Dessert Recipes

The woman next door—let’s call her Mrs. Kowalski—was the last person I expected to share a baking secret. I was wrestling with a tangled hose … Read more

My sister asked why I couldn’t just brown the butter before mixing it into the pumpkin filling. I started to explain why that wouldn’t work … Read more

The PTA Halloween bake sale was in six hours and I’d completely forgotten. I mean, I’d remembered the night before, but somewhere between packing lunches … Read more

I was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store last October when I saw them—those little bags of candy corn sitting in a … Read more

The power went out halfway through my third attempt at making a decent pumpkin muffin. There I was, standing in a dim kitchen at 6 … Read more

It was 11:47 PM on a rainy Tuesday in October, and I was wrestling with a can of pumpkin puree I’d bought on a whim. … Read more

My sister asked why I couldn’t just use canned pumpkin puree straight from the can. I started to explain why that wouldn’t work—something about moisture … Read more

The woman at the next stall watched me wrestling with a stubborn butternut squash, my knife slipping on the hard skin. She didn’t say anything … Read more

I had claimed to hate pumpkin desserts for the better part of a decade. Not the savory stuff—give me pumpkin soup any day—but the sweet … Read more

There used to be a tiny bakery tucked between a dry cleaner and a vintage shop on Main Street in my old neighborhood that made … Read more