Twelve New-to-Me Dessert Recipes

One of my favorite spaces in the "new" house is the kitchen. I've been baking up a storm (as an escape from work) and want to recap a few new-to-me recipes that I've enjoyed recently. While all of these turned out great and there was hardly a crumb behind, I thought the Tahini Cookies were the most unique addition to my repertoire (and a cookie I think you'll like if you are a peanut butter cookie person).

1. German Chocolate Cake from Baking Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen. Worth the effort for the out of this world frosting that is leaps and bounds above store-bought.

2. Banana Pudding Cake from Cooking Professionally after Dolly Parton.

3. Cranberry, White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies from The Perfect Cookie by America's Test Kitchen.

4. Chocolate Mint Cookies from The Perfect Cookie by America's Test Kitchen.

5. Pumpkin Tea Cake from Tartine. The first recipe that I made from the Tartine cookbook and one that I've repeated numerous times.

6. Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen. Tasted great, but was light on cherry flavor.

7. Blueberry Muffins from 100 Morning Treats by Sarah Kieffer. Yes, almond flour makes a difference. The best blueberry muffin I've ever tasted!

8. Almond Poppy Seed Muffins from 100 Morning Treats by Sarah Kieffer. This involved my first attempt at frangipane. Incredible. Sarah Kieffer's recipes (many of which are available on her blog) are involved, but the results are consistently fantastic. I also really love her cinnamon roll recipe.

9. Simple Citrus Cake from 100 Morning Treats by Sarah Kieffer.

10. Tahini Cookies from The Perfect Cookie by America's Test Kitchen.

11. Blueberry Bundt Cake from Gimme Some Oven. Made without the glaze and thought it was fantastic. A faster, denser counterpart to the blueberry muffins listed above.

12. Cranberry-Orange Scones from The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen. Doesn't look like much, but tastes heavenly. I've also made the maple pecan variation.