Hello Reader Happy Friday. Shana Tova for those of you celebrating the new year. And a big welcome if you are new here. It's been a pretty boring week in my world, which is nice, given how much is going on elsewhere. I hope you too are somewhere safe and with a roof over your head, running water, and electricity. If you are, and if you're looking for ways to help out victims of Hurricane Helene, I'd suggest World Central Kitchen, who's been providing food and water to residents and first...
6 months ago • 1 min read
Hi, Reader Happy Friday! If there's one thing that I would bet on, it's that most of you like pizza in some form. Pizza is a perfect dinner canvas because it can be classic comfort food or adaptable to the most adventurous tastes. Below are ways I do pizza night in my house. We have an Ooni pizza oven (I am not an affiliate) and it's an amazing tool once you get past the learning curve. Happy to answer questions if you have one or are contemplating. If you don't, I get the best crust in my...
9 months ago • 2 min read
Hi, Reader Happy weekend! Today seems like a good day to do a re-introduction, whether you've been a friend for years or you're new to the Ugly Duckling Bakery family. I'm Joanne. I'm a Seattle doctor who specializes in HIV prevention in the U.S., and I'm the creator behind this food blog. Although I'm a doctor, you'll notice that my blog isn't about low fat, healthy foods all the time. I'm a big fan of the Oscar Wilde "Everything in moderation, including moderation." So while I try to eat...
10 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Friday, Reader One of the downsides of recipe testing for the blog is that I make the same recipes over and over until I feel like I've gotten it right. I try to spread out those tests, but sometimes I cook or bake clusters of the same thing or use the same ingredient a lot. Well, after a recent sequence of homemade Nutella, Nutella blondies, Nutella thumbprint cookies, Nutella ganache, etc, my kiddo asked me to stop making things with Nutella. She asked, instead, for strawberries. So...
12 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Friday, Reader There are two kinds of people in this world. People who looooooove chocolate. And people who are like, yeah, chocolate's ok, but what about a fruit dessert? Or coconut? Or ... The mister is one of the former. So when I said I wanted to make Claudia Roden's whole orange cake for a dinner last weekend, he asked me to make a second dessert with chocolate. So if you're like him and you'd also choose the macarons with Nutella ganache over a moist, orange cake every time, this...
12 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Friday, Reader Hello, my friends. There are a lot of you who are new this week, so I want to say, "thank you!" for spending a few minutes of your time with me. I hope to get to know you, just like you'll get to know me too, little by little. You'll learn that I really love the combo of chocolate and peanut butter. And the photos of my cakes are a great example of why my tagline is "tastes great. looks homemade." So who loves cake? 💜 I do. And it seems like a lot of you do too! Here are...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader Happy New Year! Thank you so much for supporting me and the blog as it turns three. We made it through the holidays! I'm not big on New Years resolutions - why wait until January 1 to make changes - but the new year is always a great time to reflect and make plans. My 2024 Resolutions ❤️ Don't worry. 2024 will still be full of deliciousness. But I'm a planner. So here are some things I've resolved to cook and bake and the recipes I'll be sharing: 1) EAT MORE BEANS There are lots of...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader T'is still the season for...cookies! And folks are loving... My Most Popular Cookie ❤️ Everywhere I share them, people are going crazy for my double peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. They are soft and chewy and full of peanut butter flavor. Even better, they are super easy to throw together and require no chilling time! THE RUNNER UP Shortbread Linzer cookies with raspberry filling THE OTHER COOKIES GETTING SOME LOVE: Fudgy brownie crinkle cookies Triple coffee cookies...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read