You know those cookies in the blue tins that pop up at grocery stores and pharmacies during the holidays? Maybe you've had them at your grandma's or in the office. We all love them. Well....they're not so hard to make at home. And the results are more tender, crumbly and can be slightly less sweet than those tinned cookies. There's really no comparison with homemade.

We piped our dough into circles using a large star tip and sprinkled the top with sugar for crunch and sparkle. But you can use a smaller start tip and pipe them as bars or use a cookie press for a variety of shapes. You can also dip any shape into melted white or regular chocolate and decorate with sprinkles to dress them up. Check the end of this post for tips and options.

This recipe, slightly adapted from one by @browneyedbaker, makes about 36 cookies. They freeze well and can be kept in a sealed container at room temperature for around a week. They travel well, too - you can even fill your own tin! 

This time of year we put a lot of miles on our mixers. With holiday gatherings, parties and gift-giving just around the corner, you need your mixer to be ready to handle it all. It's especially important if you only use your mixer this time of year.

Below find our handy checklist for making sure your KitchenAid is up to the tasks ahead.

Good luck and happy baking!

How do you like your pumpkin? How about in individual pumpkin cheesecakes - some with chocolate chips and some with homemade salted caramel and chopped, toasted pecans? That's what we made recently and wanted to share our recipe.

We made mini and bite-size cheesecakes in muffin and mini-muffin pans with paper liners. We love the smaller size. No water baths, no worries about cracked tops. And everyone gets their own!

We thought we'd also raise the crust bar a little and used ground Biscoff Lotus cookies for the crust. But you can substitute graham crackers or something similar.

This delicious recipe is adapted from one from Sally's Baking Addiction, a source we love for reliable and well-tested recipes. 

These are perfect for Thanksgiving, a fall brunch, or an office party. They're so good, we recommend you make a double batch!

This dense, flavorful pound cake loaf is perfect with coffee or tea, and makes a delicious addition to brunch. And - hint, hint - it's a perfect cake to make for Mom on her special day this weekend. Best of all, it is surprisingly easy to make. You may already have the ingredients in your kitchen.

This recipe, slightly adapted from the book Bake From Scratch, makes two 8.5" x 4.5" loaves. As a small family, we usually halve the recipe. If you have a good scale, we recommend that you weigh the ingredients. That way you're assured of a good loaf. 

The recipe also has you make your own strawberry preserves filling. We used a purchased mixed berry jam in ours (our favorite is an all-natural French jam). If you use jam you bought, choose one that is a looser style, not a jelly for best results. We also added a simple glaze to the top and decorated with a few dried raspberries we had on hand. It's just as delicious naked!

We highly recommend that you read through this recipe before you make it. The mixing instructions are a little different than normal. ​You should always do this, but we have to confess - we often don't! 

​We'll post a VIDEO soon!

• 1/2 pound (225g) fresh strawberries, hulled
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) water
• 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
• 3 Tablespoons (36g) granulated sugar

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1. In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse strawberries until smooth, about 1 minute.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch until smooth.
3. In a medium saucepan, stir together pureed strawberries and sugar over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute.

Will yield about 1 cup.