no holds bar

I know there are so many gift-giving baking idea's floating around on other blogs, Pinterest, the Food Network... but these Chunky Raspberry Bars have to be one of the easiest to put together. There's no intricate decorating of cookies or cupcakes, instead you're just basically smashing the dough into a pan and going for that "rustic" look. It works here, trust me.

The dough is really more of a shortbread packed with oats, coconut and almonds... oh and some raspberry jam to give it a festive flair. But of course you could swap out the raspberry jam for your favorite flavor, say peach or strawberry. Once the bars are cooled, they're dense and hold up wonderfully in a (gift) box. 

pump it up

Now that we're in October, I've decided to focus my baking on two fall staples: pumpkin and apple. I've got a lot of great recipes in store for this month (and none of them are pumpkin or apple pie!) so stay tuned and hopefully you'll enjoy what I'm dishin' out.

I'm so excited to share these beauties. I love pumpkin muffins with cream cheese, and when I came across this recipe over 8 years ago, I fell in love a little more because there was an amazing topping. 

Cinnamon, sugar, pecans and coconut all on top of an already delicious muffin?! Yes, these truly are worth making. 

that cake has a hole in it...

My lovely Father-in-law, Mark, had his birthday the day after Father's Day and I know he loves coconut, so I thought it was a good time to try out this recipe. 

Remember when I talked about getting this cookbook and was anxious to try something from it? Well I followed the recipe exactly and it is one of the most moist, soft cakes I've ever had. That's saying a lot, especially since it came out of a Bundt pan, because those cakes tend to be a bit firmer. 

coco coco coconut!

 Flour bakery is a local bakery in the Boston area, where they're famous for their brioche sticky buns (they're amazing!), and my sister gave me their cookbook about a year ago.

Last year for Easter I made these coconut macaroons into sweet little "nests" and was so disappointed with the flavor- mainly because there was none to be found. I liked the simpleness of the recipe (basically a lot of coconut and egg whites) but was so unhappy with the taste that I thought I just didn't like coconut macaroons.