Weekend Baking at the Allan’s

09/26/2026

🍂 Does anything say fall better than pumpkin, warm spices, and an afternoon iced coffee?

Today’s kitchen experiment turned into a double win. 🎃

I had pumpkin purée waiting to be used and decided one fall bake simply wasn’t enough, so we made:

🍁 Autumn Hearth Pumpkin Snickerdoodles — soft and tender, rolled in cinnamon sugar, with just enough pumpkin and warm spice to make them taste like fall without screaming PUMPKIN.

☕ Pumpkin Spice Butterscotch Biscotti — crisp, warmly spiced, and filled with little pockets of butterscotch that caramelized as they baked. And yes, one immediately found its way next to my afternoon iced coffee. Some traditions are non-negotiable. 😂

The snickerdoodle dough gave me a little attitude at first—it was drier than I wanted and wanted to split as I rolled it—but that’s part of baking. You watch the dough, adjust, and let it tell you what it needs. The result was absolutely worth it.

Then came the official Allan kitchen taste test.

Chris declared the snickerdoodles “delicious and not overly pumpkiny,” and after trying the biscotti, he loved those too. My verdict on the biscotti? The right amount of everything.

Two brand-new recipes.
Two keepers.
And the kitchen officially smells like fall. 🍂❤️

Now the important question: Which are you reaching for first—the soft pumpkin snickerdoodle or the crunchy pumpkin-butterscotch biscotti?

From my kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s.

09/23/2026

What happens when your favorite spaghetti and meatballs meets a big, cozy bowl of soup? 🍅🍲

According to Chris, you get “your spaghetti and meatballs on steroids!” 😂

Tonight’s rainy-day dinner was our homemade Allan Homestyle Lasagna Soup, and oh my goodness, this one was a keeper!

We browned mild Italian sausage with onions and garlic, then built a rich tomato broth with Rao’s marinara, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and Italian seasonings. Near the end, we added broken lasagna noodles and let them cook until tender.

But the finishing touch? A little cloud of ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and fresh basil spooned right into each hot bowl. 🧀🌿

We served it with buttery Parmesan garlic bread, toasted in the Ninja and perfect for soaking up every last bit of that broth.

A little kitchen tip: Add your lasagna noodles toward the end of cooking so they don’t get too soft. If you’re planning leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl. That way, it won’t soak up all your beautiful broth overnight!

Chris loved it, I couldn’t think of a single thing I’d change, and this recipe has officially earned a spot in our family recipe vault. 🔒❤️

Are you team traditional lasagna, or would you trade your fork for a spoon and try lasagna soup?

From our kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s.

09/17/2026

Does “let the dough rise for 60 minutes” mean it will actually be ready in exactly 60 minutes?

Not always! While working with our latest batch of dough, this was another good reminder that yeast doesn’t watch the clock. Room temperature, ingredient temperature, humidity, and even the bowl you use can change how quickly dough rises.

Instead of relying only on time, read the dough:

* It should look noticeably fuller and roughly doubled in size.
* The surface should appear smooth, soft, and slightly domed.
* Gently press a floured fingertip about ½ inch into the dough.

If the indentation springs back immediately, give it more time. If it slowly fills in but leaves a slight impression, it’s ready. If it deflates or the indentation never moves, it may have risen a little too long—but don’t panic. Shape it gently and continue; homemade bread is often more forgiving than we think.

The recipe gives us an estimate. The dough gives us the real answer.

From my kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s.

When you make yeast dough, do you follow the clock—or check what the dough is telling you?

09/10/2026

Have you ever browned butter and wondered, “Is this toasted—or did I just burn it?”

While making our new brown-butter snickerdoodles, I was reminded that browned butter is something you learn to recognize with your eyes, ears, and nose.

First, the butter bubbles and crackles as its water cooks away. Then the noise begins to quiet, the foam turns finer, and golden-brown specks appear on the bottom of the pan. When it smells warm, nutty, and a little like toasted caramel, it’s ready—pour it into a heat-safe bowl immediately so the hot pan doesn’t keep cooking it.

One more helpful trick: browning removes some of butter’s moisture. For our snickerdoodles, I stir one tablespoon of milk into the cooled browned butter before making the dough. That little bit of moisture helps keep the centers soft instead of dry or crumbly.

Brown butter may sound fancy, but it’s really just regular butter plus a few minutes of careful watching—and it adds an incredible depth of flavor.

From my kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s.

What would you like to try with browned butter: cookies, brownies, frosting, or something savory?

09/06/2026

🍪 Sometimes the recipe teaches you what it needs.

Have you ever taken one bite of a new recipe and immediately thought, “Okay…I know what I need to change”?

That’s exactly what happened with our newest creation: Chocolate Espresso Brown Butter Snickerdoodles.

We started with our snickerdoodle base, browned the butter for that warm, nutty flavor, then added cocoa and espresso. Because apparently regular snickerdoodles weren’t enough—we needed to mess with a perfectly good thing. 😂

Then came the test cookie.

First bite? Delicious…but very chocolate-forward. I immediately thought, next batch, less cocoa.

Except…the cocoa wasn’t the problem.

Our test cookie hadn’t gotten the same generous double roll in cinnamon sugar as the rest of the batch.

Once the fully coated cookies came out of the oven, I sprinkled just a little more cinnamon sugar over the warm tops and tried again.

There it was.

The cinnamon came forward. The chocolate settled into the background. The espresso deepened everything without making them taste like coffee, and the brown butter gave them that rich, almost caramelized warmth underneath it all.

The lesson?

Don’t change the recipe until you’ve actually finished the recipe.

Sometimes one small step isn’t decoration—it’s part of the flavor balance.

And this particular happy experiment? Chris approved, I approved, and not one bit of that cocoa is getting reduced. 😂

Chocolate + espresso + brown butter + cinnamon sugar.

Who knew a snickerdoodle could handle all that?

Would you try a chocolate snickerdoodle, or are you loyal to the classic? 🍪🤎

From our kitchen to yours — The Rustic Gathering.

09/03/2026

Can you spot the difference between these two homemade English muffins?

The first was split with a fork. The second was sliced with a knife—courtesy of Chris, who unknowingly committed a minor English muffin offense in our kitchen. 😂

Now we have photographic evidence of why the method matters!

Fork-splitting gently pulls apart the inside of the muffin, creating all those wonderful craggy nooks and crannies. When toasted, the raised edges become crisp and golden while the little pockets catch every bit of melted butter, jam, or honey.

A knife cuts straight through those pockets, leaving behind a smoother surface. It will still taste good—but you lose some of the texture that makes an English muffin special.

To fork-split yours, poke the tines all the way around the outside edge, then gently pull the two halves apart. It takes only a few extra seconds, and the photos show exactly why it’s worth it!

From my kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s.

Now that you’ve seen the evidence, are you Team Fork-Split or Team Knife?

09/01/2026

08/31/2026

Have you ever made something for the first time and immediately knew it was going into the permanent recipe box? ☕️🤎

The biscotti jar has been looking pretty sad lately, so today I decided it was time for a new flavor: Salted Caramel Brown Butter Biscotti.

I wanted caramel without making them overly sweet, so we started by browning the butter for that deep, nutty, almost-toffee flavor, added brown sugar and vanilla, then folded in salted caramel chips.

No drizzle. No fancy finish. They didn’t need it.

Just crisp, golden biscotti with little pockets of salted caramel throughout—and exactly the kind of thing that belongs next to an afternoon iced coffee.

Chris took one bite and declared them “dangerous.” 😂

That may be one of my favorite reviews yet.

This is also why I love playing around in the kitchen. A few simple changes—browning the butter, choosing brown sugar instead of white, adding one really good mix-in—can turn a basic recipe into something that feels completely different.

And yes… the two little biscotti ends that didn’t make it to the cooling rack were strictly quality control. Someone had to do it. 😏

What biscotti flavor should we experiment with next?

From my kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s.

08/27/2026

Have you ever had a kitchen mishap accidentally work out exactly the way it should? 🍓

Today I had two pounds of fresh strawberries that needed some attention, so homemade strawberry jam was on the agenda.

Strawberries were prepped. Lemon was ready. Pan was out.

And then I discovered I had ONE CUP of sugar left in the house. 😂

So instead of making the big batch I’d planned, I cut everything in half and made a small batch with just one pound of strawberries.

And you know what?

I’m glad I did.

Two little jars turned out to be the perfect amount for our house.

I kept this one very simple: fresh strawberries, sugar, fresh lemon juice and a tiny pinch of salt. Then, once it came off the heat, I stirred in just ¼ teaspoon of Lydgate Farms vanilla from Kauai.

Not enough to make it taste like vanilla.

Just enough to sit quietly in the background and make you wonder what makes the strawberries taste a little extra special. ❤️

Chris tasted it while it was still warm and loved it. I thought it might be a touch sweet at first, but as it cooled, thickened and the flavors settled, I went back for another taste…

I think we may have gotten this one right. 😏

Now there is just one problem.

We are completely out of homemade English muffins. 😂

So apparently I know what’s coming next.

What are you putting homemade strawberry jam on first — an English muffin, toast, biscuit, or straight onto a spoon?

From my kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s ❤️

08/27/2026

Do you ever take an everyday recipe and give it just a few little upgrades?

Tonight was chili night — yes, chili in August. 😂

But this is exactly the kind of cooking I’ve been thinking about lately. Chili can be one of the easiest dinners you make: ground beef, vegetables, beans and tomatoes on the stove, and you’ve got a hearty, protein-packed meal without much fuss.

Or, when you have a little extra time, you can elevate that same simple dinner without making it complicated.

Tonight we added chunks of seared chuck along with the ground beef, used two kinds of beans, bloomed our spices, added a touch of cocoa and Worcestershire for depth, and let the slow cooker do the rest while I went about my day.

A little freshly grated cheese on top and warm homemade honey cornbread on the side…and Chris declared it a winner.

That’s the kind of cooking I love. Simple when you need it. A little special when you want it. And homemade either way.

What everyday dinner do you like to dress up when you have a little extra time?

From my kitchen to yours — Weekend Baking at the Allan’s ❤️



And I’d use the chili bowl as the hero photo, with that half-demolished buttery cornbread photo second because frankly, the missing bites are excellent advertising. 😂