This is my birthday week. I marked the occasion with some truly enormous, truly delicious chocolate chunk cookies. At this point, you can’t be surprised by my adoration of chocolate chip cookies. I think I must have made every chocolate chip cookie recipe under the sun, from the famous (the recipe from Baked and Neiman […]
I have a new favorite dessert. Them be fighting words, people. Favorite is a strong statement. It’s almond butter cups. You know, like peanut butter cups, but with almonds. And, surprise! Oats! And coconut oil! And maple syrup! Instead of a dry, crumbly nut center, these cups have an almost cookie-like base with homemade chocolate […]
One of the hardest parts of giving up dairy has been figuring out what to eat for breakfast. There have been a lot of mornings in the last month and a half that found me staring listlessly into the open refrigerator for five minutes, walking away grumpily, going back two times, and then opting to […]
When I was a kid and someone brought out a carrot cake at a birthday party or celebration, I would seriously mope. No offense if carrot cake is your favorite…but who wants vegetable-flavored cake? Not even cream cheese frosting can redeem that. Cake should be rich and sweet with a light but even crumb. There […]
When my mom comes to visit, I get kind of excited. For obvious reasons! She’s the best! But also because her visits pull me out of my dinner ruts. She doesn’t eat wheat or dairy, so sometimes I have to get really creative to make meals that we can all enjoy! (We eat a lot […]
Stop everything. Make granola. Have you ever wondered why your homemade granola doesn’t give you joy? Why you don’t eagerly look forward to throwing it into your yogurt every morning? I am willing to wager that it’s because you made it too complicated. And you didn’t use enough coconut. Coconut is the surprising key to […]
Happy Mother’s Day! Aren’t moms the best? My mom certainly is! Last week she came to help out with the kiddos: she took over breakfasts with Jake so I could sleep in with the baby, and sent me off to take naps in the middle of the afternoon, and cheerfully ate soup from a can […]
Can you believe it has been FOUR YEARS since Smells Like Brownies was born? Four years of delicious treats and meals (and some disasters), four years of learning to take food photos and learning new tricks in the kitchen. Time flies. Now, as many of you may know, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of […]
This past weekend, my nephew came to stay with us. He is just 3 weeks younger than Jake, so they have been lifelong buddies! Actually, they are about as different as can be: Jake loves animals and M is crazy about vehicles; M is a quiet daredevil and Jake is cautious but loquacious. And my […]
If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you might know that my mom has a lot of food intolerances. We don’t get to share as many meals as I would like now that we live in different cities, but I am always looking for recipes and treats to share with her! Ice cream […]