Friends! Hi hello – can you even believe we’re looking staring down the very end of 2023?  I don’t even know. I think mentally I’m still somewhere in mid-June at best.

BUT here we are – hopefully with our butter at room temperature and our ovens preheating. I love the days after Thanksgiving for all of its cozy bakes that usually turn into my whole holiday gifting personality. I love a well crafted cookie tin.  

Continue reading Here’s What You Should Bake This December at Joy the Baker.

We’re casually elevating our holiday gatherings and dinner parties with these easy Sausage-Stuffed Dates – a delightful, stress-free appetizer.  With a burst of sweet and savory flavors in every bite, these are the perfect little party snack. Here’s how!

Every holiday season I like to put together a uniform.  I’ve got two options for holiday sweaters – one being Santa on a motorcycle so… I’m obviously leaning all the way in. 

Continue reading My Favorite Holiday Appetizer? The Incredibly Easy Sausage-Stuffed Dates at Joy the Baker.

Friends, hi!  Reporting live from Inside – frankly, where I belong this Cozy Season.  I know it’s Cozy Season because I’ve unearthed my favorite sweater dress from behind the linen dresses and beachy throws.  I’m coveting these sherpa clogs, of all things.  I’m daydreaming my future dinner party menus come December and January.  I just… want to be inside with the oven on, a bottle of wine open, and friends around the table.

Continue reading The Easiest Dinner Party Dessert: Tiramisu Affogato at Joy the Baker.

Let me put this year’s Pumpkin Pie at the top of your inbox.  This Cajun variation of Thanksgiving’s most tried-and-true dessert is a show stopper! Made with a buttery, sugar cookie crust, and a silky light pumpkin cream filling – this Tarte a la Bouillie is the perfect end the the most epic meal of the year!

It only took me over six years of Louisiana living to make a proper Cajun sweet dough and pudding pie but friends, here we are!

Continue reading Pumpkin Tarte à la Bouillie at Joy the Baker.

It’s nearly time to raid the post-Thanksgiving fridge, babes! While you’re pulling out containers of leftover turkey and stuffing, reach for Duke’s Mayo too, because honestly – is it even a sandwich without the tang of Duke’s mayo?  (Honestly, not really.)

Uncontroversial opinion:  the BEST part of Thanksgiving dinner is the leftover sandwich we’ll eat for lunch on Friday.

Sure, sitting down to the whole pomp and circumstance of a tablescape, carved turkey, and piles of fixins is a wonder. 

Continue reading The Mega Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich at Joy the Baker.

Let’s make dinner.  The sort of dinner that warms the house with the oven, quiets the mild with a skillet to occasionally stir on the stovetop, and prepared in just enough time to have a glass of wine and empty the dishwasher while dinner warms and simmers.  This perfect quiet weeknight dish is easy baked polenta with a simple burst tomato sauce.  Cozy on up!

Friends, hi!  It’s the time of year I rediscover all the sweaters I’ve had tucked away for most of the year. 

Continue reading Baked Polenta with Burst Tomatoes at Joy the Baker.

Looking for the easiest homemade Halloween sweet that tastes like a candy bar with an ooey gooey stretch and satisfying crunch? Look no further than these Browned Butter Peanut and Candy Corn Halloween Rice Krispie Treats!

Every October I shout it from the rooftops.  The only way to eat candy corn is by the handful, combined with the salty crunch of roasted peanuts!

For those of you who do not accept candy corn as actual food – this one is going to be tough.

Continue reading Candy Corn and Salted Peanut Rice Krispie Treats at Joy the Baker.

I’ve entered my kolache era.  Here’s a classic kolache recipe using an enriched dough made with yogurt for  a super tender, extra fluffy bun.  Its filling is cream cheese and apple butter, but any fruit spread you love will be delicious!

I’ve been in Texas well over a year and… I can’t believe it took me so long to get here. I’ve learned a few things the hard way and Will (my Texas sponsor) has always been quick to gently correct me. 

Continue reading Apple Butter and Cream Cheese Kolaches at Joy the Baker.

Sure, store-bought chocolate pudding is fine and good but this right here?  This double-chocolate pudding recipe made with raw cacao powder and coconut milk is elite. It’s also super easy to whip together and a delight to have tucked away in the refrigerator.

The thing that I’ve come to love about TikTok is that our weirdest, most common truths go viral for no/every reason.  Lately I’ve seen video after video about a woman’s luteal phase and… if you know you know.

Continue reading This is the Chocolate Pudding Recipe I Make Nearly Every Month at Joy the Baker.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to this easy peach crisp recipe.  With a hearty amount of crisp topping and a shallow baking pan, this recipe makes for my favorite kind of crisp: soft caramelized fruit topped with a buttery, brown sugary, (light on the oats) crisp.

If you’ve been around this part of the internet for any number of years you know that I’ve committed to serving up my most embarrassing moments with a side of something fresh from the oven for well over a decade now. 

Continue reading This Summer’s Peach Crisp Recipe at Joy the Baker.