We had dried cherries left after making lemon-cherry scones and wanted to make a cookie with them. Chocolate covered cherries are popular, so we decided they needed a chocolate cookie. We didn’t have a recipe handy, so we started with the sugar cookie recipe and swapped out some of the flour for cocoa.

First try, score.

Pumpkin usually only shows up in recipes in the fall. Try these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting and you’ll wonder why that is.

I hate store-bought whipped cake frosting that stays light and fluffy. I prefer old-fashioned buttercream frosting that sets up and gets a little crusty. This cream cheese frosting recipe is the one exception. I’m sure it would set up firmer if you put in the freezer, but at room temperature it stays soft and rich.