• Northern Ginger Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Northern Ginger Cookies

    This week marks five years since I hit “publish” on my first blog post! When I started this blog, I honestly thought I might do it for a year or two. But five years in, I’m still loving it and have no intention of stopping. To celebrate five years of baking and blogging fun, I decided to create a signature cookie recipe: one that reflects not only the name of my blog, but also the cozy vibes of this beautiful place I call home (and some of my favorite flavors). Everyone give a warm welcome to Northern Ginger Cookies! A New Kind of Ginger Cookie Northern Ginger Cookies are soft…

  • Top 10 Northern Ginger Recipes of 2023
    Recipe Roundup

    Top 10 Northern Ginger Recipes of 2023

    There’s nothing I love more than looking back at the recipes you all have made the most throughout the year. It’s fascinating to me to see which recipes you liked the most vs the ones I thought would be the most popular (I’m often wrong, though I’m getting better at guessing!) This list has decidedly more chocolate than last year’s, and I couldn’t be happier about that. Anyway, without further ado, here are the 10 most popular Northern Ginger recipes from the past year. #10: Mud Pie Cake Coming in at #10 is Mud Pie Cake. This chocolate-lover’s dessert has layers of deeply chocolatey cake (adapted from Ina Garten’s famous Beatty’s Chocolate…

  • Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Originally published March 2019; Updated Dec 2023 Soft, buttery, a little tangy, and slathered with a thick layer of creamy frosting: my list of what makes a perfect sugar cookie. You know those soft sugar cookies you find in most grocery store bakeries with the crazy thick layer of sugary frosting? Like those, only more buttery, less plastic-tasting (you know it’s true), and made with ingredients I can pronounce. These Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies are the closest I’ve come to those infamous grocery store cookies. Soft, Satisfying, and Perfect for Holiday Baking! These cookies are on the softer side, but they still have a slight firmness that makes them…

  • cookie lover's gift guide
    Gift Guides

    Holiday Gift Guide: Cookie Lover’s Gift Guide

    Happy holidays everyone! Here’s a new gift guide for you holiday shopping needs — this one’s all for the cookie bakers in your life. From baking sheets to cookie cutters, cookie cookbooks, and more, this cookie lover’s gift guide has gift ideas for all your baking friends. (Note: None of the items I’m sharing are paid advertisements — these are the tools I actually use and love!) Cookie Sheets A good cookie sheet (or sheet pan/baking sheet) is one of the most important tools in your cookie toolbox. The cookie sheet you use can make a big difference in how your cookies bake. For example: a dark-colored baking sheet will…

  • Spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

    Halloween is over, so naturally I’ve started planning out what holiday cookies I’ll bake this year. Not that I’m ready for Christmas decorations, music, and movies yet…I’m a firm Christmas-starts-the-weekend-after-Thanksgiving person. In the meantime, I’ll be snacking on these Spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookies while I do my holiday cookie planning. The Ideal Cookie for the In-Between Season These chocolatey cookies straddle this in-between season perfectly. With warm fall spices (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice), they’re perfect for both your Thanksgiving dessert table AND your holiday cookie tray! Or for, you know, snacking while holiday gift shopping. And while I’m a fan of all the traditional flavors of this season —…

  • Espresso Amaretti Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Soft Espresso Amaretti Cookies

    Happy Fall, y’all! I know it’s cliche, but fall is my favorite. Crisp air, warm sunshine, beautiful leaves…and the BAKING. It’s all so cozy and I’m here for it. While these Espresso Amaretti Cookies don’t have the traditional fall flavors you might expect (I see you, pumpkin spice), they make such a lovely little treat to enjoy alongside your favorite warm fall beverage that it felt like the perfect time to share them. All About Amaretti A traditional Italian dessert that can be traced back to the 17th century, amaretti cookies are known not just for their flavor, but also for the gorgeous tins they’re sold in. There’s even a…

  • Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Consider this the chocolate chip cookie of the summer. All the things you love about a chocolate chip cookie, just…brighter. Fruitier. Dare I say…sparklier? A party of a cookie that’s just begging to be made into ice cream sandwiches and brought to the beach. Let me introduce you to Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies! Dark Chocolate + Freeze-Dried Strawberries = an Ideal Flavor Match I’ve recently become obsessed with freeze-dried fruit — especially berries. Freeze-dried raspberries and strawberries have made their way into my granola (especially this Chocolate-Lover’s Granola — YUM), oatmeal, trail mix, and, of course, baked goods. When it’s freeze-dried, the flavor of the fruit is more concentrated…

  • Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Hey y’all, here I am again, with yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe. What can I say, I just love making them! (Case in point: I have like 10 more chocolate chip cookie recipes on the site already.) This time around, though, there’s a twist: they’re vegan. I’ve been wanting to create a recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies for a while now…since last summer when I discovered the wonder of flax eggs (but more on that in a minute). And since the price of eggs makes me want to start selling my organs, it seemed like a good time. So without further ado, let’s make vegan chocolate chip cookies!…

  • Top 10 Northern Ginger Recipes of 2022
    Recipe Roundup

    Top 10 Northern Ginger Recipes of 2022

    It’s that time again…time to take a look back at the top moments of the year! Here on the blog, that means rounding up the most-viewed recipes from the last 12 months. Now, I know that statistics aren’t exciting or sexy, but I love getting to the end of the year and looking at my blog stats to see what recipes were your favorites over the past year. It’s SO fun (and interesting) to see which recipes you all liked, and compare the list with which recipes I thought would be the most popular. (Spoiler: most of the time, I’m wrong.) Anyway, without further ado, here are the Northern Ginger…

  • Chocolate Gingerbread Biscotti
    Cookies and Bars

    Chocolate Gingerbread Biscotti

    🎶It’s the most wonderful time of the year… 🎶 Holiday baking time, that is! And this year I’m adding a new treat to my must-have list of cookies—these Chocolate Gingerbread Biscotti! Light and crisp, biscotti are the ideal after-a-big-holiday-dinner treat to have with your coffee. And with dutch cocoa powder and tons of festive spices, these biscotti, in particular, are chock full of flavor. History of Biscotti Biscotti are a traditional Italian treat (though this flavor is decidedly non-traditional). In Italy, biscotti are often dunked in Vin Santo (a dessert wine), though outside of Italy it’s common to dip them in espresso or coffee. The word “biscotti” originates from the…