As amazing as food blogs are, I am a lover (some may even call me an addict) of cookbooks. I have a whole corner of my room devoted to my proud collection of pages stuck together with cookie dough and vanilla extract spills (I like to think of it as added character), and in fact, when my dad told me that my sister was going to be moving into my room while I was away I said "Okay that's fine, but tell her she can't touch my cookbooks!"
Of course I miss my family and friends more than anything when I leave for school in the fall, but my kitchen and this corner of my room come pretty close. With the start of October, I get sad thinking of all the amazing fall recipes I have sitting at home waiting for me, so I wanted to let you in on my favorite go-to cookbook- The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I bought mine on amazon (almost all cookbooks are significantly cheaper online). The recipes are easy but maintain a simple, yet delicious old-fashioned quality that give you amazing results each time.
I know people have mixed feelings about Magnolia Bakery, but something about their signature swirl makes my heart sing.
Of course I miss my family and friends more than anything when I leave for school in the fall, but my kitchen and this corner of my room come pretty close. With the start of October, I get sad thinking of all the amazing fall recipes I have sitting at home waiting for me, so I wanted to let you in on my favorite go-to cookbook- The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I bought mine on amazon (almost all cookbooks are significantly cheaper online). The recipes are easy but maintain a simple, yet delicious old-fashioned quality that give you amazing results each time.
I know people have mixed feelings about Magnolia Bakery, but something about their signature swirl makes my heart sing.
When I went to New York this past summer I visited two of their seven locations (PLEASE COME TO FLORIDA) and each time I am amazed by the whimsical feeling you get when you step inside. The cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and all the other amazing options, are frosted to perfection and topped with an adorable decorative flower or rainbow sprinkles, paired with a beautiful pastel buttercream that just thinking about makes me consider booking a ticket to New York. But, what I love the most is that nothing is crazily overdecorated. There is something so simple and elegant about the decorations that allows the product to speak for itself, and the product is heavenly. If you even think about leaving New York without trying the banana pudding you are basically committing a sin. Now, due to the long distance relationship me and Magnolia share I have resulted to buying the cookbook so I can attempt to recreate that same Magnolia Magic (how adorable). My personal favorite recipe is the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, which you can find thanks to Just a Sliver, by clicking the underlined portion above. The only change I make is adding a lot more chocolate chips, I personally like using half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet, and depending on the size of your cookies (I tend to make them jumbo) watch them closely while baking. This is a great recipe if your family or friends are coming over and you are crunched for time, because the prep is very minimal, the dough doesn't need to chill before baking, and you probably have most of these items in your kitchen anyways. Another one of my favorite recipes is the (wait for it) Caramel Toffee Pecan Icebox Pie. I know, I died a little when I saw the name at first to! Who knew that so many amazing things could be packed into one pie! It is definitely more time consuming than cookies, but the results are amazing and well worth the time- a creamy caramel, whipped cheesecake filling topped with toasted pecans and toffee bits. I love making this around Thanksgiving, and I got really good reviews on it last year (so yes it will be making a comeback)! The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook is packed with amazing recipes, you can find anything from muffins and cookies, to ice cream and ice box pies (even the famous Banana Pudding). I could have found the recipes for free online, but there is something so special about opening a cookbook and seeing all the stains and sticky finger spots, because it brings me back to all the hours I spent up at midnight baking for my friends and family, and that is worth every last penny.