Notes about Recipes in this book

• Oat bread

  • MollyB on April 17, 2023

    The flavor on this bread was great, but it turned out a little denser than I'd like. Next time I'll try upping the amount of water a bit and reducing the ratio of whole wheat flour. (I live someplace really dry, so that might account for some of the need for more water.) Even a little dense, we are still having no trouble eating - it makes amazing toast!

• Heavenly eggs

  • MollyB on April 10, 2023

    Very good, basic deviled egg recipe, with a charming and fun presentation. Very kid-friendly and forgiving for those with imperfect decorating skills!

• Oyster (mushroom) Rockefeller

  • infotrop on June 17, 2023

    What a great idea for an easy mushroom side. Next time, I may sprinkle some Parmesan on top before it hits the broiler

  • kshell on September 25, 2023

    These were delicious. Didn't have a lemon; served with balsamic vinegar at table. I made these for my immediate family and felt a bit silly scooping out multiple muffin cups at once during plating. Next time it's "just for us" I'm piling everything on a sheet pan to broil. Will be faster and easier to serve.

• Butternut squash fritters

  • MollyB on October 06, 2025

    Loved these! It was hard to stop eating them. I served with some leftover garlic yogurt sauce with za'atar (a Julia Turshen recipe) and that really amped up the flavor.

• Ooey gooey mac and cheese

  • dbuhler on January 23, 2026

    This is very true to the name, it's very ooey and gooey. I loved the flavor of this, but I was not wowed by the texture...it very thick and almost claggy. She uses every m&c method in this recipe (roux, evaporated milk, and egg yolks). I used cavatappi pasta and I wonder if it would have been a little different with campanelle. I may try it one more time with a different shape before I write it off completely. It did come together very quickly (I didn't bake it) which is a plus. I halved the recipe and I used two yolks, one large and one small one...maybe that was my issue.

• Vermont sweet and tangy cornbread

  • Blacey on October 31, 2023

    This was excellent! The brown butter and slightly sweet maple syrup were just perfect!

• Pumpkin sourdough dinner buns

  • dbuhler on October 13, 2025

    These rolls were just okay for me. They didn't have much flavor. The recipe also doesn't specify what temperature the milk and starch water should be. I warmed mine a little and I believe that was a big mistake, because at just 20 minutes of proofing my dough had more than doubled. I also think this is just a lot of yeast for this amount of dough, especially because it also has starter. My roles also tasted a bit to salty, and I think that might be because I salt my pasta cooking water and then there is also a bit of salt in the recipe. In the book she sings the praises of the starch water, but never mentions whether that water should be salted or not, and then the recipe calls for a normal amount of salt. I did attempt the pumpkin shape and that didn't go very well, but that was all me. I may try that again with a different roll recipe because I won't be making this one again. Note, the pumpkin is more for color, not flavor.

• Spooky potpie

  • MollyB on October 07, 2024

    Great recipe! Nice crispy crust and a well-balanced filling. I do recommend a nonstick pan for sautéing the vegetables, and it took a little longer than suggested to get nicely browned.

• "Hand" pies

  • MollyB on October 25, 2024

    Fun recipe for Halloween! The dough recipe worked beautifully and produced nice flaky layering in the finished pies. I only got 6 pies, using a mid-sized hand to trace my template. If you want more pies, find someone with a small hand or be diligent about the 1/8-inch thickness.

• Brown bread in a can

  • dbuhler on March 08, 2024

    This was our first time trying Boston brown bread...and it was okay! It is very molasses forward (obviously) which made it a bit bitter. I love steamed cakes and breads so the texture was great and we loved the little pops of sweetness from the raisins. This version uses white flower in place of the rye, so that likely made it a bit lighter in texture. It was really good alongside her cheddar soup. I'm not sure I would make it again, but I'm really glad I tried it.

• Vermont cheddar soup

  • dbuhler on March 08, 2024

    Yum! This was delicious! I couldn't find her recommended cheddar, so I used one with a comparable age range. I was skeptical about her instructions to cook the roux for 10 minutes, but it turned out great. I'm not exactly sure what the maple syrup brings to the soup, but it was a really tasty. This makes a lot and thankfully it reheated really well the next day and didn't split or curdle at all...something I've experienced with most of the cheddar soups I've made. I served it, per her recommendation, alongside the brown bread. I will definitely make this again!

• Brown butter-brown sugar cookies

  • hibeez on October 29, 2023

    These cookies rolled quite easily. I think a 1/4" might be too thick for some of my cutters. When eaten right out of the oven, they were slightly chewy. When cooled, they were crisp but had a tender finish. Delicious flavor. I found it was easier to move them to the cooling rack from parchment versus the Silpat. I also found that 14 minutes, even for the 1/4" cookies, was enough to get them brown enough. Have not frosted them; not sure if it will add or detract from the lovely brown butter & sugar flavor.

  • dbuhler on February 12, 2026

    I really like the flavor of these cookies, but I don't care for the texture as a cut out cookie. I rolled my dough 1/4" thick and baked my cookies for the minimum of 15 minutes. The edges were nicely browned. Once cooled, the edges were nice and crisp, but the centers were hard and crunchy, which I didn't like. If I make these again, I would either roll them thinner so the whole cookie could be crisp, or I may keep the thickness the same and bake for a shorter period of time to see if I can get the centers to remain soft. My idea of a good cutout cookie is that it remains soft, and so perhaps this just isn't the dough for the type of cookie that I prefer. Top marks for flavor though!

• Cranberry crumble shortbread

  • Tinala523 on November 29, 2024

    Made these for Thanksgiving. Recipe makes a lot with tons of crumble! We enjoyed them with the cranberry sauce filling but raspberry jam would be lovely too!

• Sourdough discard waffles

  • Dramagical on February 01, 2026

    These were good. Definitely needed more liquid after mixing. Was way too thick. Very good. Not great.

• Maple bundt

  • redbird on March 28, 2026

    Lovely flavor and texture. I made half the recipe, using a 6-cup Bundt pan. Reduced cooking time to around 50 minutes.