Are you sitting down? Side note: That was my first experience with spumoni. Apparently I need to get out more. This cheesecake is the product of several months of dreaming and planning and putting off and dreaming some more. Sometimes the best-laid plans…can actually work. I reallyreallyreally want this to turn out perfectly for you. You can do this! You should also be aware that this cheesecake will take more time to prepare than a normal cheesecake, because each layer has to spend 30-45 minutes in the freezer before pouring the next layer over the top. Give yourself plenty of time to put this thing together. In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the mixture firmly onto the bottom and up the sides, if you want of a greased 10-inch springform pan; set that aside while preparing the filling. Note: I used a 10 x 3-inch springform pan, and the cake batter baaarely fit. A 12-inch pan would be much safer, but I really wanted a tall, dramatic cheesecake, with each layer nice and thick and visible. Next, prepare the filling. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth; add sugar and vanilla, and beat until completely incorporated and all lumps are gone, scraping the sides frequently. Add the eggs all at once and beat just until the eggs are incorporated, no more than about 10 seconds. Over-beating at this stage can cause your cake to puff up too much, possibly overflow, and crack. Divide the batter evenly into three bowls. In the first bowl, add the ground pistachios, instant pudding mix, and enough green food coloring to create a light green color. Fold gently until evenly mixed. Pour the green batter into the springform pan. In the second bowl, add the cherry extract, chopped almonds, chopped cherries, and pink food coloring. Fold gently until evenly mixed. Pour the batter slowly and gently over the green layer, being careful not to disturb the surface. Put the pan back in the freezer for another 30-45 minutes so the pink layer can stiffen. Partially melt the chopped chocolate in the microwave on LOW or in a double boiler on the stove. Stir until completely melted. Set aside until the pink layer is ready. In the third bowl, add the melted chocolate and fold gently until evenly mixed. Pour the chocolate batter gently over the pink layer, again being careful not to disturb the surface. Place the springform pan on a baking pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the edges are puffy and slightly browned, and the center no longer looks liquidy when the pan is gently tapped checking it too early can cause your cheesecake to crack. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack at room temperature for one hour. Do not release the springform pan yet. Cover and refrigerate for 8-10 hours or overnight. To get clean slices that showcase each layer, slice the cheesecake with a warm knife, cleaning the knife thoroughly with warm water between each slice. I went through and counted my posts from 2012. Of course my children take priority over my blog, but still…a little sad. Do you choose a word for the year? I made you treats. What are your Christmas plans? Depending on what you keep in stock in your pantry, most of these can be made with ingredients you should already have on hand. These are soft and cakey. Plan a bit of extra time for these — the dough needs to chill for a bit before baking. But aside from that, these are ridiculously easy and simple to put together. Your basic chocolate chip cookie is still a staple. Do you have eggnog in your fridge right now? If not, we need to talk. Also, rum extract and nutmeg is what makes this frosting work. These are always a huge hit. Not technically a dessert, but sometimes a hot, comforting drink is the perfect offering. Yes, this is the recipe that has been sitting comfortably at the top of my blog for the past who-knows-how-many months. No, these are not inherently Christmas-y. But they are amazing, and that works too. Use dark brown sugar if you have it. When done right, these will be chewy and nutty and completely addicting. Still coming up short? Take a look around the recipe index for more ideas. Ignore the ugly old photos from years years! Hope this Christmas is your merriest yet! The time has come. These outrageously yummy blondie bars are my way of saying thank you. Thank you for sticking with me. And that means so much. During the past few months, I have made these blondies exactly seven hundred times. And every time, I hoard them like a ravenous banshee. True butterscotch — the real deal — is the combination of browned butter and brown sugar. These bars are not overly sweet. The deep, nutty flavor of browned butter is what really stands out. How do I love thee. Bring these chewy little bars to a summer picnic. Sit back, and listen to the groans of pleasure come in. Does it really scare you? But the depth of classic butterscotch flavor that you get from browned butter is what will make these bars really sing. Also, no need for a mixer with these. Just a good old-fashioned mixing bowl and wooden spoon. Butterscotch Blondies adapted from ingredients: 2 cups packed brown sugar 1 cup 2 sticks butter, cut into pieces 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups not packed all-purpose flour ½ cup white chocolate chips, optional Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Simmer, stirring constantly with a whisk. There will be white foam floating on the top. Pour the browned butter carefully over the brown sugar. Stir them together with a wooden spoon, and allow to sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Stir in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together just until incorporated. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the white chocolate chips if desired. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve. If seeing a tutorial on this topic makes you yawn. You might learn a thing or two, or you might see something critical that I missed, and you can let us all know in the comments section. Either way, we win! Your cake should be the invisible canvas underneath your beautiful work of art. These were taken in a real, live kitchen. During a real, live, cake assembly. Hence the mess of cake paraphernalia in the background. ahem Are you ready? Step 1: Bake and cool your cake. Yeah, my cake sank in the middle. Two things to keep in mind: First, you need a cake recipe that gives you a fairly sturdy structure, to withstand stacking. Second, the cake has to cool completely. Even a barely warm cake can cause your icing to melt. Step 2: Line your serving plate with strips of wax paper. Step 3: Level your cake layers. Lop off those domes. I like this little tool, but you can use a large bread knife, too. Step 4: Put your first cake layer on the wax paper, and pipe an icing border. See how the border is about a centimeter away from the edge of the cake? Can I get picky here? That makes the bottom surface of the cake more smooth and stable after you cut individual slices. Step 5: Spoon the filling in. That defeats the purpose of having a border. Also, you can use plain old frosting instead of filling. Step 6: Place the next cake layer on top and repeat steps 4 and 5. To get the best results, make sure that each layer lines up with the ones beneath it. But it should be as close as you can get it. Also, make sure that the top of each layer is level. Each time I put the next layer of cake on, I get down at eye level and spin it slowly on a turntable to check for any major high or low spots. Step 7: Put the top layer on, and push a few toothpicks down inside. This gives you a smooth surface to spread the frosting on. Otherwise, your cake might get torn apart when you go to frost it. Step 8: Crumb coat! Be aware of your icing consistency on the crumb coat. A slightly thinned-down with milk buttercream works really well. Step 9: Put the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes to crust over, and then do the final coat. You now have a nice, straight, beautiful cake. And last but not least. Step 10: Remove the wax paper and decorate your cake up pretty. What hints or tricks do you use when assembling your cakes? Is it a complete surprise that I love to write? My husband, being a web designer and developer, as well as a writer himself and entirely outclassing me in geekiness , recently created a website for writers. Same model, different community. Oh, and we handed out free cookies. See that empty basket up there? I recently fell in love with a new recipe that makes thicker, softer sugar cookies that spread less. Go ahead and make fun of me for being the last one on earth to find. Her incredibly gorgeous and detailed cookies alone would have been enough to keep me coming back. But the she provides completely seals the deal. It has taken almost every ounce of energy I have. I spent months working on it — Nine, to be precise. Stay tuned for Christmas goodies coming up. This mother of three is going down for a nap. And with a coming in less than 8 weeks yikes it could be several months before I tackle another project like this. My sister-in-law has read Pride and Prejudice probably 40 times. Rounded to the nearest 40. This is serious, folks. Time for a book cake. Rides through Pride and Prejudice, that is. My husband is all finished with school. Neither of my kids are old enough to even go to school. I see the whole world around me starting school — attending, sending off to, or teaching at. I know I should sit back and enjoy this twiddling-thumbs feeling while it lasts, because I hear that the world kind of explodes once your kids are school-age. And heaven knows I love festive. This banana bread is my little after-school snack for you. Or you could make it a lunchbox goodie. Play nice with the other kids. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and oil. Blend in the mashed banana, vanilla, and almond extract. Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg. In a small mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the banana mixture. Mix gently but thoroughly, then fold in the yogurt, just until combined. Fold in the berries. Pour the batter into a well-greased 9×5-inch loaf pan. Bake the bread for about 55-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. If the bread begins to brown too quickly, tent it with foil after 45 minutes in the oven. When the bread tests done, remove it from the oven and place on a cooling rack; after 15 minutes, remove the bread from its pan and place back on the rack to finish cooling. Slice when it has cooled completely. Store at room temperature in a bread bag or airtight container for up to 4-5 days. Why yes, I already have a chocolate chip cookie recipe on this blog. Those archives are a scary place. Time for an update. I have this lifelong friend hi Megan! And Megan happens to be a culinary school graduate. She recently gave me a copy of , and I promptly geeked out and pored over the cookie chapter, to figure out how to get my chocolate chip cookie dream to actually translate into real life. The recipes excuse me, formulas are all in weight instead of volume. And it can get. This book is chock full of brainiac information. I went all brainiac. I pulled out the kitchen scale. And then I grabbed a pencil and spit out a recipe that I figured, by all calculations, would yield a perfectly soft, chewy cookie. So all you have to do is go and try these out for yourself. Before you dig in! One cup of flour packed into the measuring cup will produce a much different cookie than one cup of fluffed-up flour. This method will yield roughly 4. Remember when I talked about altitude in this? If your cookies spread too much, increase the flour by a few tablespoons the next time around. Also, pull these out of the oven before they go brown. A slight amount of light brown around some of the edges is enough. But I really want to make these cookies turn out well for you guys. You deserve perfect cookies. For high altitude, preheat to 385 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar together. Beat well, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, coconut extract, and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Add this to the wet mixture, and stir gently just until incorporated. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Drop in 1½ inch balls onto a parchment-lined or mat-lined baking sheet, using a cookie scoop or large spoon. Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until some of the edges just start to go light brown. If you have slightly larger cookies, increase the baking time a little, but watch them like a hawk. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before storing or packaging. Cookies stored in an airtight container will be even softer the next day, and will last about a week at room temperature.