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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Ok, I’ll admit it … I’ve been on a bit of a chocolate/peanut butter binge lately. Unlike the heavenly, yet potentially sugar-coma inducing, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, these cookies produce the same dynamic flavor combo yet are lighter and decidedly more snackable.  Consider these cookies the slightly less mature, more rough-around-the-edges younger sibling of the (arguably) elegant cupcakes.

With a crisp outer shell and a chewy center, these can become rather addicting.  Made with oatmeal, whole wheat flour and all-natural peanut butter, the recipe was right up my alley.  The salted peanuts smash right up against semi-sweet chocolate chunks for a true flavor explosion in your mouth.  Get thee to a kitchen, pronto!

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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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I may be the only person who buys bananas with the intention of letting them turn brown and squishy.  To me, a banana is nothing more than the jumping off point for moist, nutty loaves of banana bread.  Heaping piles of banana muffins.  Sweet roasted banana cakes.  This whole wheat banana muffin is a portable, travel-sized companion that packs all the punch of it’s larger banana bread alter-ego.

Whole wheat flour works perfectly with banana breads and muffins.  It basically acts like a shot in the arm to the already nutty flavor.  This recipe is especially moist thanks to the use of yogurt in the place of milk.  The toasted walnuts create a sweet level of depth to this unbelievably simple recipe.  These muffins are so easy to make that you’ll probably end up trying to speed up the ripening process so that your bananas go bad faster (Hint: Put them in a paper bag with an apple. Does the trick every time.).

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This time of year, the beginning of summer, is usually known as the Era of Competing Interests.  Interest #1: The loads of sweet summery desserts that are practically mandatory for the plethora of upcoming BBQs, picnics, and outdoor parties.  Interest #2: The ability to wear a new bathing suit/tiny summer dress to said BBQ, picnic or party.  These two interests rarely get along and are the cause of many internal battles concerning the exact calorie count in a 1-inch brownie versus the actual calories burned on the elliptical machine.  The mounds of fresh fruit appearing at the grocery stores and farmer’s markets have been known to inject in this debate an intense desires to make berry pies, cobblers and all things representing sticky sweet, summery goodness.

I don’t want to alarm you, but I may have found a solution to this annual occurrence.  How does a sweet, cakey cookie packed with fresh blueberries, lemon zest and toasted almonds sound?  Pretty darn good.  Ok, let’s make this official … Do you, Antioxidant-Packed Blueberry, take you, Fiber-Filled Almond, to be your partner in cookie making magic for summers to come?  They do!!  And now, I introduce you to the results of a marriage made in cookie heaven.

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Italian food intimidates me.  I’ve heard the stories about Italian women spending entire days making sauce and unspoken recipes with no actual measurements. This scares me.  I didn’t grow up eating a lot of pasta and as a result never developed much of a taste for it.  But I’m well aware that the rest of the world is rather fond of it.  I’ve heard all the campaigns: It’s so easy! It’s so versatile! It’s so delicious!

These social pressures have, in fact, led me to obsessively keep a box of dry pasta in my pantry out of the fear that I will have an unexpected guest show up who wants pasta for dinner.  Now, this same box has moved with me to at least three different apartments.  As it turns out, people don’t frequently show up at my house demanding pasta.  Nonetheless, I’ve always been terrified that someone will ask for pasta and I won’t know how to cook it! Oh the embarrassment! Can you imagine? You can’t cook pasta!?!?! For shame!

They always say “But it’s so easy!  Just boil water and throw in the pasta!”  I didn’t believe them.  I was certain there was something they weren’t telling me.  Then they would toss around words like al dente and I’d be done for!!  But I had a revelation.  Thanks to Giada.

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