When it comes to macaroons there’s a million ways to make them but it all starts with coconut. Coconut is the foundation for these tasty cookies that are a Passover staple. Most require merengue which is a hard thing to substitute because the flavor and texture is usually altered yet I found a way to completely avoid it all together! All you need is three ingredients and less than a half an hour to make these.

Four years ago we went to our allergist for a very simple food challenge and my Cecelia being my Cecelia things were not easy or straight forward. To put it mildly she failed that food challenge and trying another one with her allergies were not recommended. We have learned so much since that episode and because of that we are so proud to say she has not had a single episode of hives or reactions since that day.

With winter fast approaching that means apple cider and pumpkin fade into peppermint and gingerbread. Being an allergy family that means another season smelling all the yummy delicious things without actually being able to touch or taste them.

Here’s a quick and simple recipe to get your gingerbread fix in a cupcake!

It sounds impossible but it’s true I have found a cream cheese that is not only dairy free but top eight allergen free that tastes really good!

Autumn is in it’s full splendor here in New England so apple and pumpkin season are here! Having two of my favorite food seasons overlap which is fine by me because they are so much fun to make special recipes with.

So coming up with a new pumpkin recipe seemed very appropriate…

Have you ever looked at a recipe and get super excited about it but then realize you’re missing one ingredient? Of course no store bought option is safe, so you have to spend twice as long researching and collecting more ingredients to make just one little part of the original recipe…

This will be a quick post about my first attempt at babkah. Let’s just say it wasn’t a complete fail but it also wasn’t a win either.

What’s better than a cutout sugar cookie? A cute pinwheel cookie because it’s both vanilla and chocolate! It takes my simple cut out sugar cookie and adds another delicious element and design. Either way they are delicious!

When I was growing up I remember always having these cake-y cookies whenever we had extended family get togethers. Usually they were held at my grandparents house on the North Shore and one of the family would pick up Black and Whites from a Jewish deli/bakery near Boston. I didn’t know they were called Black and White Cookies until after college and that they aren’t a Jewish thing but a New York staple!

This treat is a combo of two of my favorite desserts I have created over the years. My Cecelia named them BB Treats- Blondies and Brownies together. They are decadent and truly addicting! The only hard part about making them is waiting for them to cool while they make the whole house smell so good.

With this whole social distancing all I want are comfort foods or foods I grew up loving. One of those desserts is rice pudding. I don’t know about you but there is something so warm and inviting, eating something so rich and creamy.

Linzer cookies are something that I remember eating in my grandparents’ kitchen as a child. They always seemed to have tins of cookies and Linzer cookies were one of my favorites with that delicious combo of raspberry jam and buttery cookies.

As we are going into our fifth week of social distancing we are starting to get into a rhythm. We have virtual schooling, messaging and video calling friends, lots of outside time when the weather is favorable. Yet our meals have been mostly normal except our poor Cecelia had a nasty accident on the school playground right before schools were shut down…

It’s been a crazy few weeks with social distancing in full swing. Baking has helped ease some anxiety and put smiles on my family’s faces (and maybe a few pounds on their waistlines)

“Moist” It’s pretty much a universally hated word. It brings about a visceral reaction in most people that cannot be explained. Do you know what’s worst than the word? Actual moist baked goods…

These brownies should be illegal because not only are they fudgy, chocolatey, but also vegan top ten (yes you heard that right!) allergen free.

When you think of vegan cupcakes most people think chocolate. This is because most vanilla cupcakes just aren’t quite right when you change or substitute an ingredient. It’s either too dry, flavorless, or grainy. In other words, it’s not great, so it’s not worth eating. Well that is a thing of the past

It has come to my attention that I had a great variety of tasty baked donuts but I was missing one of the best ones around- chocolate! With my Cecelia being the chocoholic, that she is, this was a huge misstep for me.

My Cecelia is a chocoholic it seems. She loves everything she can get her hands on, as long as it’s nut free, that’s chocolate. Since the holiday season started she has also become a really big pie fan. So what do you do when you have a chocolate fan who loves pie? You make her the best chocolate pudding pie you can!