shortbread

No meal inspired by the farmers market is complete without a juicy fruit dessert. Since strawberries are at their peak now, take advantage of their natural sweetness and incorporate them into a light treat.

The recipe shown here is an updated version of strawberry shortcake. A quick, lemony shortbread stands in for the traditional biscuit, while a fluffy ricotta cheese replaces the heavy whipping cream. This dessert is a welcome conclusion to any backyard dinner, so check out the recipe and read more

Since the cake is a huge part of your wedding day, when planning the engagement party, select a dessert that is not cake based and totally different from what you want to serve on the big day.

For Ronda and James's Latin-inspired affair, I'm making caramel-coconut shortbread. Cut into rectangles or squares, it's ideal because no utensils are necessary. Although this dessert has several components, it's far from intimidating and comes together quickly. Get the easy recipe when you, read more

If you've been a fan of YumSugar for a while, you'll know that I have a thing for dulce de leche, the thick, milky caramel from South America. From layered cakes to ice cream sandwiches, I'm always looking for new ways to highlight my favorite sweet.

For my half birthday, I'll be experimenting with a recipe for chocolate dulce de leche bars.

A crisp shortbread crust balances out the rich mixture of dulce de leche and chocolate. They're portable, making them perfect for a picnic at the Hog Island Oyster Company. To see the recipe, read more

A ghoulishly good dinner requires an equally devilish dessert. Your guests will be stunned when they see this graveyard cake. Complete with bleeding chocolate glaze and espresso shortbread headstones, it's practically a masterpiece!

There are quite a few steps involved, so get started a couple of days before the dinner. To simplify the procedure, consider substituting store-bought cookies for the headstones. For the recipe, read more

• Learn all about flavor enhancing, nutty brown butter. — Baking Bites
• How the television show Check Please has affected the restaurant scene. — Gourmet
• Recent studies prove it's bad to go to McDonald's when you're hungry. — Serious Eats
• What exactly does the term "short" mean in baking? — The Kitchn
• News to me: vegetarians who enjoy the smell of bacon! — Slate
• The majority of you grill year round, so be sure to check out these ten tips for successful grilling. —Chow
• Amy's not the only one, I too, am crazy for Spain's scrumptious conservas. — Cooking With Amy

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When creating a beautiful buffet for your Oscars viewing party, don't skimp on dessert! The stars will be devouring shortbread and chocolate truffles at the Governors Ball, so take a cue from Sherry Yard — the event's pastry chef — and make your own variations. Cut classic, buttery shortbread into Oscar shaped cookies. Arrange store bought chocolate truffles on pretty plates next to chocolate caramel sandwich cookies. For the recipes to these bite sized decadent desserts, read more

This year I decided to pick a New Year's resolution that I could stick with, and that's how I ended up on my 52 weeks of baking adventure. We're 51 weeks in, and I've surprised my friends and myself with some interesting baked goods. It's definitely been a challenging experience; I've had some inventions that came out better than anticipated, as well as some downright disasters. Overall it's been a great learning experience — if a messy one, as my kitchen's been filthy for a year! — and I hope I've inspired you to get baking!

There's one more treat on the way, but until then here are my favorite six of the year. Clockwise from the top left, they are:

• Bubbly Pear Cupcakes
• Rich, Fudgy Brownies
• Peach Puzzle
• Goatbread Cookies
• Orange Blossom Pound Cake
• Soft Baked Pretzels

In my opinion, one can never have too many cookie cutters. They come in such a wide variety of fun shapes and sizes that I find myself investing in a new one each time I make a batch of cookies.

For this chocolate shortbread cookie recipe, I'll be getting a bat-shaped cookie cutter. A witch hat, tombstone, or black cat would be fabulous as well. Whatever shape you choose, indulge in this tasty recipe that takes the classic butter shortbread recipe and jazzes it up with cocoa powder. Get it now when you read more

As a child, I wasn't really fond of shortbread cookies. After all, why would I want a boring butter cookie when there were chocolate chip cookies to be had? Yet, when I got a bit older I realized that I had spent many years missing out on the subtleties of a great shortbread cookie. The smooth buttery texture and creamy flavor really go well with a nice cup of tea. The flavor combination got me thinking, what if we went ahead and put the tea into the cookie? I've found this wonderful looking recipe for green tea shortbread and I can't wait to try it out! To get the recipe, read more