Hello friends.
Welcome to a Sunday together!
Iโve been in a flurry this week shooting the last of the images for the holiday magazine which means Iโve had more bundt cakes in this home than is normal for any non-bakery building. These are sweet little egg nog bundt cakes made with my favorite small bundt pans which means I can bake TWO impressive little cakes from one batch of batter. Itโs the little things that thrill me.
Honestly, at the start of the week I wondered if where Iโd find the energy to make it through. The energy is there, usuallyโฆ probably because my parents played a record with a song whose lyrics chimed โBe the best of you that you can be!โ when we were growing up and that message echoes in my head even today so, we at least have to try.
This week Iโm also thinking about what it looks like to put energy into our friendships. Post panini thatโs changing, right? I feel like Iโm still getting into the swing of life and friendship outside of the house. Now maintaining friendships means showing up for the birthday dance party on Wednesday night instead of working through the night or getting to bed at a reasonable time. Show up, dance โ no regrets, truly.
The offering this week is below. I hope youโre cozy and well and find something that serves you.
โข Now more than ever weโre fighting over who gets to vote and how. States across the country are dropping barriers to voting, widening a stark geographic divide in ballot access. (The Washington Post)
โข Please take on this weekโs long read. Thereโs so much complicated humanity, somehow beautiful. My Father Vanished When I Was 7. The Mystery Made Me Who I Am. (New York Times)
โข #FreeBritney. (Buzzfeed)
โข Divorce is Down But Will It Last. Four recently divorced people talk about how Covid impacted their marriages. This satisfies the part of me that is very nosy about other peoplesโ relationships. (The Cut)
โข Related โ a quickie podcast Getting Down and Moving On with Dr Ruth. (The Atlantic)
โข This classic Joni Mitchell song calls to me every summer: California (Spotify)
โข In Food Blog Land, Jon made Watermelon Daiquiris and Deb made Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches. I still want to make Adriannaโs Miso Peanut Butter Cookies.
โข Kendra Scottโs summer collection is cute. (Kendra Scott)
โข This weekโs skin care splurge is one of my favorites yet. Itโs a clay mask thatโs not drying, super glowy and brightening: Watermelon Glow Hyaluronic Clay Pore-Tightening Facial.(GlowRecipe)
โข Iโm still working on my 2021 Summer Bucket list. Have you made yours for this summer? Hereโs last yearโs. (Joy the Baker)
โข You know I love a summer craft and I can feel myself about to go down a Marbled Clay Statement Earring rabbit hole. (A Beautiful Mess)
โข I suppose we should all try these chewy Rice Krispie Mashup Cookies, right? (The Kitchn)
Question for you, friends! Iโm working on redoing joythebaker.com. Itโs high time for a little update around here. If youโve been here for a long time, whatโs your favorite Joy the Baker recipe? Iโm going to be cleaning up the archives and want everything you love here for you and extra beautiful.
Have a wonderful Sunday, friends!
My love to you.
xo Joy
117 Responses
Smashed raspberry and chocolate chunk pancakes! Makes a small batch which is perfect for my pancake eating monster! (5 year old daughter)
I save your Let it Be Sunday emails until Iโve got time to really read through them and digest. So glad I kept this one for two weeks as Iโve just gone through it now and have written down some favourites that others have noted and I canโt wait to try. My favourite recipe of yours is the vegan avocado chocolate cake. Iโm not vegan, but that is the MOST moist (hate that word) cake Iโve ever made and itโs always a hit. You do you and change up the site if you wish โ itโs your blog after all โ Iโm here for all of it. But I hope that reading through these comments makes you realize that itโs not really the format that counts, itโs the content that you create that makes us love you.
The corn pancakes and the cardamom lemonade, easy.
Your Pepperoni Pizza Rolls, Tangerine Curd, English Muffin Bread, and Goat Cheese Guacamole are all essentials in my home!
Those amazing cream cheese cinnamon rolls! I make them every year for Christmas or New Yearโs morning. Mmmmm
Besides your chocolate frosting made with Ovaltine โ actually perfect and so genius โ my favorite recipes of yours are all breakfast things: all-the-blueberries buttermilk waffles, fresh herb and gruyere cheese puffs, mashed potato cheddar and chive waffles, and especially especially especially your brisket breakfast biscuits with that horseradish sauce!!
Your Marrakesh Carrot salad is on heavy rotation in my house. Everyone who tries it asks for the recipe!
Also love the best chocolate malt frosting. Your one of my top go-to resources!
Those are some of my favorites too!!
Hard to pick a favorite, but I havenโt seen the One-Skillet Dark and Stormy Banana Bread mentioned yet. That bread goes with me to the mountain every winter.
Caramelized mushrooms and dumplings ??????
The orange rosemary brown corn bread with brown butter because .. brown butter!!
My favorite recipe is the yeasted cinnamon rolls you did in a collab with king arthur flour. The ones with the cream cheese in the dough. My family looks forward to them every Christmas morning :)
I love your peach cobbler biscuits. Actually, all your biscuits and scones. Five stars.
I would love if you did some updates (like a 2021/2022 refresh) of your older recipes!
Tomato cobbler with blue cheese biscuits
Peanut butter banana bread
What a treat to read everyoneโs comments! Iโm taking note of the favorites! Iโve sent nearly every friend I have to your pie crust posts. And printed and mailed it to Mom. I have your pie dough and crumble topping in my freezer at (nearly) all times. Plus, whenever Iโm in charge of bringing a dish to pass, I use your recipe search first. Change it how you need it, but I really do love your recipe archive.
I LOVED reading through everyoneโs favorite recipes!
A few (emphasis on few) of mine are:
-Spiced Mulled Wine Fruit Bars
-Strawberry Pie bars
-Peanut Butter and Jam Cobbler
-Homemade Egg Nog w Rum
-Itโs Not Summer Yet Greek Pasta Salad
-All the pancakes
Love being able to come here with a vague idea of what I want to make and finding many great recipe options!
I might have to echo Cyndiโs unpopular opinion and say donโt change anything but thatโs because I have my own baggage and negative associations of changeโฆ lol and yes, Iโm working on it. ;) Of course, this is also your personal blog and you should do with it what you please. Thanks for all the effort and magic that you continue to create!
chicken pot pie, cheddar/black pepper biscuits, brown butter blueberry muffins
YES.
Every Fall I make multiple loaves of your Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake. Itโs the perfect way to use up all the fresh cranberries I canโt help but buy during the last few farmerโs markets before Winter. It is delicious and turns out perfecting every time!
Hi Joy! Unpopular opinion here. I kind of wish you werenโt redoing your blog. There are so many cooking/baking blogs I no longer visit because of that. I wonโt mention them because I donโt want to give them free advertising. I have found that when many redo their blog, itโs because they have made the decision to update less, so the redo is done in a way that just tries to conceal the fact that they update so infrequently. I donโt think that will be the case with you, but another disappointing thing is that we the readers see the same unchanging screen every time we visit. That gets tiresome/redundant, and itโs often a challenge to find anything new (if there is anything new). Itโs so fun to see a brand new post, large and in charge and taking up at least the top half of the page!
There are so many favourite recipes here that posters have already mentioned and I wholeheartedly agree with them! Your whole roasted onions (with a pat of butter and small rosemary sprig on top) are a must with our roast beef and steak dinners. Your Friday Fish Fry post in my opinion is one of the best cooking posts on any blog โ I have made the cod and the coleslaw and it was wonderful.
Pumpkin pecan scones and browned butter carrot loaf! Also confetti chocolate chips cookies
Oooooh. The Tiny Strawberry Cream Scones and the Maple Pecan Muffins. Ok, now my mouth is wateringโฆ.
There are so many great recipes! The ones I probably make the most are the sweet potato kale soup, salted brown sugar chocolate chip cookies, honey vanilla marshmallows (I make these every single Christmas), and the avocado buttercream frosting (this might be my favorite frosting ever).
I regularly make the browned butter blueberry muffins, buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes, and cream cheese biscuit chicken pot pie. And the orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting and cranberry orange and pecan coffee cake are holiday staples in my family.
Summer Tomato Galette
I love the Root Beer baked beans!
So fun! Too many favourite recipes โ but my all time go to is your Peach & Raspberry Crumble recipe. I make it every time I can get my hands on some ripe peaches and perfect reminder to track some down soon now that weโre in to summer properly ;)
Chili Cheese Dogs & Chocolate Sprinkle Crinkle Cookies
In no particular order, but I have made these over the years repeatedly and I still come back to your blog for the exact measurements. So I want you to retain these recipes ;)
Brown butter Banana bread, Cinnamon sugar pull apart bread, small batch granola, dadโs brown butter cookies, buttermilk pancake, everybodyโs birthday cake(chocolate one), Chocolate butter cream frosting.
Thank you!
I have so many favorites! Love your apple crisp, ginger chocolate chip cookies and chicken pot pie just to name three!
Brown butter chocolate chip cookies! There s always a roll oud dough in my freezer.
Please keep the single pancake recipe! I love that it incorporates blueberries AND chocolate, can be thrown together with what I have on hand (I sub yogurt for the buttermilk), and is a delightful Sunday-morning breakfast for one.
Iโd be sad to see any recipes go since theyโre all gems, but the one I treasure most at the moment is the Peanut Butter Strawberry Jam Cobber. It taste like summer and is flawless, like all of your work. Thank you for being here for us after all these years.
Single lady pancake! With bananas and chocolate chips. Not single anymore, but I have been making it since you first posted it! Also, chili, egg roll bowl, cobbler, and every version of a chocolate chip cookie. OOH and the sweet laurel snickerdoodles! Youโre the best. This LA girl is still a big fan.
You have a peanut butter tart from quite a few years ago that I adore. Also a couple of loaf cakesโbanana bread and pumpkin bread and one with cornmeal and cranberries. I think you actually removed this recipe a while ago for a cookbook, but I remember a really great carrot cake pancake recipe.
Spicy Vegetarian Chili and One Pot Lamb Meatballs with Orzo, Spinach and Feta but I always make them with Turkey like you recommended. These are tried and true favorite dinners in my little fam!
I have made your orange dark chocolate buttermilk scones so many times and they have never failed meโalways get compliments, too! I also loved the peanut butter banana bread (and much, much more). I have appreciated your blog for sooo long!
Chicken pot pie, beef and stout pie, Guinness brownies. Blueberry muffins. Apple crisp. Buttermilk pie crust.
The chicken pot pie recipe is the only one Iโve ever used, or ever will use!
Brown butter chocolate chip cookies and sweet potato kale soup! Two of my favorites over many years!
soft pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. This is the recipe that brought me to your website the first time.
The mini chocolate chip cookie baked doughnuts are a favourite, as well as the one dish King cake!
Hi Joy,
I really loved the story from the NYTimes about the father who vanished. I have always believed that the way in which we respond to and feel towards others, is by far the best reflection of ourselves. The notion that we are islands unto ourselves is just plain nonsense. By our very essence, mankind is a social being; and it is through others that we are able to divine who we are, what weโve done and why we are to begin with.
My favorite recipe is Everybodyโs Birthday Cake:Chocolate Peanut Butter
Single lady pancake; strawberry rhubarb crumble pie (I make this every year and also force others to try the recipe!); strawberry shortcake with the cinnamon sugar biscuits. Thank you Joy!!
The tomato cobbler with blue cheese biscuits are essential!
I very much agree with you!
Iโve got a few but the one that is the most requested is the Chicken Shwarma with pita
No contest: your Dadโs sweet potato pie!
Vegetarian pumpkin pot pie.
Salty sesame and dark chocolate cookies! They are on repeat for me and my mom :) but really love the pumpkin pie bars and brown butter rosemary orange cornbread too!
The brown butter chocolates chip cookies for sure! That was a game changer for me. I like making the gingerbread swirl bundt cake around the holidays and the classic cinnamon rolls.
Please keep all things peanut butter.
Spiced Mulled Wine Fruit Bars- one of the most sublime, comforting and magical recipes Iโve ever had the good fortune to find and bake! Theyโre like time travel right into all thatโs best in the worldโฆ..make them every Christmas now.
I love your sweet recipes, but your lamb and spinach meatballs with orzo are my go to new baby/ thinking of you/ company is coming recipe. I have it written down, but love to be able to send friends to your site to find it.
Was the song you mentioned from the album Free to Be, You and Me? It was popular when my children were growing up.
I think thatโs it Lisa!
Nectarine cobbler for sure! Hands downโฆ
Ohhh, the Lemon Rosemary Palmiers. Divine.
I am very much here for all the grilled cheese recipes!
There are so many favorites around here, but granola, sweet potato pie are common. Any time I need a quick reset of mood or kitchen your brown butter banana bread is sure to do the trick every single time!
Hi Joy!
I hope that most of the recipe and blog posts will stay accessible on the blog, because when I discovered it, ten years ago, it was such a pleasure to jump from one blog post to another and discover everythingโฆ Why not an index by year of publication, maybe in addition to the favorites ?
Speaking of favorites, I would say tomato cobbler with blue cheese biscuits, strawberry rhubarb crumble pie, sweet potato pieโฆ
And also the chicken pot pie of courseโฆ and the baked donuts recipesโฆ
Many hard choices! Both your chicken pot pie recipes and the extra-special deviled eggs. The homemade eggnog, warm herb and jam goat cheese spread. I am sure that there are others. These are the ones that popped right into my head!
Breakfast polenta two ways, all your scone recipes (especially orange chocolate!), birthday cake, brownbutter rice krispies, and and and and feels like so many others! Sending love
Lemon ricotta waffles with poppyseeds! So good.
Very hard to choose, but the toasted marshmallow squares are one of my very favorites. Also the green goddess tea sandwiches are awesome.
So many great recipes, but I make the pumpkin millet muffins ALL THE TIME (usually without millet ;))
Your browned butter blueberry muffins are a classic at my house. Canโt beat them. Even from a bakery! Long time reader and your Let It Be Sundayโs are usually some of my favorite reads of the week.
Me too with the Sunday reading! Look forward to hearing your voice plus love your reading choices every week!
Your brownie recipes are the best Iโve found anywhere!
So hard to pick! the glazed pumpkin scones, double chocolate chip cookies, marrakesh carrot salad, oatmeal cocoa nib cookies, spinach and artichoke grilled cheese are definitely in my top items.
Lots of great ones here, but the one recipe I have made so often I have it memorized is for the 2 doughnuts. I donโt make them into two large twists as you did in the photos, but it is a PERFECT quantity of dough for two people wanting a treat on a weekend morning.
So many recipes I love itโs hard to pick white bean crostini, everyday oatmeal cookies, all the breakfast especially granola, all the blueberry waffles and buttermilk cheddar waffles. Also so many good dinners pumpkin pot pie always a hit.
I would have to say your chicken pot pie is right up there me. And a big thanks for these Sunday reads. Iโve been with you since the start but donโt usually comment.
I think your triple berry Dutch baby is the recipe we make the most often! ??
I make all your granola recipes and often search the donut archives!
My fave recipe of yours is rosemary brown butter cornbread. THE definitive cornbread in my home now.
Sit and stay apple crisp. I make it for myself for my fall birthday every year =)
Your pie crust (and accompanying post cheering me on) and your gumbo poutine. I use the pie crust recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, and sometimes in between, and every time I ask my husband what he wants for dinner he answers โgumbo?โ so Iโve made that 9000 times. Oh! And the pretzels from your virtual bakehouse last year! Iโve used that TONS!!!
Dulce de lรจche cupcakes and the chocolate orange cream cheese pound cake!
Your Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies!! They are so unique but beyond delicious and theyโre the sleeper hit everywhere Iโve brought them. I havenโt tried de-glutening them since Iโve had to go gluten free but itโs certainly on my listโฆ
Girl, your all butter pie crust and browned butter chocolate chip cookies are my GO-TOs. Making me look so good out here.
I love all your soups, pot pies & biscuit/dumpling dinners. Tomatoes. Strawberries! Slight-fear-of-commitment roast chicken is a great recipe (that admittedly Iโve made so many times itโs nearly memorized) & I love your writing with it too. My fave cookies are the dark chocolate pistachio w/ sea salt & the cookies+cream cookies. Also jazzed up rice krispie treats (Iโm especially excited to try your neapolitan krispie cake!)
I make your strawberry rhubarb crisp every summer. The topping is just right!
So any good recipes! Save anything small bath, muffins, quick bread, brownies and bars. One layer cakes? So manyGoodones, just canโt!
Iโve made the cream cheese cinnamon rolls and spicy lentil soup a million times each! (And the former is what really inspired me to bake and cook as I prepared to move into my very own space postcollege.)
Thank you for this weekโs offerings.
I enjoy making the comforting weeknight chicken, and although I havenโt made in a while, the pull apart cinnamon sugar bread that seemed to break the internet.
xo
Cinnamon roll muffins! They are a perfect blend of a biscuit and a yeasty cinnamon roll โ and they are easy.
thanks joy!
White bean kale and sausage soup!!!
Donโt even have to think twice โ Dadโs Sweet Potato Pie
Marrakesh Carrot Salad is extraordinary, and obviously your famous Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are classic.
Cranberry orange & pecan coffee cake. I make it every year as soon as fresh cranberries are available. And multiple times during fall and winter.
I use the small batch granola recipe all the time! And the vanilla bean confetti cookies are perfect for birthdays.
I also love the small batch granola recipe! Maybe Iโll make granola today!
Honey cranberry cornmeal quick bread!
Oatmeal and peanut butter cookie sandwiches.
Iโve gotten lots of compliments on them!
Delightful
Apple cranberry crumb pie! Itโs a Thanksgiving non-negotiable at my house.
The raspberry cheese danish thumbprint cookies were arguably the best thing I baked during the global parfait.
These two savory recipes are ones I go back to over and over again โ Baked Polenta with Tomato Basil and Roasted Vegetable Winter Crumble. And Iโve made and gifted the Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie several times!
Weekday oatmeal and everything cookies!
Cannot do without the Maple Blueberry Scones, and all the ways that can be adapted.
you put me in sheer panic mode when you stated to pick a favorite recipe โ I canโt. I go to you for ideas in recipes because of you willingness to try something different to a recipe.
I have been on your site before your first cookbook. I remember when you were all excited about it.
You like a each and very child you have but you really like their different qualities they have. You like each and every recipe but you like the differences that each recipe offers. HOW CAN YOU JUST CHOOSE>.
I second the apple crisp!
Now I am looking for an eggnog bundt cake recipe. Itโs Sunday morning so I will make your pancake recipe for the kids instead :).
Iโve made that one chocolate bundt from the Big Sur Bakery cookbook fairly frequently. The cappuccino cookies (even the ones without the brown butter), the apple crisp, the apple pie, and the cherry pie bars I have also made multiple times. Iโve only made the avocado pound cake once, but please donโt get rid of it โ Iโll need it for the next time I have a surplus of ripe-to-almost-overripe avocados! Keep the cream cheese cinnamon rolls too. Donโt get rid of your roasted vegetable winter crumble just yet โ Iโve had it on my โto makeโ bookmark folder for too long.
โฆ.honestly, most/many of your recipes have always turned out for me. Thank you for doing what you do!
Your yogurt pita bread! I also make the galette de rous cookies..all the time.
Every year I make the everybodyโs birthday cake for one of my kids and the brown butter chocolate chips many times a year! Thank you
12 frosted cupcakes -1 stick of butter allows me to say yes without hesitation when my daughter asks to make cupcakes. Also the brown sugar molasses cookies from your magazine are a favorite.
Dark chocolate Guinness brownies. One of the only sweets my husband will eat! :)
French onion pasta is a real winner in my house. Oh, and special deviled eggs. I may need both of those this week now.
I make the Sit and Stay Awhile Apple Crisp a lot and the Blackberry Buttermilk Pie
I make your biscuit cinnamon rolls for those special breakfasts with a close heart friend. During the global panna cotta, when my friends and I did our own makeshift Easter sunrise gathering, I brought those cinnamon rolls to break the fast. They were strongly requested to be a part of our sunrise ritual again this year. The recipe has grown beyond me as I recommended the recipe to a friend, who made it for her family, and now itโs her dadโs go-to special breakfast meal. Biscuit cinnamon rolls are now one of my love languages.
12 frosted cupcakes; one stick of butter (the 2009 one) is my go-to birthday celebration or actually any celebration treat. Also, still love the Motherโs Day menu of a similar vintage for creme fraiche quiche and homemade ceasar salad. Those early-year recipes remain lovely classics.
Beetroot chocolate cake with beet cream cheese frosting!
Always love your sunday reads. On favourite recipes: I make your pumpkin cookies at least once a year, people started asking me when Iโm going to bake them โ and I am not known as a baker!