I find chocolate chip cookies inherently comforting, and you probably do too. I like them to have a softer, chewier center with a snappy, crisp edge. Obviously, there aren't enough chocolate chip cookie recipes in the world to choose from, so I’m throwing another one at you! But seriously, you should try this one.
Read moreCOCONUT BEET ICE CREAM
Did I make this ice cream because it's intensely, shockingly pink? Yes. But also because it transported me somewhere else -- to a beach town in South Africa during college. So let's start there.
Getting to the beach from my tiny, narrow-walled apartment in Cape Town was complicated. First, I meet my friends next to the Cocoa Wah-Wah coffee shop on the side of the main road in busy Rondebosch. We peer into the haze of traffic, searching for the white vans that serve as communal buses-cum-carpools.
Read moreBLACK & WHITE COOKIES
On the corner of most New York City blocks sits a bodega. You duck inside to find a veritable food wonderland: The contents of an entire grocery store crammed into a tiny room with narrow, high shelves. You can buy everything from ice cream to tomato paste to cornstarch. Perched above the cold drinks case are stacks of crackers in every shape and flavor. Boxes of Asian snacks line one wall. Tiers of neatly arranged chocolate bars flank the cash register.
Read moreCLASSIC ICEBOX CAKE
I am a card-carrying member of the Soft Food Lovers club. Actually, there's no card but I'm considering making one because I know I am not alone. I could easily and happily live on a steady stream of creamy hummus and chocolate pudding, with a break now and again for some ice cream and buttery mashed potatoes.
Read moreFUDGE BROWNIES
Finding forgotten dessert in the freezer is akin to finding twenty dollars tucked in your jacket pocket. I've wisely taught myself to pack leftover brownies, scones, and raw cookie dough away in the freezer. Hide them under your sensible frozen foods -- bags of peas, cornmeal, almonds, and ice cubes -- and thank yourself later.
Brownies lend themselves to freezing above all desserts, in my opinion. Choose a recipe that is between cakey and fudgy. The more fudgy, the less it will freeze solid, so it yields to your teeth as you bite.
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