There are a lot of things we tell ourselves about chocolate in order to eat it on a frequent basis. It's great for headaches, it's good for the heart, it's better than other things I could be eating! But what if we told you it's been proven to make you smarter too? Hot diggity-dang! More

A piece of toast spread with a gratuitous amount of peanut butter can be a saving grace on a bad day. It can also be a saving grace when we forgot to plan our lunch ahead or when we suddenly need a batch of cookies for a potluck or any number of kitchen emergencies. I couldn't imagine my pantry without a jar of peanut butter. What's your favorite kind? More

When a craving hits, it hits hard. You need chocolate now. Or caramel. Or maybe just a really big spoonful of peanut butter. Paging through Baked Elements felt like a whirlwind tour of every craving I've ever had. Since the book is organized around ten of the most crave-inducing ingredients in a baker's pantry, I'm thinking that's the whole point. More

Have you ever been in the situation you where you have a recipe calling for a very specific percentage of cacao in a chocolate bar and you get to the store only to find vague indicators like "Very Dark," or "Special Bittersweet"? Well, now there's a way to do the guessing all on your own. More

Pizza gets a bad rap health-wise. And understandably so, I suppose. There's the oil and the cheese and the oh-so-delicious dough. But strangely I rarely feel guilty about the toppings themselves: it's usually the white-flour dough that leaves me feeling like I could've done better. But then, there are whole-grain pizza dough recipes, and some really fine ones indeed. More

Q: What's the deal on "pizza yeast"? Just came across a new Fleishman's product the other day. Wondering how this pizza specific yeast product differs from regular ol' quick rising yeast.

Sent by Clint More

While I no longer live in San Francisco, I dream of the dessert pizza at Gialina Pizzeria to this day. It was buttery and flaky and slathered with mascarpone and chocolate. The good news? San Franciscan or not, there are a few great dessert pizza recipes out there just awaiting a hungry audience. More

Ever wonder what makes the crust from your favorite wood-fired oven pizza joint so insanely delicious? Or how to make extra-chewy bagels at home? Or how to make no-knead bread that doesn't tear apart when you cut a slice? The answer is gluten, lots of it. And our best bet for getting this gluten in our home kitchens is to pick up a bag of bread flour the next time we're at the store. More

Item: Trader Joe's Shelf-Stable Whipping Cream
Price: $1.29 for 8 oz
Overall Impression: It has its downsides, but all-in-all it's a handy, serviceable way to be sure you have cream in your pantry.

Whipping cream is not an everyday ingredient in my kitchen, so it's not something I usually keep on hand. When I do buy cream, it's for a special occasion or a specific dish, and that probably happens maybe two or three times a year. Still, it would be nice to have cream tucked away for those times when it sneaks up on me in a recipe or when unexpected guests stop in and I'd like to fancy up the dessert. So I was intrigued when I spied Trader Joe's newest product: a shelf-stable whipping cream in an aseptic box. Read on for my review. More

When is it considered too early to start thinking about holiday menus and desserts? My general feeling is September is far too early, although once October rolls around I start to flirt with different pies I may want to serve for Thanksgiving. And this year, we have a new contender: The Brownie Pecan Pie. More