds, cocoa powder and maple syrup. Once mixed together and left to chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, the chia seeds plump up and offer a subtle texture. The end result is rather magical!

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How fun are these Easter bird’s nests? This recipe uses sliced almonds and roasted pistachios instead of chow mein noodles, so these candies are a more wholesome treat than many other options. They taste similar to Bark Thins, if you’ve tried their nutty options. Add a sprinkle of crushed green pistachio and flaky salt for extra flavor and a more realistic nest look!

These gourmet nests are easy to make. Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, you can make a dozen in under 20 minutes (including 10 minutes in the refrigerator). I know these nests will become a tradition at our Easter brunch.

I love making nostalgic treats like these with our four-year-old. She’s always eager to stir, scoop, and lick the spoon, of course. (Parents, I’ve just learned that mini eggs are a choking hazard for kids ages four and younger, so these nests are a better option for bigger kids.)

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It took me ten tries to get this cookie recipe just right, but it was worth the effort! These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are made with just one wholesome flour—almond flour. They’re also sweetened with maple syrup instead of brown sugar, although you likely wouldn’t guess it. I love to use natural sweeteners when I can.

These cookies are golden and lightly crisp around the edges, and tender and chewy in the middle, which is exactly how I want my chocolate chip cookies to be. If you’re looking for a gluten-free cookie or a healthier take on a classic Tollhouse cookie, you’ve found a winner here. As a bonus, they’re remarkably easy to stir together by hand, with no chilling time required!

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These chocolate chip muffins are divine—they’re fluffy, tender and studded throughout with chocolate chips. They’re our three-year-old daughter’s current favorite muffin in my muffin repertoire, and I understand why! She loves dark chocolate as much as I do, so I can vouch that these muffins delight kids and adults alike.

These muffins follow the same formula as my other popular “healthy” muffin recipes, but you won’t guess it upon your first (or last) bite. They’re made with whole wheat flour if you wish, and they’re sweetened with honey instead of plain sugar, which makes them extra delicious. Greek yogurt offers a subtle sour cream-like tang that makes these taste like bakery-style muffins, while providing some extra protein.

If you’re a fan of my popular banana muffins or blueberry muffins, you must try this recipe!

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Oh you wanted a chocolate zucchini bread recipe? Don’t you know this is a food blog? I’m contractually obligated to tell a meandering and infuriatingly irrelevant story in each headnote, keeping you from the recipe as long as possible for nefarious, possibly witchy, purposes, and I don’t want to disappoint. Next week, I’ll be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary with a guy I met because I wrote some rambling things on a blog about, like, dating and New York City and funny things that had happened, he read it, we went for a drink, I stopped dating, needed a new subject to fill the void, and Smitten Kitchen came to be one year later. [Some people have honeymoon babies, I, uh, had you.]

Read more »

It’s almost ready!

Coming this Fall is the new, completely revised edition of Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes.

[It’s now available at ==> Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at the links below.]

When my publisher told me they wanted a new edition of the book, I decided to revise the book completely, from top to bottom. Ready for Dessert is a compilation of my favorite recipes, so I knew that I wanted to keep my signature Chocolate chip cookies, the Chocolate-cherry biscotti accented with black pepper, and classic Black & white cookies, along with everyone’s favorite, the Fresh ginger cake, as well as a tangy Lemon semifreddo, and the recipe for the Coconut layer cake I made for Alice Waters’ father on his birthday every year.

Order Ready for Dessert now!

To sweeten the pot, I added brand-new recipes to Ready for Dessert, favorites culled from my kitchen in Paris, including Île flottante (inspired by the version I always order at a favorite local bistro), a very special Riz au lait (rice pudding) topped with crunchy, candied nuts and salted butter caramel sauce, buttery Palets Breton cookies, and my version of the iconic, and irresistible (truly!), Maple tart from Tapisserie in Paris, the pastry shop of the highly-regarded restaurant Septime, so you can make it at home.

Award-winning photographer Ed Anderson, who photographed my books, My Paris Kitchen, Drinking French, and The Perfect Scoop, returned to Paris to shoot the pictures for the book, in my kitchen and backyard, as well as out-and-about in the city. Another bonus was that I got to work with two of my favorite food stylists, Elisabet der Nederlanden and George Dolese. We had a blast shopping in Paris for ingredients, and making the recipes in my kitchen, then eating them as well.

When the food stylists end up devouring your recipes during a photo shoot, that’s the highest compliment a cookbook author can have. They bake and cook food all day long, so are picky about what they eat. (And boy, did they eat!) I also invited friends to come by and join us, so you’ll find guests shots in the book as well.

The all-new edition of Ready for Dessert is now available at your local independent bookseller and online.

Below are some bookstores and online retailers where you can order the book:

| Amazon | Bookshop.org | Now Serving | Barnes & Noble | Omnivore | Book Larder | Kitchen Arts & Letters | Bold Fork | Books are Magic | Amazon France | Powell’s
| RJ Julia | Strand | Smith & Son Paris | Amazon UK | Archestratus | Politics and Prose | Vivienne Culinary Books | Book Passage | Elliot Bay | Village Books | East End Books | Indigo Canada | Amazon Australia | Shakespeare and Company Paris |

For those days when you’re needing an extra skip in your step, try this Mocha Chia Pudding! It’s a rich, creamy, chocolaty, energizing, fiber-packed breakfast or snack.

It’s also easy to make with just 1 bowl, 7 ingredients, and 5 minutes hands-on prep time required! We think it’ll become a new grab-and-go, meal prep-friendly staple in your kitchen. Get your coffee brewing, let’s make chia pudding!

Creamy Mocha Chia Pudding from Minimalist Baker →

Is this a safe space to admit we have a problem? Specifically an insatiable appetite for adding sweet potato to desserts? First we made brownies, then blondies, then truffles. And now? Pot de crème! Which is really just a thick, silky smooth pudding (YUM!).

This super chocolaty, 5-ingredient, French-inspired wonder dessert feels elegant and indulgent! No one will know it’s vegan, nutrient-rich, and so simple to make. Get your sweet potatoes ready…let’s make pot de crème!

Chocolate Pot de Crème (with a Secret Ingredient!) from Minimalist Baker →

Whenever I mention “Chocolate Chip Cookies,” this recipe seems to come up in the conversation. I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies all of my life, and am always happy to add new ones to my repertoire. I’ve made them with various kinds of flours, different types (and sizes) of chocolate, some with nuts (or cocoa nibs), and others without. In some cases, the salt in the chocolate chip cookies may be in the butter, or sprinkled on top. Or there might be a double-dose of chocolate in them.

But I haven’t done too much tinkering with the butter, because to me, that’s one thing that’s non-negotiable in chocolate chip cookies. But when I heard about tahini, my loyalty to butter was put into question.

You (and I) can relax, because these chocolate chip cookies do use butter, but get an underlying richness from sesame paste, a common ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking that I always keep on hand. So although I thought I’d done everything possible that a man could do to a chocolate chip cookie, and then some, I was finally ready to tackle a batch of these chocolate chip cookies.

The recipe is adapted from Modern Israeli Cooking by Danielle Oron, that also was in the New York Times. In addition to having everything on hand, they were easy to mix up, and the soft sesame paste made a dough that was hard not to snack on before the cookies went into the oven.

I prefer to chop chocolate for chocolate chip cookies, rather than use conventional chocolate chips. I have nothing against chocolate chips, but most are made of what’s called baking-resistant chocolate, which is designed to hold their shape once baked. I like big, oozing chunks of chocolate in my chocolate chip cookies, and I don’t care so much what they look like, so much as how they taste.

So I took a knife to a block of chocolate and made my own. Some makers are now producing what are called chocolate “chunks” which may or may not have similar qualities, but chopping a block of chocolate, while a bit messy, puts me in one of my happy places. And I’m happy to make my own chips, or chunks, I should say.

These cookies were some of the best chocolate chip cookies that have ever come out of my oven, and I don’t say that lightly. The tahini gives them a gentle savory taste, with a faint musky flavor that pairs remarkably well with dark chocolate and a touch of salt, so don’t be afraid to use a very strongly flavored chocolate. I futzed with the original recipe a little, to make them chewier, and couldn’t resist adding even more chocolate. But can you blame me?

Related Posts and Recipes

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tahini and Almond Cookies

Baking Ingredients and Substitutions

How to Make Tahini

Ingredients for American Baking in Paris

Soom Tahini (Amazon)

Gluten-free baking and Substitutions

If you love chocolate covered caramels, but not the complicated methods usually required to make them, then this recipe is for you! These EASY vegan sea salt caramels come together with just 6 ingredients and there’s NO candy thermometer in sight.

The secret? Tahini! It adds a decadent flavor to these bite-sized delights for the ultimate salty-sweet treat. Perfect for keeping in the freezer or gifting over the holidays…though we’re not sure how many of these tasty treats will make it to the gift box 😉.

Chocolate Tahini Caramels (No Candy Thermometer!) from Minimalist Baker →

Say hello to crispy, buttery shortbread cookies studded with pecans and dark chocolate (swoon!). These cookies are our vegan and gluten-free twist on Alison Roman’s legendary Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies and (just like Alison’s), they’re too good to eat just one!

Just 7 ingredients and simple methods stand in your way. Grab your mixing bowl and let’s bake, friends!

Chocolate Pecan Shortbread Cookies (Vegan + GF) from Minimalist Baker →

It’s that time of the year again. When bakers, cooks, and even bartenders, are baking, roasting, and shaking things up for the holidays. Here’s a round-up of recipes from my blog, my personal favorites, that are great for Thanksgiving and winter holiday fêtes. There are cakes, cocktails, spreads, dips, candied nuts, cheesecake, ice cream…and more!

Pecan Pie with Bourbon and Ginger

What’s more traditional than pecan pie for the holidays? (That wasn’t really a question, because most of us already know the answer.) I love this zippy variation, with a triple dose of ginger and a belt of bourbon to boot. It’s especially good with a scoop of white chocolate-fresh ginger ice cream.

Pumpkin Marshmallow Pie

Swoops of billowy marshmallows over a custard-like pumpkin filling. For those vexed by weeping meringues, this stable, silky topping is the answer to your pastry prayers!

S’mores Pie with Salted Butter Chocolate Sauce

Speaking of marshmallows, if you’re looking for the ultimate do-ahead dessert, it’s hard to beat this marshmallow-topped beauty. Even if you’re not planning to make the pie, the Salted Butter Chocolate Sauce makes anything you put it on a thing of beauty.

Manhattans

Manhattans are my go-to cocktail. The foundation is just two ingredients, so they’re hard to screw up, which is easy to do with so many other holiday distractions. Even better, they do the job, coming together in a great, no-nonsense, high-performance cocktail. To dial ’em up for the holidays, add a few dashes of cardamom bitters or pumpkin bitters to the mix.

Cranberry Sauce with Candied Orange

Bits of homemade candied oranges provide a sweet/tart counterpoint to tangy cranberries. I stock up on cranberries for the holidays when I see them in Paris, but those stateside will want to get extra to make this sauce again and again. It’s good with ham, turkey, lamb, and a nice counterpoint to roasted root vegetables. You can also use it when building yourself a hefty turkey sandwich out of leftovers the next day.

Cranberry Sauce with Figs and Red Wine

Use some of that leftover wine to ramp up this holiday sauce, marrying two fall favorites; cranberries and figs. No leftover wine? Pas de problème: open a bottle. (I’m sure you’ll find something else to do with the rest…)

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

A buttery base holds up a toffee-like topping of cranberries. This cake is oh-so-good on its own, but a dollop of whipped cream (perhaps flavored with cinnamon or with lemon curd folded into it?) takes it to the next level. It’s also good with a scoop of cinnamon or vanilla ice cream, melting on top or alongside.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Praline Sauce

I’ve been making it for well over a decade and can’t resist the praline sauce that accompanies it. It’s spiked with – yup – a belt of bourbon, and loaded with toasted pecans. Cheers!

Pumpkin Maple Flan

One of my favorite people, Ina Garten, provided the inspiration for this flan, a layer of creamy pumpkin custard bathed in a slick layer of dark caramel.

Cranberry Shrub and Cocktail

Start the holidays off right with this tangy shrub, a vinegar-berry elixir that’s great mixed with sparkling water for a non-boozy libation, or as a base for a bourbon-fueled cocktail. I’ve given options for both, which should please everybody at your holiday fête.

Pumpkin Jam

If the idea of pumpkin jam sounds funny to you, it helps to remember that pumpkins are actually fruits. And if that doesn’t do it, take a taste of this jam with just a hint of vanilla. It won over my Frenchman, who is my toughest critic. (And boy, do I have stories!)

If you’re the kind of person who sets out a plate of cheese (and those are the only kinds of people that I want to dine with), guests will love a swipe of this over a cracker smeared with chèvre (goat cheese) or cream cheese, or paired with slabs of nutty Jarlsberg, Comté or Gruyère as part of a cheese board. Don’t forget the nuts and dried fruit, too.

Chocolate Orbit Cake

This cake got its name because it launches chocolate-lovers into orbit. But it’s also an amazing do-ahead dessert, and keeps for quite a while in the refrigerator, which gives harried hosts and hostesses some time to enjoy an extra Manhattan, or two…  ; )

Pumpkin Ice Cream

It’s that time of year when you may want to keep your ice cream maker handy at all times, so you can churn and scoop up your favorite flavors. (If you’re a fan of The Perfect Scoop, this year marks the ten-year anniversary of the book, and there’s an updated edition with all-new photos and a bunch of new ice cream recipes.)

To reimagine the classic profiteroles for the holidays, swap out the vanilla ice cream with pumpkin ice cream, and replacing the chocolate sauce with the pecan praline sauce I noted above (that goes with the pumpkin cheesecake), or another favorite creamy caramel. Top them off with the French almonds from The Perfect Scoop; Heat 2 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of sugar in a skillet, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat and mix in 2 cups (160g) sliced almonds. Spread the coated nuts on a nonstick baking sheet, or one covered with a silicone mat, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and bake in a 350ºF/175ºC oven, stirring once or twice while baking, until golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.

Persimmon Bread

What to do with all those persimmons? This loaf cake is moist and packed with flavor, with a hint of spices. It’s a favorite from James Beard, considered the dean of American cooking, and I think it’s time to upgrade his status to include baking.

Sweet Potato and Apricot Cake

This light cake comes from my friend Alice Medrich, and is low fat, but if you’d like, you can take it in another direction and top it with cream cheese frosting. Either way, this is a great cake.

Red Wine Pear Tart

I’m always amazed when I turn out this tart. The glistening, ruby-colored pears are so pretty I almost hate to cut it. But moments later, I’m glad that I did. Along with a spoonful of nutty crème fraîche, this riff of the classic tarte Tatin will get no arguments from traditionalists. And if it does, find less judgmental dining companions.

French Apple Cake

For the love of Dorie Greenspan comes this French apple cake, which relies on a mèlange of apples for its fruit-forward flavor.

German Apple Almond Cake

Our friends in Germany are mighty fine bakers as well and this cake from Luisa Weiss provides a generous wallop of apple flavor to any dessert buffet in each moist wedge. Almond paste is the secret to this cake and it’s worth stocking up on a tube or tin of it now – or several – so you’ll have them handy later.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Circling back to pecan pie, this is another favorite recipe on mine, loaded with big chunks of bittersweet chocolate, who hold their own in a crowd of pecans.

Cranberry Raisin Pie

I reached deep into my past to find this pie, which was a favorite of the late Marion Cunningham. If you don’t have time to peel a bushel of apples, simply mix up a sack of cranberries and raisins, and voilà…you’ve got a fruit pie that will be just as memorable as Marion.

Quick Mincemeat

Traditional mincemeat has a dubious reputation, but this one will change your mind. I promise. Bits of candied orange, dried fruits, and festive spices meld together into a tasty mixture that can be added to apple pie or pear crisp, making it go from ho-hum…to oh boy!

Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash and Preserved Lemons

Hitting the savory side, this side dish is one of the most popular in my repertoire. The squash is a no-brainer for the winter, but swap out dried cranberries for the raisins and you’ve got a holiday-friendly side dish that’s a break from the usual mash-up of carbs. Another bonus: This can be made in advance and rewarmed before serving.

Cheese Ball

Proving it’s not too late to get on the ball, I tackled this cheese ball made with several kinds of cheeses, along with chives, dates, and a dash of hot sauce, rolled in buttered and salted pecans. If you’re too high up on your horse to consider a cheese ball, Fromage forte is the way the French use up all those scraps of cheese, whipped up with plenty of garlic. It’s great to spread on slices of baguette, or even crisp apples.

Gougères

The French do have their version of cheese “balls.” These puffs are lighter-than-air and baked to a crisp. No one can resist nibbling on these, especially if you serve them warm.

Spicy Pretzel and Nut Mix

I cast a skeptical eye over recipe titles that promise something to be “the best,” but in this case, I’m going there. This is The Best Cocktail Snack Ever. A crunchy mix of salty pretzels and lots of nuts, baked in a maple syrup, brown sugar, and butter mixture until crisp. You’ll want to print this recipe out and put it at the top of your appetizer recipe roster.

Artichoke Tapenade

In a hurry? Don’t worry, who isn’t? I don’t mind opening a can of artichoke hearts and putting my food processor into service, for this Provençal-inspired spread. Do-ahead types will appreciate that it holds well in the refrigerator (ditto with the next tapenade recipe), and guests will appreciate how good it tastes spread on croutons or crackers, along with a glass of sparkling wine or Chablis.

Olive Fig Tapenade

This olive-based tapenade isn’t the pits. In fact, it’s even better than the usual tapenade because there’s less pitting involved, getting an extra boost from dried figs, whose natural sweetness compliments the salty olives and capers. I was inspired by this one from Carrie Brown of the famous Jimtown Store in Northern California.

Candied Peanuts

Looking for the perfect hostess gift? Instead of tying a bow around a bottle, make a batch of these candied peanuts and give them instead. I keep a stack of cellophane bags and raffia ready, to tie ’em up and give them out. Someone once told me that anyone can buy a gift; it’s the homemade ones that really show that you care. If that’s the case, feel free to make a batch for yourself as well. Sharing may be caring, but being selfish has its rewards, too.

Many people tell me this is one of their favorite recipes from my cookbook, Ready For Dessert. In addition to these fantastic Coconut-Dipped Chocolate Macaroons in it, you’ll find the much-loved recipe for Fresh Ginger Cake, which makes a fantastic dessert served with sliced, juicy peaches or flavorful strawberries and raspberries in the summer, or tangy lemon cream in the winter, as well as my other most frequently requested recipes.

I’m often asked about the different between Parisian macarons and American-style macaroons, like these. Both are egg white-based, however the European version (which was invented in Italy) uses almonds whereas the American ones use coconut. There’s some dispute about how the American ones came to be made of coconut; one theory is that European immigrants who came to the United States couldn’t get almonds, or they were too expensive, so they used coconut.

Another theory is that European companies wanted to ship their macarons over longer distances, so swapped out coconut for the spoilage-prone nuts. Others credit Franklin Baker, an American flour miller, who found the then-exotic shredded coconut more interesting (and less-expensive) to use than nuts. Either way, I like all kinds of macaroons…or macarons.

The French do make coconut cookies, which are called Congolais or Rochers à la noix de coco, usually shortened to Rochers coco, or coconut “rocks.” I’ve not seen them dipped in chocolate in any French bakery – but why not?

I’ve tweaked this recipe over the years and tested them with flour alternatives, which I’ve noted in the headnote in the recipe, and they come out great. You can even skip swiping the bottoms in bittersweet chocolate if you wish. No matter how you make them, I hope they become one of your favorite cookies, too.

When it comes to baking and desserts, one doesn’t necessarily think of salt as a flavor. But more and more, I keep considering, and reconsidering, the role that salt plays in just about everything I bake. And because I keep both salted and unsalted butter on hand – I can’t imagine my morning toast without a little salted butter spread over the top – I’ll sometimes reach for the salted variety when tackling a baking project or making dessert.

I wasn’t the first person to put salt on dessert; people from various cultures have been sprinkling salt on fresh fruit for ages. And many pastry chefs, as well as some big chocolate companies, have gotten in on the “salt in chocolate” act as well.

But I’ve gotten so used to sprinkling it on sweets that sometimes if I’m having my last course in a restaurant and I think the dessert needs a little perking up, you’ll find me looking around the table for a little bowl of flaky sea salt. Salt is so important to me that I’ll sometimes carry a little wooden box of fleur de sel, which when I’d bring out in restaurants, my co-diners would give me a look as if I was being pretentious. (Then – of course – they’d ask if they could have a pinch too.)

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