Dessert – Busy in Brooklyn

There’s something really special about cooking with someone who just gets the way your brain works in the kitchen.

My friend Melinda and I have known each other for years, and we actually started our blogs around the same time—15 years ago! We’ve both watched this whole food blogging world change in ways we never could have imagined back then, and one of my favorite things after all these years is getting into the kitchen with other food bloggers and creating together. Because collabs are just more fun.

You start with one idea, the other person throws something out, you tweak it, they add something else, and suddenly you’ve created something neither of you would have come up with on your own. Which is exactly how these Salted Honey Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches happened.

We started with the honey cookie, and let me tell you: these are NOT those dry, cakey honey cookies you might be used to. You know the ones. These are everything I want a cookie to be—soft, chewy, a little crisp around the edges, with that deep honey flavor and a sprinkle of flaky salt that makes the sweetness pop.

Honestly, they’re incredible just like that.

But apparently Melinda and I don’t know when to leave well enough alone. So naturally, we turned them into ice cream sandwiches. And then, because that still wasn’t enough, we rolled the edges in crushed apple chips and crunchy honeycomb.

The apple chips completely surprised me. I knew they would be good, but I couldn’t believe just how good they were with the honey cookie and creamy ice cream. They add this tart, concentrated apple flavor and an amazing crunch that plays so well against the chewy cookie. And the little bits of honeycomb? Over the top in the best possible way.

Honey. Apples. Ice cream. Chewy salted honey cookies. Crunchy edges. It’s basically Rosh Hashanah turned into an ice cream sandwich.

And maybe my favorite part is that it came out of an afternoon in the kitchen with a friend—bouncing ideas off each other, tasting, tweaking and taking something good and making it even better. (and apparently we were having so much fun, we forgot to take a photo so we had to screenshot the video!!)

After 15 years of blogging, that part never gets old.

Wishing you a sweet new year—and in this case, a salty, chewy, crunchy, ice-cream-filled one too.

Salted Honey Cookies

½ cup neutral oil
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp kosher salt
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

For Assembly:
Vanilla ice cream,
Apple chips, broken into small pieces
Honeycomb candy, broken into small pieces

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oil, brown sugar, and honey until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix until just combined. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a large cookie/ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie and place on the prepared baking sheet, baking 6 cookies at a time. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown and the centers are still soft. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are completely cool, place a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream on the flat side of one cookie. Top with a second cookie and gently press together until the ice cream reaches the edges.

Roll or press the exposed ice cream edges into the apple chips and honeycomb candy. Serve immediately or transfer to the freezer until ready to serve.

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Granola Honey Cake

On September 1, 2026September 7, 2026

by chanie

in Brunch, Cakes, Dessert, Instagram Reel Recipes, Recipes, Rosh Hashanah

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There are some ingredients you buy that you immediately know you need to figure out a way to put them into a recipe. That was me with Trader Joe’s new Granola Butter. I bought a jar, tasted it, and basically couldn’t stop eating it. It’s made with oats and has this delicious maple-vanilla flavor that tastes like the best part of granola. A few spoons in and I realized, this would be amazing on honey cake.

So I started thinking about how to make a honey cake that highlights the granola idea. Instead of simply putting granola on top, I used ground oats and whole rolled oats right in the cake, giving it that tender crumb that I love in a good oat muffin. Then I topped it with a layer of the granola butter and finished it with a crunchy oat crumble.

The result is a honey cake that’s a little different from the traditional version—oaty, warmly spiced, creamy and crunchy all at once.

Granola Honey Cake

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup oat flour (see note)
½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup neutral oil
½ cup honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
⅔ cup strong coffee, cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange zest, optional

For the Oat Crumble

½ cup reserved dry mixture from the cake
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons neutral oil

For the Topping

1 jar Trader Joe’s Granola Butter (may sub Lotus butter or any frosting!)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, oat flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Before adding any wet ingredients, remove ½ cup of the dry mixture and set it aside for the crumble.

To the reserved mixture, add 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 2 tablespoons neutral oil. Mix with a fork or your fingertips until coarse crumbs form. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12–16 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until golden and crisp. Allow to cool completely. The crumble will crisp further as it cools.

To the remaining dry cake ingredients, add the baking powder and baking soda and whisk to incorporate. Add oil, honey, eggs, coffee, vanilla and orange zest, if using.mix with a spoon just until combined. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into a greased and parchment-lined 8-inch square baking pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Allow the cake to cool completely. Once the cake is completely cool, spread Trader Joe’s Granola Butter generously over the top. Scatter the cooled oat crumble over the granola butter.

Cut into squares and serve.

NOTES:

For a similar creamy topping, use peanut butter or Lotus Biscoff cookie butter straight from the jar. You can also substitute your favorite frosting.

If you don’t have oat flour, simply blend old-fashioned rolled oats in a high-speed blender or food processor until finely ground. For the 3/4 cup you need for this recipe, blend about 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp old fashioned oats to make 3/4 cup flour.

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Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake!

On July 5, 2026

by chanie

in Birthdays, Dessert, Instagram Reel Recipes, Recipes

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If you follow me, you probably already know that I’m not much of a baker. If given the choice, I’d almost always rather cook than bake. But there’s one occasion that you’ll always find me mixing cake batter: my kids’ birthdays.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making some version of this birthday cake. It’s become one of those family traditions that means more to me with each passing year. It doesn’t have to look bakery-perfect, and it certainly isn’t fancy. What matters is that it’s homemade and made with love.

You may remember that for the first few years after my daughter was born, I did a birthday cake smash shoot with a homemade cake. Those messy little fingers covered in frosting and the huge smiles (plus the gorgeous photos!!) are memories I’ll treasure forever. She’s long outgrown those days, but she’ll always be my baby.

Now that she’s older, making her birthday cake has become less about the photos and more about the tradition. It’s my way of celebrating her and reminding her just how loved she is.

Summer birthdays can be a little tricky. Friends are away at camp or on vacation, school isn’t in session, and celebrations don’t always happen on the actual day. Because of that, I’ve always tried to make birthdays feel extra special at home. Even if the party is small or postponed, a homemade cake says, “Today is your day, and it’s worth celebrating.”

I hope that years from now, my kids won’t remember whether the frosting was perfectly smooth or whether the decorations matched a Pinterest board. I hope they’ll remember that every birthday there was a homemade cake waiting for them, made by a mom who isn’t a professional baker but believed that some traditions are worth keeping.

Easy Strawberry Shortcake

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 cup orange juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 16oz container whip topping, thawed
1 container strawberries
1 heaping tbsp sugar
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Method:

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder. Whisk the eggs lighty in a small bowl and add to the flour mixture along with the oil, orange juice and vanilla. Stir to combine the batter. Pour into 2 greased 8-9″ round pans. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted comes out clean (about 50 minutes – 1 hour).

For whip cream, beat with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form, refrigerate until ready to assemble.

For the strawberries, hull and slice and mix with sugar, set aside to macerate while the cake bakes.

When the cake has cooled, place one of the cakes on the serving plate or cake stand, trim with a bread knife until you have a perfectly flat surface. Spread jam over the cake and top with whipped cream. Top with strawberries. Trim the second cake and spread a layer of jam over it, place it jam-side down over the filling, top with more whipped cream and decorate with strawberries, as desired.

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BLUE: Bubby’s Blueberry Pie!

On July 2, 2026

by chanie

in Breakfast, Brunch, Cakes, Dessert, Instagram Reel Recipes, Recipes

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Welcome back to my Red, White, and Blue Series, where I’m celebrating July 4th with recipes inspired by each color of the American flag. For the blue installment, I’m sharing a recipe that couldn’t be more fitting: my Bubby’s Blueberry Pie Cake.

This recipe is deeply nostalgic for me because it comes straight from my family’s kitchen. Growing up, this was one of those desserts that appeared at family gatherings, summer celebrations, and of course, the Shabbos morning breakfast table. It’s the kind of recipe that’s been passed down through generations, not because it’s fancy or complicated, but because it’s delicious, dependable, and always brings people together.

This year, making the recipe was especially meaningful because I had a very special guest helping me. My sister was visiting from Australia to celebrate our mom’s birthday, and we filmed this reel together. Living on opposite sides of the world means we don’t get many opportunities to cook side by side anymore, so spending time together in the kitchen recreating a beloved family recipe felt incredibly special.

As fifth-generation Americans, we often talk about the recipes that have become part of our family’s story. While our traditions are rooted in our heritage, we’ve also embraced the classic American dishes that have found a permanent place on our tables. And it doesn’t get much more American than blueberry pie.

Of course, true to Bubby’s style, this recipe takes a shortcut with canned blueberry pie filling. That’s exactly how she made it, and honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about those familiar ingredients and the simple, unfussy approach to baking that defined so many family recipes of her generation.

The result is a dessert that’s exactly what Bubby promised, as she always used to say: it’s as easy as pie. With a tender cake-like base that comes together with a spoon and sweet blueberry filling, it’s the perfect combination of comfort, nostalgia, and summer flavor.

As we celebrate Independence Day, I’m proud to share a recipe that represents both family tradition and the American experience. Food has a way of connecting generations, preserving memories, and bringing people together around the table. This Blueberry Pie Cake has done exactly that in our family for years, and I’m honored to pass it along to yours.

From my family’s kitchen to yours, I hope you enjoy this simple, nostalgic dessert and find an opportunity to create some sweet memories of your own. Happy Fourth of July!

Bubby’s Blueberry Pie
YIELD: 2 9″ pies

3 eggs, beaten
¾ cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour
21oz. can blueberry pie filling

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 9” pans with cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking powder and flour. Mix with a spoon until a dough forms. Freeze the dough for 20 minutes.

Remove the dough from the freezer and divide it in two. Working with one batch at a time, place half of the dough on the bottom of the pan, spreading out a thin layer over the bottom and a bit up the sides. Top with half of the pie filling. Divide the remaining half of the dough into 6 balls, roll them into strips and form a lattice over the pie filling. Repeat with the second pie.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until the cake is golden and starting to brown.

VARIATION: You can use any canned pie filling of your choice including cherry, apple, strawberry or peach, or combine 2 or 3 flavors in different sections of the pie.

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WHITE: Almond Granita!

On July 1, 2026

by chanie

in Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Recipes

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Welcome back to my Red, White, and Blue Series, where I’m sharing a collection of summer recipes inspired by the colors of the American flag. For the white installment, I’m taking you straight to Sicily with one of my favorite discoveries from my recent trip: authentic Sicilian Almond Granita.

Before visiting Sicily, I thought granita was simply a flavored shaved ice. What I quickly learned is that true Sicilian granita is something entirely different. The texture is smoother and creamier—almost like an icy sorbet, and they serve it alongside a soft brioche bun called a brioche col tuppo. The bun is named for the small round knob of dough baked on top. To eat it, you pull off the top, scoop up the granita, and enjoy the two together. I love any country that’s on board with eating ice cream for breakfast!

Almond granita is one of Sicily’s most beloved flavors, and it’s easy to understand why. Made from fresh almonds blended with water and sugar, it has a rich marzipan-like flavor that tastes both luxurious and refreshing at the same time. When you blanch and peel the almonds before making it, the finished granita becomes almost pure white in color, looking remarkably similar to a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and making it perfect for the WHITE part of this series.

For the next installment of the Red, White, and Blue Series, stay tuned for the blue recipe.

Almond Granita (Granita di Mandorla)
YIELD: 4 cups

12 oz raw blanched almonds (can use whole, sliced or slivered)
3½ cups water
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp almond extract

Method:

Place the almonds and water in a high-speed blender. Blend for several minutes until completely smooth and milky.
Pour through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a saucepan, pressing firmly to extract as much liquid as possible.
Add the sugar and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon (do not less it boil agressively). Remove from the heat, cool and pour into a shallow pan.

Freezing options:

Freeze for about 2 hours, until icicles begin to form and use a fork to scrape/mash it. Return to the freezer and do this again every 1-2 hours until flaky.

Alternatively, freeze for 6–8 hours or overnight. Break the frozen mixture into chunks.
Transfer to a food processor or blender and pulse until the texture becomes smooth, fluffy, and creamy, like a soft sorbet.

Serve immediately, or freeze for another 15–20 minutes if needed to firm up slightly.

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Category: Dessert

Salted Honey Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Granola Honey Cake

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake!

BLUE: Bubby’s Blueberry Pie!

WHITE: Almond Granita!