CONTENTS

My Top 10 Tools

CHAPTER 1:
SWEET DOUGHS

Buttery, Yeast-Raised Coffeecake Dough

Coffee Caramel Monkey Bread

Five-Spice Sweet Rolls

Classic Cider Donuts

Dakota Fruit Kuchen

Real Deal St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

CHAPTER 2:
PASTRIES

Shortcut Danish Pastry

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Danish

Glazed Apple Slices

Candy Bar Baklava

A Simple Bran Muffin

Scone-Top Blueberry Muffins

Bluebarb and Lime Crumble Pie

My Favorite Pie Crust

Secret-Ingredient Cherry Slab Pie

Browned Butter–Speckled Sugar Cream Pie

French Silk Pie

Golden Raisin Sour Cream Pie with Oatmeal Cookie Crust

Ohio Shaker Lemon Pie

Layered Rhubarb Cobbler Pie

Big, Bold Blueberry Pie

Lemon Angel Pie

Pumpkin Meringue Pie

My Favorite Double-Crust Apple Pie

Honeyed Raspberry and White Chocolate Cream Pie

CHAPTER 4:
COOKIE JAR CONTENDERS

Monster Cookies

(The Original) Mrs. Braun’s Oatmeal Cookies

My Go-To Chocolate Chip Cookies

After-School Specials

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

Crispy Iced Oatmeal Flats

Golden Almond Cookies

Potato Chip–Chip Shortbread

Ginger Molasses Softies

Giant, Awesome Peanut Butter Cookies

Salted Double Chocolate Chewies

CHAPTER 5:
COUNTER CAKES

Cinnamon-Sugared Pumpkin Chip Snack Cake

The Only Banana Bread You’ll Ever Need

Mary and Me Almond Bundt Cake

Caramel Apple Dapple Cake

Double Chocolate Zucchini Loaf

Everyday Fudgy Chocolate Sheet Cake

Iced Buttery Lemon Bundt Cake

Chocolate Chip Marble Bundt Cake

Aunt Phyllis’s Crusty Butter Pound Cake

Mom’s Cherry Shortcake Squares

Ozark Skillet Cake

CHAPTER 6:
BARS

Chocolate-Espresso Revel Bars

Wednesday Night Brownies

Next-Level Crispy Treats

Frosted Snickerdoodle Bars

State Street Brownies

Jammy Winter Fruit and Browned Butter Bars

Caramel Canvas Blondies

Mindy Segal’s Dream Bars

CHAPTER 7:
SPECIAL OCCASION CAKES

Cleveland-Style Cassata Cake

Aunt Vi’s Cheesecake

Chocolate Bumpy Cake

Raspberry Poke Cake

Butter Pecan Layer Cake

Aunt Marge’s Birthday Cake

Carrot Cake for a Crowd

Scott’s Chocolate Cake

CHAPTER 8:
SUMMER SWEETS

Chocolate Éclair Dessert

Red Berries and Cream Gelatin Mold

Auntie Amy’s Taffy Apple Salad

Peaches and Cream Schaum Torte

Homemade Frozen Custard

Watermelon Sherbet

No-Churn Heavenly Hash Ice Cream

Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream

Roasted Strawberry Longcake with Yogurt Whipped Cream

CHAPTER 9:
SAVORIES

Nebraskan Runzas

Garlicky, Butter-Swirled Pull-Apart Rolls

Brewers’ Cheddar Bread

Sunflower State Bread

English Muffin Bread

A Blueprint for Savory Bread Pudding

Cheesy, Herby Casserole Bread

Brown Irish Soda Bread

Smoky Cheddar-Crusted Cornish Pasties

Big, Soft Pretzels

Blue Cheese and Scallion Cornbread

CHAPTER 10:
WINTER HOLIDAYS

White Fruitcake

Apricot and Orange Blossom Kolacky

Cheater’s Fudge

Gramma’s Heirloom Sugar Cookies

Simple Rolled, Iced Sugar Cookies

Peanut Better Blossoms

Dark Chocolate-Pecan Mandelbrot

Marshmallow Haystacks

Forgotten Cookies

Italian Bakery Butter Cookies

Scandinavian Rice Pudding

CHAPTER 11:
ELEMENTS

Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Apricot and Orange Blossom Lekvar

Five-Finger Icing

Italian Meringue

Ermine Frosting

Silky, Creamy Chocolate Frosting

The Best American Buttercream

Make-Ahead Whipped Cream

Spoonable Vanilla Custard

Acknowledgments