Melomakarona Recipe

I originally discovered these Greek cookies while completing a practical exam in culinary school, where I had to prepare a meal of traditional Greek foods.

The melomakarona cookies I made for dessert ended up being absolutely delicious, and I couldn’t wait to make them again.

With love, I have refined my recipe for years ever since, resulting in the soft spiced cookies bathed in honey syrup and sprinkled with walnuts that you’ll find in this post.

Not only do the warm Mediterranean flavors instantly put me in a Christmas spirit, but because these cookies stay fresh up to two weeks, I actually CAN start my holiday baking by making them earlier in the month!

“Oh, my goodness! Made these cookies to bring to my daughter’s for Christmas. I waited patiently to do the “taste test” and it was worth the wait! They are delicious and taste just like the ones I’ve been buying at the annual Greek festival close to home for years. Thank you so much!”

—Connie

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This Cranberry Curd Pie will WOW your holiday guests

Every year, I usually panic buy 2 or 3 bags of fresh cranberries, worried there’s going to be a shortage.

Once I make cranberry sauce and then cranberry sauce muffins, and I still have some left, that’s when this cranberry curd tart happens.

It starts with a classic graham cracker crust with some cinnamon added for extra flavor. There are also gluten free crust options, which I discuss below.

Then, fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange peel and sugar come together on the stove in very much the same way you’d make a traditional cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (except you’ll be blending it smooth and adding eggs to make it custardy). 

The end result is a dessert with a striking appearance and a tart-but-perfectly sweet taste.

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This Instant Pot Sweet Potato recipe couldn’t be easier

Is your stovetop full on Thanksgiving? Or do you just love using your pressure cooker?

Or, perhaps your goal is to make the most luscious mashed sweet potatoes of your life. These are the ones for you.

Instant Pot mashed sweet potatoes come together quick, and with little fuss. Where the magic happens is all the things we’re going to mix into them, including bourbon, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Everybody is going to want a second scoop of these velvety sweeties, I guarantee it.

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You will love this Pastichio Recipe

Since the start of this blog I have tried to consistently bring you recipes that my family eats and loves. With an emphasis on classic, well-loved dishes without fussy ingredients, like my fettuccine bolognese. 

They might make you feel like a chef right in your own home, but mostly, they’re just delicious.

You know I have an affinity for comforting baked pastas like my family’s Midwestern classic, lasagna recipe with cottage cheese, and it’s vegetarian cousin, vegetables lasagna.

And my taste buds often crave Greek flavors, so Greek chicken meatballs with Greek yogurt mashed potatoes are a dinner we make often, and my melomakarona recipe are our favorite Christmas cookie.

So add that all up, and what do you get? This Greek Lasagna, which is something I have been making for my family for years and years, but haven’t published on this blog until today.

“Made this for my boyfriend and I on date night. I was really worried because I have never made anything like the cream sauce before, and I am newly non-vegetarian so cooking meat is also fresh to me. It turned out EXACTLY like the picture and I’m so excited I get to eat the leftovers for the next few days. This is definitely going into my special occasion recipe rotation. Thank you for the great recipe!”

—Lara

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When you think of a charcuterie board, you might think of a cocktail party, a light dinner or even an afternoon snack. But I also think of breakfast!

As I’ll explain below, charcuterie for breakfast is quite common in Europe, and I think we should celebrate here in the United States, too!

Read on to learn how to build an epic Breakfast Charcuterie board perfect for a weekend brunch or holiday gathering like Mother’s Day.

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What are your thoughts on Thanksgiving appetizers? I think it kind of depends on what time you eat your main dinner.

I know some families that will do an appetizer lunch earlier in the day, but then have their main dinner with bourbon glazed turkey and grandma’s old fashioned dressing and all the other trimmings later in the evening.

My gathering usually eats our meal around 3pm, so we keep appetizers pretty simple (maybe a very small charcuterie board idea) so that we don’t fill up too much before the main event. I mean, I like to save some room for Thanksgiving salad and Thanksgiving fruit salad, because I’m a weirdo.

This simple baked goat cheese cranberry appetizer for Thanksgiving is a little something to nibble on that won’t fill you up terribly.

Plus, like my cranberry tart pie, this appetizer with goat cheese is a nice way to incorporate cranberries into this seasonal meal if traditional cranberry sauce just isn’t your favorite thing.

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You may have noticed that I’ve been on a certain dessert kick. After publishing vanilla bean creme brulee and coconut creme brulee, I kind of just kept going.

Not only is it a fun (and way easier than it looks!) dessert to make, but it’s super portable and easy to give away to friends and neighbors (provided you trust them to bring your little dish back).

I’m even going to publish chocolate creme brulee before I stop my creme brulee flavors marathon. But today, I’m here with one that you can enjoy all fall – pumpkin creme brulee!

Just like my Thanksgiving Rice Krispies treats, this is perfect to take to any autumn gathering or dinner party, and it’s my preferred alternative to pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving (or Christmas, if you’re not making my gingerbread-inspired Christmas creme brulee).

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I like to make at least one batch of homemade ice cream every summer.

Sometimes I’ll keep it very simple, like the classic vanilla recipe I grew up making (paired or not with ice cream topping ideas), or even mint ice cream without chocolate chips (so simple but so refreshing).

Other times, more is more, like my pancake ice cream and pop tart ice cream. Today’s recipe definitely falls into this more is more category.

This homemade Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream recipe starts with a base of decadent cream cheese and honey ice cream, and then swirls in honeyed blueberries and graham cracker crumbs. This honey-sweetened dessert is irresistible!

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Where are we at when it comes to food served in jars? I feel like recipes like mason jar taco salads, and food of all kinds served in mason jars, really, was peak 2014 on Pinterest.

Since I started this blog in 2013 and also happened to love mason jars, many of my early “popular” recipes were mason jar-based.

Trends come and go, and over time, people began replacing mason jars with other, more updated ways of packing their lunches.

But now that we’re hyper aware of germs, shared utensils and social distancing, maybe the time is right for jars to make a comeback?

I can make a pretty solid argument for jarcuterie being the new charcuterie board. And today, I’m doing away with layered dips in big communal baking dishes and serving them in individual jars instead.

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When it comes to muffins, the classics come to mind right away: banana-nut muffins to use up overripe bananas (a frequent occurrence in my house), and my buttermilk blueberry muffins and blackberry muffins are always classics.

But I also like some more unique muffins, like my cranberry sauce muffins that use up extra cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving, and even Earl Grey muffins for a unique morning treat.

Likewise, most people don’t immediately think of muffins when they think of baking with pears. Pear crisps and crumbles are much more common.

But I’m here today to make the case that these ginger pear muffins should go into your baking repertoire, especially during this time of year when the best pears are in season.

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