The flavor of caramel covered apples is amazing.  Eating a caramel apple, not so much.  The caramel-to-apple ration in my opinion, tends to be too low.  I can’t abide those pre-made wrap around sheets, and making a good caramel is a bit of work.  And in the end, the caramel tends to slide off the [...]

Summer in the South, the heat, the humidity, is best dealt with by a cool slice of fresh watermelon.  The thwack of a big knife slicing into the thick rind and the slurp as it cuts through the flesh is up there on the list of summer sounds with crickets humming and the sprinkler whirring.  [...]

If you scroll through the Sweets section on The Runaway Spoon, you may notice a host of very simple pie recipes.  Because I think pie is a perfect dessert, for the cook and the consumer.  The variety of wonderful things that can be packed into a pie crust is extraordinary.  And with little effort, you [...]

My grandmother lived in a small town in Arkansas, the town where my father grew up.  She died when I was six, so my memories of her are somewhat limited.  But those I do have are vivid to me, though undoubtedly burnished through the patina of time. I particularly remember visiting her with my brother [...]

I could not let the grand occasion of the Royal Wedding pass without remark.  I have always been enamored of all things royal. I get that from my Grandmother, who was an avid follower.  She knew her royal history and loved to read the latest updates on the British royal family’s lives.  I used to [...]

After the international success of my Candy Corn Mousse from Halloween 2009 (yes, international, it was big in Singapore), I have decided to branch out with silly holiday candy desserts.  And so I present Peep Mousse, the more refined way to consume the iconic marshmallow Peep.  In case you were looking for a more refined [...]

I have a funny relationship with coconut.  I don’t buy coconut candy bars, I leave the coconut balls behind in the assorted chocolate box, would order caramel over coconut cake and don’t do coconut rum drinks.  But when I happen to be served a coconut sweet, I always love it, and wonder why I don’t [...]

Candy making is not something I typically try my hand at. All that talk about thermometers and stages and testing methods.  Those recipes always look like the kind of thing I don’t have the patience for.  Plus, once you’ve been badly burned by hot sugar, it makes you candy-shy. But this is an exception.  I [...]

Every once in a while, it’s nice to take a step out of the brownie box.  Technically, I suppose these qualify as a blondie, but for some reason, that term has always bugged me.  I don’t really remember where this recipe came from, but I seem to remember cleaning out the panty and finding a [...]

I set out to make a cookie reminiscent of good-old fashioned gingerbread cake.  When I managed to achieve this, it occurred to me that if I called them gingerbread cookies, it would bring to mind the crispy, crunchy type – like gingerbread men or tree ornaments.   That is not what these lovelies are at all.  [...]