Lemon olive oil cake with blueberry compote.

This Lemon Olive Oil Cake couldn’t be any easier (if you don’t have lemon-infused olive oil on hand, use good EVOO). But the Blueberry-Thyme Compote topping makes it extra special. Make this cake your go-to all summer long, varying the compote as different seasonal fruits come along. And if you happen to eat this for breakfast, I won’t judge. Get the recipe over on writes4food.com!

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dark chocolate sea salt energy bite recipe | writes4food.com

Dark chocolate sea salt energy bites.

Midmorning, I’ll grab a mini Lara bar to stave off the hungries, especially if I’m heading to the gym for a lunchtime workout class. I thought: Could I make these little date-nut energy bars myself? Yep, I can. They’re super easy, delicious and 82 calories each. Get the recipe over on writes4food.com!

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Chocolate red wine bundt cake.

Sure, you could purchase something for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day. (Hurry: Time’s running out!) Or you could make something from scratch and from the heart. Which isn’t to say that you have to fuss, or extend yourself or buy any fancy ingredients. I’ve a hunch you have everything you need for this simple, one-bowl Chocolate Red Wine Bundt Cake right in your kitchen. Get the recipe on writes4food.com!

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Salty chocolate shortbread cookies.

Everyone — everyone! — is making these: Alison Roman’s recipe for Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread cookies. Like everything on the interwebs these days, comments vary, from “amazing” to “meh” to “disaster.” I had to find out what the fuss is all about. And I have to say: these cookies are pretty amazing — but there are some little tricks to make them a bit easier to deal with. Get my version of the recipe on writes4food.com!

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Christmas cookie palooza: Salty Marcona almond cookies.

These easy almond cookies are big on flavor, thanks to a salty Marcona almond decorating each one. This is one of my Grandma Dorothy’s old recipes, and its light texture and buttery-almond flavor is perfect for your Christmas cookie assortment. Get the recipe on writes4food.com.

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Christmas Cookie Palooza 2017

I’ll admit it: I was going to sort of blow off the Christmas cookie roundup I usually share on writes4food.com this year. I just didn’t feel the mojo. Until. Until a lovely woman commented to me (as I was demonstrating a recipe from The Findlay Market Cookbook) last weekend about how much she enjoys my Christmas cookie recipes. So, here we go: Christmas Cookie Palooza 2017 feat. The Dorothy Project. Starting Friday, get your new favorite Christmas cookie recipes on writes4food.com.

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Awesome appetizers for your Thanksgiving feast.

If you stop and think about it, it’s kind of absurd to even consider appetizers before Thanksgiving dinner. But let’s not stop and think about it, shall we? Because all the while the turkey’s in the oven roasting, it’s emanating the most delicious smells from the kitchen. Tummies will invariably rumble. So, yeah: appetizers are a good thing. But you’ll want simple nibbles that aren’t too fussy or difficult to make. Like these. Get my favorite Thanksgiving appetizer recipes over on writes4food.com.

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Overnight Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake recipe | writes4food.com

The Dorothy Project: Overnight coffee cake.

Two things strike me about this recipe that I found in my grandma Dorothy’s old recipe file: one, the beautiful penmanship, and two, this line: “Can be made 2 days before, providing you have good refrigeration.” …

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The Dorothy Project: Poppy seed cake.

Welcome to installment No. 1 of The Dorothy Project, in which I’ll cook my way through many of the recipes in my grandma’s old recipe file. First up: one of my favorite desserts from growing up. I loved poppy seed cake so much it was the top layer of our wedding cake. Get my grandma’s old-fashioned recipe on writes4food.com — it’s really easy!

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