What to Cook

Perfect Salted Shortbread

It can be modified to suit your needs and desires by adding things like chocolate chunks, ground cinnamon, toasted nuts, lemon zest—whatever.

Cinnamon Sandies

The roll-in-sugar really does so, so, so much for the texture (so crisp!).

Salted Pistachio Shortbread

It’s a lovely snack, salty and crumbly in all the right places.

Milk and Honey Semolina Pudding

Thanks to the BIG CEREAL industrial complex, Cream of Wheat = healthy, nutritious breakfast. Semolina pudding = dessert.

Summer Pudding with Summer Fruit

I like to layer mine with some tangy whipped cream so that after some time in the fridge, it sets up to a spoonable, vaguely sliceable parfait-style dessert, not unlike a fruit-based tiramisu.

Plummy Pudding

While it’s near impossible to mess up, the only tragedy would be to use underripe or out-of-season fruit

Chocolate-Sour Cream Pound Cake

Inspired by: The Only Muffin I Have Ever Cared About: the chocolate-chocolate chip muffin from Costco.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake

It’s demurely spiced and not all that sweet, with a texture that anyone would be pleased to experience

Almond Cake with Figs

Feel free to go off-script with the fruit, as long as it isn’t overly juicy.

Semolina Cake with Lemon and Fennel

The semolina, more delicate than cornmeal both in flavor and texture, gives so much more tender crumb than an all-flour cake is capable of.

Bonnie's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

If pineapple isn’t for you, or you can’t find one that’s even close to ripe, this cake is great for any fruit that becomes tender but not mushy when baked.

Anytime Shortcake

Bake it into one large shortcake on a sheet pan and break up into pieces to layer it in an obnoxiously large bowl with fresh fruit and something creamy for a casual trifle.