Episodes and Recipes

Hi Bakers, English Toffee is one of my most requested treats and always gets rave reviews! An almost magical process turns butter, sugar, and water into delicious candy. You can make this! I urge you to try and be rewarded with the best toffee you’ve ever eaten! It’s so buttery and rich with a nice crunch followed by a chew with chocolate and nuts! This recipe has been in my collection for so long it is just a tattered scrap of paper and I believe its origin is Bon Appetit magazine but I can’t f...

Hi Bakers, It’s the 1970’s and you’ve just run home from school and are starving. We didn’t have any cool snacks in the house growing up, but sometimes I would open the door and smell this Applesauce Cake! It was one of the few treats we had regularly and I always loved it. Maybe my Mom baked it because all the fruit made it healthier in her eyes. Applesauce cake has just a bit of spice and subtle apple flavor. It’s the perfect sweetness for dessert or an afternoon snack. A cup of applesauce in ...

Hi Bakers,
This is my favorite chocolate cake in cupcake form. It has the best flavor I've ever tasted and most years I make it for my birthday. The cupcake is sweet and darkly chocolate without any other flavor distractions. The whipped cream and dense fudge frosting all work with the cupcakes to make it the best possible dessert. I hope you decide to try and share these cupcakes with everyone you love -Carolyn
Gluten-Free Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe modified from The Perfect Chocolate ...

Hi Bakers! It's pie season and this is one of my favorites. This pecan pie has more flavor than most due to the browned butter, brown sugar, and dark corn syrup. It has a richer caramel taste without detracting from the pecans and this crust is so good no one will guess it's gluten-free. I hope you try this tastier version of an old favorite and add it to your holiday table- Carolyn


Gluten-Free Browned Butter Pecan Pie
Gluten-free Pie Dough (makes enough for two 9” single-crust pies)
Dry ingr...

Hi Bakers,

Do you love big soft molasses cookies? These are just what you’re looking for. Boldly spiced with a ton of flavor and crisp sugary edges. These are the best! I modified my favorite recipe to be gluten-free by substituting the wheat flour for gluten-free, adding tapioca flour and sweet rice flour. I also added some xanthan gum for chew. Sweet potato helps keep them moist. Curl up in a warm blanket, put on a good movie, and enjoy this tasty favorite -Carolyn

Gluten-Free Soft Molasses ...

Hi Bakers!


If you love pumpkin and don’t want to work too hard to make something unforgettable, you need to try these Pumpkin Donuts with Browned Butter Icing! They are moist and delicious, and such a quick bake that you can’t go wrong. Pairing pumpkin with my favorite icing is a match made in heaven. Really, it’s hard to think of something sweet that wouldn’t be better slathered in yummy browned butter. I may be biased because I spent a lot of my childhood dreaming about peeling thick layers...

Hi Bakers!

Welcome back to my kitchen :) Flan is so underrated. I think most people have never had it or haven’t tried a good one. For me, flan should be a sweet caramel dream. The softest milky sweet custard bathed in a golden lake of caramel. It should be incredibly smooth and light and impossible to stop eating! Don’t you want to make some today? Keep in mind that the flan will need to be cooled before eating so make it a day ahead to accommodate this. There are a few steps to making flan th...

Hi Bakers! This was my favorite oatmeal cookie before I became gluten-free and I always wanted to adapt this so I could still enjoy them! Well, I finally did it and these are as good as I remember. Sweet and buttery with tons of oats! I love mixing up the add-ins and making whatever variations suit my current mood. The last time I made them, I added dried tart cherries and dark chocolate chips! I’m making those again, you can’t go wrong with these two flavors in a hearty cookie. I almost feel li...

Hi Bakers! There used to be a cookie called Lemon Coolers that I loved when I was a kid. It was like a powdered sugar-covered Nilla wafer with lemon flavor. I ate a lot of these and I was usually a sugar-covered mess when I was done. This is not the cookie you can sneak eat in the pantry…the sugar gives you away every time! Now is your chance to try and love another beautiful citrus-flavored shortbread. These cookies are easy to make and hard to screw up! I love giving them away during the Winte...

Get the recipe for my delicious and gluten-free galettes with fresh fruit inside.

Hi Bakers, We are fully into Summer now and another lemon dessert is always a welcome complement to the fresh berries in season. We planted a lemon tree everywhere we lived since it was such an essential part of our cooking. We used it almost daily in my mom's salad dressing and in numerous desserts. This is a favorite of mine because it feels like magic when the batter cooks into two separate delicious layers! This is the Lemon Sponge Custard recipe from The Joy of Cooking and the only changes ...

Hi Friends!


Who doesn’t love butter and sugar with a hint of vanilla? Done right, Sugar cookies are a welcome addition to any gathering, but the usual type is bland, dry, and not buttery enough. I wanted a soft and rich cookie inside but with a sugary crunch around the edge. Simple but not dull, flavorful but satisfying. Try this amazing gluten-free cookie and have a treat you'll want to share with everyone. Enjoy ~Carolyn


Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies


Adapted for gluten-free from Cook's Il...

Hi Bakers!! Thanks for joining me again for another tasty gluten-free bake! Do you love peanut butter? I love it in all forms and in as many ways as I can get it...ice cream, candy, and on toast! I could go on and on. Most peanut butter cookies are short on peanut flavor, too dry, and really oily. Ugh! I don't want that!! I love a great cookie with lots of peanutty flavor, crispy edges, and a bit of chew in the middle but they aren't easy to find in the store. If you decide to make them, these c...

Hi Bakers!! Nice to have you back in the kitchen with me! I love making this simple yet delicious dessert all summer long and I know you will too! You can vary the fruit by what looks the ripest or just keep making your favorite! I love the combination of peaches and blueberries, strawberries and blueberries, or just plain strawberries! You can’t go wrong with this recipe. It can be made ahead and assembled later which is always nice. For something different, make a shortcake station with lots o...

Hi Friends! Let's get better acquainted :) Who is this crazy baking lady? Why was she like the reverse Harry Potter? This is a special episode to get to know me a little bit more. I have my dear friend John Chao to thank for interviewing me. He is one of my favorite people and I adore him. You should check out his amazing podcast and get a mental tune-up on The Perspective Maintenance Podcast. It's a show that will become one of your new favorites! I hope you enjoy this bonus episode and be sure...

​​ Hi Bakers!! Do you have an old banana on hand? Or some hanging out in the freezer? Banana bread or muffins is my favorite solution to this common problem which means no food gets wasted. I love the moistness of these muffins and the intense uncomplicated banana flavor. This recipe was modified by using gluten-free flour and adding oat flour for more texture and flavor. Sweet rice flour adds a bit of chew. I decreased the amount of soda from 1 teaspoon to 1/2 since I felt like it was too much ...

Hi Friends, I'm so glad you are here to bake with me again! Today we are baking buttermilk biscuits! This is a great and simple recipe to make and enjoy. Now, what can I say about food that always makes me think of my momma? I love biscuits and eating them is a wonderful reminder of growing up and having family dinners. The table filled with me and my sisters…probably some soup and a heaping bowl of hot biscuits. The anticipation I had waiting for the bowl to get to me and for the first bite of ...

Hi Bakers :) Today we are making an Italian lemon yogurt cake, also known as a Ciambella. I love lemon it’s one of my favorite flavors because we always had it fresh from the yard. Growing up one of the only things my mom had to have in her garden were apricots, rosemary, and lemons and we planted them at every house we had. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did -Carolyn

This recipe caught my eye when I was online one day and I had to try it. I have so many lemon recipes so you know thi...

Hello Friends! I'm so happy to have you here to bake with me again today. Snickerdoodles are the cookie that my dad loves maybe most of all! He will buy one anytime he sees them for sale. I prefer to bake them for him and then he can eat them warm...and you can't really top that can you? This cookie is the child of cinnamon toast and a soft buttery sugar cookie. It gets a nice sugar crackle around the edge but retains a moist soft interior. The coating of cinnamon sugar gives a great spicy taste...

Hi Friends, so happy to have you here in the kitchen with me again! We are making Angel Pancakes today. My mom loved these pancakes. She ate them the way my grandmother did with a large pat of butter and a healthy sprinkle of granulated sugar. Just like a flat donut. These are so tender and tasty, unlike so many of the pancakes you get at a restaurant. Light and heavenly enough to want seconds. They are wonderful with real maple syrup and fresh fruit too. I developed the recipe with inspiration ...

Get my favorite gluten-free soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Hi Friends, Do you love chocolate? Is there such a thing as too much? Test the limits with this Chocolate Crinkle Cookie and let me know what you think! I’ve been searching for a great version of this for years and I finally found it! I love how this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction has cocoa powder and chocolate chips which is just what was needed to bring this bake to new chocolate heights! I added tapioca starch and sweet rice flour to give it fudginess. A bit of xanthan gum helps give it...

Hi Friends, It's time to bake again! I'm so happy to have you here with me in the kitchen. We are baking a beautiful Citrus Cheesecake today. I will walk you through all the tricks and you'll see how easy it is to make this amazing dessert. This recipe was created with a slight twist on a lemon cheesecake I made years ago. I wanted a light and fresh taste with less tartness. Sweet Mandarin oranges were just the thing to round out the lemons and add to the citrusy feel. Another bonus is the beaut...

Hello, Thanks for joining me!! Am I the only person crazy about this kind of cake? Why don’t we eat Spice cake anymore? I think we are all used to the greasy insipid bakes that have a dash of cinnamon masquerading as a spice cake. This cake is moist and has a fine crumb. It has a rich flavor that only an array of spices can bring. Burnt butter icing is something my grandmother made. It’s not really burnt, but the milk solids are browned just enough to bring a toffee taste to the icing. This is t...