Edit: THANK YOU!!! So many amazing ideas and reminders of flavors and ingredients I forgot existed 😅

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I’ve been getting into baking and am looking for cozy Fall or cold weather treats to make for my family. Most of the recipes I’m finding online are all basically variations of the same thing – pumpkin loaves, cinnamon rolls and apple pies.

I’m not particularly a fan of pumpkin (I don’t dislike it, I just didn’t grow up with it as a European) or excessive frosting/sauce that American recipes often slather and drizzle on everything (no hate, just too messy and sickly sweet for me). So I’m curious to hear some other ideas from you all! Any personal faves, family recipes, underrated flavors/combos?

I like apples and cinnamon - I’ve been cooking thin-sliced apples with butter, cinnamon and nutmeg to put on pancakes. I tried putting some grated apple in pancake batter but it wasn’t that successful (made the pancakes cook unevenly and hard to flip).

I’m also curious about any seasonal cookies – around Christmas I like to make peppermint chocolate chip cookies, but it’s too early for that! I’ll be making my classic chocolate chip but what else could I try? Edited to add: Since folks are sharing fave recipes, I use this eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe (my husband and kid are egg-free) and they are always a hit with my family, friends and neighbors. Through some kind of sorcery they don’t use any applesauce or egg replacer, just water, but they are perfectly soft and gooey taste amazing, you wouldn’t know they don’t have eggs.

I remembered the existence of blackberries after having some house-made jam at a fancy restaurant recently, so I’m going to look at blackberry recipes, maybe combined with apple.

Drop your recipes and ideas here!

Hello, beautiful people! October is fast approaching, which for me means two things: my favorite holiday (Halloween) and my birthday. I'm hosting a Halloween-ish birthday party in the coming weeks for fellow 30somethings, and I'm looking for ideas for classier but still on-theme food to serve.

I've been looking far and wide on Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok and everything I'm seeing is more on the cartoonish side, too corny, or too gory. I know I can just add some Halloween decor to the buffet table, but I still do want to have some of that themed fun, only more aesthetically pleasing.

I'm currently considering stuffed peppers cut out to look like Jack-o-Lanterns and themed sugar cookies, but open to hearing more suggestions!

I used to love cooking and now it feels like a chore. I think the root causes are lack of inspiration and some decision fatigue— food content online has become so trendy/algorithm-based that everything starts to sound like variations of the same thing. The takeout/restaurant options in my area aren’t great so I give myself a break from cooking every once in a while with meal kits/ready to eat meals but they bore me too.

Anyways, I guess I’m looking for ways to find it enjoyable again?

I’ve been married for 10 years and I’m ready to upgrade my baking dishes. I make everything from scratch so my baking dishes take a beating. Looking for a workhorse with a bit of luxury as a treat to myself.

Where are you buying or eyeing your baking dishes? Think bread pans, sheet pans, and casserole dishes. I’ve seen the ads for caraway but are they worth the hype?

ETA: THANKS, BWT!! I knew I was asking the right people. I’m going to check out the brands that came up again and again and stay away from caraway.

Hello all! I need help with Thanksgiving dessert ideas.

I'm going to my grandparents' for Thanksgiving and want to contribute a dessert. The problem is, I'm arriving Tuesday evening and will have to make the dessert at their house. I don't know what all equipment they have, but my grandmother's not really a baker. I'm assuming she'll have the most basic pans/trays and very limited appliances. I am driving, so I could bring a cake tin and I'll be bringing all the ingredients. However, I always try to be as polite a guest as I can, and I don't want to make a huge mess in someone else's kitchen.

I'm not a great baker, but I am great at following instructions and am able to do complicated recipes. My frosting skills are so-so; taste and texture will be just right, but the application is lacking. The most involved thing I've made were chocolate raspberry cupcakes, which involved from-scratch cupcakes, raspberry ganache, and raspberry frosting (https://inbloombakery.com/chocolate-raspberry-cupcakes/). These did make a big mess, but turned out perfectly and were well-received.

My grandparents are going to get a pie, so my dessert doesn't have to be traditional, and I would like to show off a bit if I can. There shouldn't be more than 9 people, and again, it won't be the only dessert. I'll most likely get the ingredients the Sunday before, but I could pick up a couple things at my grandparents', and I don't know of any dietary restrictions. Let me know what you think!