Something about a warm, soft pretzel is utterly irresistible.  The crisp, salted crust hiding a perfectly chewy center.  Something this delicious must be insanely difficult to make.  There is no way that I could possibly replicate that perfection in my tiny, amateurish kitchen.  First big surprise of the year: Pretzels are ridiculously easy to make.  Dangerously easy.

Using this simple base recipe, you can make pretzel dogs, pretzels stuffed with garlic and cheese, cinnamon sugar coated pretzel twists and other endless variations.  Like the baked corndogs, these are perfect party food.  They are addictive, filling and will be devoured quickly.  Serve them with a variety of flavored mustards and you will be the talk of the town.  Let’s just say that you may have to scrape a couple jaws off the floor when people say “You made these?!?!”

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Consider these clementine cakes my apology for throwing that heaping pile of indulgent deliciousness in your direction last week.  When I tell you that these mini cakes are guilt-free, I mean they are completely guilt free.  They also happen to be gluten-free, refined sugar-free and flour-free (ok, flourless but I was on a roll there!). Did I forget to mention that they are also packed with protein and fiber?  I know, it’s too good to be true.

These mini beauties are adapted from a recipe made famous by the Domestic Goddess herself, Nigella.  As strange as it sounds, you puree whole clementines (after boiling the heck out of them!), mix that with ground almonds, a couple other baking staples and you have the most incredibly moist, flavorful mini cakes around.  Dip them in dark chocolate (packed with antioxidants!) and you have all the indulgence without the waistline impact.  Like I said: Guilt. Free.

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It’s a tragedy that I’ve been sitting on this recipe since the beginning of apple season (oh, let’s say September) and it’s now full-fledged winter around these parts.  Fortunately, I’m happy to report that despite my belief that the fall is strictly the best season for apples (which it really is), I’ve been informed that apples are truly a season-less fruit thanks to international shipping and year-round growing seasons!  (Shhh! Don’t tell the local eaters about my apples from New Zealand!)  That slightly lessens my guilt over not sharing this recipe sooner.  Carbon footprint guilt?  Well, that’s another story.

With a yogurt base, these apple muffins are moist, tender and spotted with diced apples that truly melt in your mouth.  Topped with toasted walnuts, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, these make a delicious quick breakfast or afternoon snack.  Made with whole wheat flour, low-fat yogurt and olive oil, these muffins land much closer to the Good-For-You side of the scale rather than the Just-Kill-Yourself-Now prepackaged muffins from most chain coffee shops.  Healthy-ish and delicious?  Ok, sign me up.

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The air is getting crisp and chilled, football is everywhere and good television shows have returned to prime time …. this can only mean one thing … Welcome Back Fall!!  Something about the fall season begs for all things spicy, apple-related and pumpkin-flavored.  The days are perfect for chili, tailgating, and stick to your ribs soups.

I know that I’ve been on a bit of a scone kick lately, but the change in temperature makes me want to curl up with a hot cup of tea and a homemade scone.  Unlike the almond scones which were only mildly sweet, these pumpkin scones are for those people who prefer a sweeter, more dessert-like scone.  They are tender, moist and studded with toasted pecans.  Topped with crunchy sugar they have a nice sweetness and a tangy spiced pumpkin flavor.  These pumpkin scones are a perfect way to welcome the new season.

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I may be the only person who doesn’t like the sugar-crusted, cake-like, sugar bombs that coffeehouses are regularly passing off as scones.  They generally taste like overly sweet bricks.  Hard, bland and more appropriate for breaking windows than eating for breakfast.  Once I discovered that this is not the true incarnation of a scone, I was more willing to give them a try.  A proper scone is light, moist yet crumbly and only mildly sweet.  That’s my kind of scone.

These almond scones perfectly fit the bill.  With only two tablespoons of sugar in a full dozen scones, these only have a hint of sweetness.  Toasted almonds permeate the dough and when served fresh from the oven they are moist, flaky and a perfect accompaniment to a morning cup of coffee or tea.  Feel free to slather them with butter or lemon curd. We won’t judge you.

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The most challenging aspect of assembling a mini-burger is the bun.  Everything else can just be cut down to size.  Make your patties smaller.  Cut your cheese in smaller slices.  Trim your lettuce and tomatoes.  But what to do for a bun?  Cutting a regular-sized bun into quarters would just look silly.  Dinner rolls might work but they would still be a bit too big.  Well, I suppose there is no excuse like adorable mini-burgers to get you making your own hamburger buns!

I adapted a recipe for whole wheat hamburger buns to make perfectly sized mini-buns.  These little buns were perfect for mini versions of my favorite turkey burger and mini-cheeseburgers.  The buns have a strong nutty flavor from the whole wheat and while the crust became crisp the inside remained moist and dense.  At last, mini-burger perfection can be obtained!

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I don’t know about you, but my markets are still exploding with fresh, sweet blueberries.  Having recently discovered the power of a good blueberry-lemon combo, I was on the hunt for more ways to play with this flavor pair.  It seemed only natural to combine a classic lemon poppyseed muffin with some sweet blueberries.

When I was a kid, my family would buy the huge muffin variety packs from [insert the name of your favorite warehouse store that sells mayo by the gallon] and as soon as the double-chocolate muffins were gone (ok, lets be honest, these were really just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast) I’d head straight for the lemon poppyseed.  They were endlessly moist and not overpoweringly sweet.  Just perfect.  This recipe captures that lemon essence and adds a burst of blueberry goodness.

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