My Favorite Recipes for Writers

Baking is my love language. I want to thank you, I bake. I want to apologize to you, I bake. I want to hang out with you, I bake. I want to convince (OK, bribe) you, I bake. I love you, I bake. So I’ve baked…a lot. And I’ve got some favorite recipes that are perfect to bake for the folks who help you along on your writing journey.  Here are my favorite recipes for writers to bake for any (writing) occasion!

For your writers’ group…

My go-to, hands-down crowd pleaser is America’s Test Kitchen Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake. Moist, deeply chocolatey, travels great, holds up at any temperature, simple but impressive on a cake platter. This is the one you take to the picnic, the wintery retreat, the stolen Tuesday night get-together. The recipe tip to grease the pan and “flour” it with cocoa powder (instead of flour) was a game changer for me. Get out your fancy Bundt pan!

For your critique partner…

I chose something here that’s shippable because I think a lot of us have CPs who aren’t local. It’s hard to find that perfect partner who gives you honesty but still uplifts you and makes your work better who’s also the person whose work you can’t wait to read and give the same back to them. If you can find that person close to home, you are super lucky! But it’s more likely you’ll have a long distance relationship. So bake them something that withstands the parcel journey — biscotti! My favorite is a Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from Gourmet’s cookbook. I’ve made it many times, often as a holiday gift because it’s a festive red and green.

For your BFF who reads your manuscript and/or listens to you vent about publishing…

A saint on Earth. This person deserves ALL the cake. Here are my two favorites from one of my favorite bakers and recipe developers, Sally’s Baking Recipes. And I’ve made tons of her recipes and every one is a winner so if these flavors are not your friend’s thing, pick anything else from Sally and it will be amazing.

The Best Pumpkin Cake Ever (it is). Light, moist, perfectly paired with cream cheese frosting…it’s love in a 13×9 pan. And the kids in my life adore it so you’ll score points with any small fries in your friend’s household!

I first made Sally’s Peach Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Icing for my niece’s birthday to share with friends at the bus stop. They demolished it. This recipe is best during peach season because peaches are best during peach season but it is excellent all year round.

For making new writing friends…

Going to a conference? A retreat? A workshop? Not sure how to make friends? Bring cookies! More specifically, bring the greatest cookies of all time, World Peace Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Dorie is a cookie genius and these cookies are dense chocolate textural perfection, no-fail, super simple, and egg-free! These are the #1 request I get from my family for holiday baking and a staple at our yearly cookie party for my son’s friends. They will make you the most popular kid in the writer’s circle.

For your agent…

OK so this one is theoretical because I don’t have an agent (yet! growth mindset…), but if I did, I’d bake them something spectacular. Stretch my skills. Go all out. This is the person who spends hours reading your work and giving you feedback that makes it better, pitches you to editors, fights for your contract terms, shepherds your book baby through years of development and release, plots and plans your career with you, and listens and holds your hand when publishing is tough. Show them some pastry love. And give them something snackable they can snitch while reading or sending emails. What fills that bill? Dough and chocolate in its best forms from the queen, Smitten Kitchen. Pick your format. Better Chocolate Babka! Chocolate Swirl Buns! Unfussy Rugelach! I’ve made them all and get asked to make them again all the time. Got an agent who’s not a chocolate person? I got you. ATK’s Strawberry Cream Cake or Stella Parks’ Classic Vanilla Butter Cake will make them swoon.

For your book launch…

You heard me! You are having a book launch. Ya gotta believe. And when it happens, you should serve Smitten Kitchen’s Blueberry Crumb Bars. I tweak this recipe just a smidge by adding some coriander to the blueberry filling (Bravetart Stella Parks taught me blueberries and coriander are best friends, as are strawberries and Chinese Five Spice) and a few more tablespoons butter to the topping so it’s a bit more like big crumbles from my favorite childhood treat-in-a-box, the venerable Sara Lee All-Butter Coffee Cake.

For yourself…

You deserve it! You wrote (or are writing) an entire book! That is a huge achievement! But I know, I know. You’re tired. So here’s a recipe that’s minimum effort (no bake!) for maximum reward (JUST LOOK AT IT) that will keep you in treats for a long time because you stash it in the freezer! Gesine Prado’s Devil’s Cream Cake is D I V I N E. Cool, intensely chocolatey (buy the good stuff, there’s nowhere to hide!), smooth and creamy, and stunning to look at. Cut it up after it’s set and pull out a slice every time you need to celebrate or console yourself.

Putting together my favorite recipes for writers was fun! I’ll do one of these recipes for writers posts again because there are a hundred more recipes I could gush about. Shut your laptop and bake!