Anyone who’s read About Magazine during my tenure as Test Kitchen writer knows I love a good Christmas cookie. Every year, I make several batches of my favorite recipes and put together trays to take to my family gatherings.
For last year’s About Thanksgiving Pie Showdown, I made a sweet potato pie that earned lukewarm reviews from the team. (I would like to blame the recipe, but there’s a large chance the issue was user error.) So when Editor Kelsey Davis asked me if I’d like to make another pie for this month’s issue of the magazine, I saw a chance to redeem myself. And I am proud to say I did.
It’s almost Halloween, and that means it’s almost time for my family’s annual debate about the merits of candy corn. (For the record, I’m pro, especially if you include those marshmallow pumpkins in the mix.) But I understand candy corn is a divisive food, so I always feel guilty when I make a Halloween dessert that features it prominently. This year, I wanted to find a festive dessert without candy corn for the holiday, and I think I’ve got a winner in this Melting Witch Poke Cake. It’s not perfect, but it still will make people happy.
I love eating oatmeal for breakfast, but I seldom take it to work with me. Whenever I try, the container the oatmeal is in inevitably leaks, or I don’t have time to heat it up before things get busy, and then I spend my morning hungry (and grumpy).
I love coffee more than I love most things, and I rely on it to function each day, so this Test Kitchen is near and dear to my heart. My first taste of coffee was at 13, when my aunt bought me a caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks while we were back-to-school shopping. I was thrilled. I thought it was a great treat, and I’d never felt more grown up.
When the weather is nice, all I want to do is be outside—even for meals. As I write this, I don’t know what life will look like in June. But one thing I’m confident we’ll all be able to do is have a picnic, even if it’s just in our backyards.
This month’s Test Kitchen recipe is the best cake I’ve ever made. I bought a Bundt pan on a whim at HomeGoods last summer, in part because it was $7 and that seemed like a deal, and in part because I figured it was worth having around in case I was struck with an urge to bake a coffee cake. But until now, I’d only used my fancy pan to make monkey bread.
I’m writing about this month’s recipe sitting under a blanket and hoping the winter weather advisory that’s been issued doesn’t end up being as serious as it sounds. In my heart, though, it’s 75 and sunny. And hopefully, by the time you read this, that will be the reality (or closer to the reality. I understand April in Ohio is still a big gamble.)
This month’s Test Kitchen recipe is guaranteed to impress your Valentine’s Day date and require only minimal effort on your part.
My New Year’s resolution probably should be to eat more vegetables or something like that, but I don’t enjoy setting myself up for failure.
