I Hope There's Pudding!

THE BEST COOKIES OF ALL TIME* For Alaska, I wanted to try Agutuk (Akutaq), which was described by the internet as: This is the most Alaskan of desserts, though only a few hardy travelers try it. Native Alaskans create this “Eskimo Ice Cream” by mixing seal oil, reindeer fat, snow, and berries. The ingredients are hand-whipped until they form a foam. Sugar is not traditional but adds fluffiness. This food was originally eaten for survival rather than as a treat, and recipes have been passed down through generations of Native families. Other traditional ingredients include moose, caribou, and fish. Modern variations often include Crisco. ASN, the party pooper, wanted none of this, complaining that she wouldn't be able to find reindeer fat. THE INTERNET defeats ASN. (She was unconcerned by the utter lack of snow in Raleigh, apparently.) So we decided upon Tongass Forest Cookies, which sounded positively yucky, and which the internet admitted had no origin story. But,

Wonderful Washington I love a nut pie. Something about buying corn syrup reminds me of both Thanksgiving and high school home ec, both of which are awesome. I made Martha Stewart's Washington Walnut Pie, and, as usual, you can't go wrong with Martha Stewart. This pie is perfect and it fills my heart and stomach with joy. JMN wouldn't try it because "it looks gross." Never have I been so happy to have an unadventurous four-year old. I feel like I should say more, so I started thinking about Washington State. Home of the best dessert so far on our adventure, it also reminds me of My So Called Life, plaid, grunge, and this song: Which reminds me of this time this spring when I was in Atlanta. I'd walk past the Tabernacle going from work to pick JMN up at daycare. One day, it was drizzling but I'd forgotten an umbrella, so I was huddled up in my coat/hood (will I ever wear that heavy coat again?). I nearly ran into someone while cutting acro

Or: How I Learned to Never Skimp On Fat Straight Talk: Cobbler is gross. Yucky. Nasty. Why the heck would you ruin these delicious blackberries by turning them into mushy milk-addled versions of themselves? Look at these beautiful berries (California-grown, not Oregon-grown): I toyed with the idea of making a blackberry-apple crumble instead, but it just felt like cheating. So I made the cobbler. However, like an idiot, I made it with skim milk. Without the fat, the cobbler turned to candy and was super-chewy. I found a way to make cobbler worse! I did not share this atrocity with anyone. Sorry, Oregon, I still think you're the best! Note: JMN and I decided to use blue and green sugar on top. It is fun!

One Dessert for A Giant State When ASN and I decided to embark on this dessert-a-venture across the U.S., ASN suggested we start in California and work our way across the country. I was excited to start with a meyer lemon dessert because (1) I love meyer lemons, and (2) I live in OC, so I have to be able to find meyer lemons, right? Well, turns out there were no meyer lemons to be found because they were out of season. A week later, I finally found the first-of-the-season meyer lemons, and good golly were they delicious! I made this cake: http://hilahcooking.com/meyer-lemon-olive-oil-cake/ The recipe was easy to make, and the cake was delicious! I thought that the cake was a little dry, but that's probably my newness cooking in this dry climate moreso than the recipe.   That said, I ate a quarter of the cake in a single day. Oops? JMN tried it and informed me that it was missing frosting, which I otherwise never would have noticed! Work folks must have

I have to admit, I was none too thrilled about this one. I was never a big fan of nutty desserts. Alas, I gave it a good effort for the sake of the blog.  While I wasn't the biggest fan of the pie, it did turn out nicely and had a few fans.  Look at that beautiful pie.  I have never made a pie crust and I didn't start for this one. It's very easy to make and made my house smell quite heavenly. (I will add a link to the recipe later... I am on my phone and not sure how to do a link on the app yet! But it was Martha Stewart's Washington Walnut Pie recipe.) -Amanda

Who doesn't love blackberries? Crazy people, that's who! And what's better than blackberries? Blackberries in a cobbler covered in ice cream. This week our travels brought us to Oregon and tasty blackberries. I've never made a cobbler before, so this one was pretty exciting for me. I was amazed how easy it was to make. Not only was it easy, but it was super delicious too. It was obviously delicious fresh out of the oven, but it even reheated decently. Here is my tasty cobbler right before I put it in the oven. Look how big those blackberries are! Unfortunately mine didn't come from Oregon... They were from Guatemala. But hopefully Jennifer found some Oregon blackberries in California! Here we are, fresh out of the oven. Look how fantastic that looks??!! And believe me, it was fantastic. Christy (my other half's mother) had the pleasure of trying this concoction and I'm fairly certain she was in heaven.  Bottom line? I wou

Out of the blue, about a week or two ago, my lovely sister emails me this list of desserts for every state. She told me that she wanted me to join her in a weekly trek across the country via desserts. Also, she was doing it with or without me. Me, being the sweet toothed, junk food lover that I am, couldn't say no. After a brief discussion of what order to go in, we decided to start on California (since Jennifer lives there) and travel towards me in North Carolina. So, without further ado, California: The wonderful Meyer Lemon Cake was the first stop on our journey across the country. The recipe I used can be found here . At first, the thought of having a delicious cake staring at me for 24 hours before I could indulge in it was a bit heartbreaking. But I assure you, it was well worth the wait. The Meyer lemon juice and sugar glaze had set in and made it that much more lemony delicious. The cake itself was quite easy to make. I baked it a tad too long, so it tur

My Cross-Country Challenge to My Little Sister: Eat Yourself Across America in Desserts. California - Meyer Lemon Cake Oregon - Blackberry Cobbler Washington State - Washington Walnut Pie Alaska - Tongass Forest Cookies Montana - S'mores Idaho - Huckleberry Pie Nevada - The Sugar Factory's King Kong Sundae Arizona - Navajo Frybread Utah - Jell-O (the state snack!) Wyoming Colorado New Mexico - Bizcochito Texas - Pecan Pie Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska South Dakota - Kuchen North Dakota - Krumkake Minnesota - Seven-Layer Bars Iowa Missouri - Gooey Butter Cake (note: state dessert is ice cream!) Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi Tennessee Kentucky Indiana Illinois Wisconsin - Kringle Michigan Ohio - Buckeyes West Virginia Pennsylvania - Chocolate Chip Cookie New York - Oreo Cheesecake Vermont - Apple Pie New Hampshire Maine - Blueberry Pie (wild Maine blueberries) Massachusetts - Boston Creme Pie Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delawa