I read somewhere recently that proclaimed pumpkin is the new bacon.

I don't know if I buy that.

First off, I don't really crave pumpkin in the middle of July - it lends itself more to fall spices than summer fruits. And second, if pumpkin became the new bacon it could run the risk of being overdone, of people becoming tired of it. Personally, I don't want to become tired of pumpkin. Pumpkin is many traditional things - pumpkin pie anyone? But it can also be made new, like these cookies. Pumpkin and sage go surprisingly well together. Add a little browned butter and spices to amp up the fall-ness, and these cookies are old and new all rolled into one.

Don't forget that subscriptions for the next cookie block open up in December! Email me at allison@bakeyourheartout.com to be included on the notification list.

In my household, October is not about pumpkin. No, October is about beer. Who am I kidding? The whole year is about beer, thanks to my husband. I never considered myself a beer person but after six years of marriage and a beer weekend up in Healdsburg, he has changed me. I now often surprise myself with my knowledge of beer. Have you tried the latest barrel-aged sour Belgian collaboration ale from Lagunitas and Russian River? Did I get that right? No. Ok, I'll stick with cookies then. Cookies I can do.

If you are a Mountain View local, you can now get Bake Your Heart Out cookies at Steak Out on Castro Street.

Please ignore my horrible picture and my even more horrible chalk writing. It was done after four hours in the kitchen on a 90 degree day.

I like to think of this cookie as the sultry sibling of the regular sugar cookie. Their deeply golden brown exterior lets you know that these are not your average sugar cookie.

And don’t be fooled by their glittery exterior. The coating of turbinado sugar only adds to their mystery. A sweet, crunchy exterior with a deep butterscotch center. Try one and these will quickly become your new guilty pleasure.

Want to get your own brown sugar sugar cookies delivered straight to your door? Subscriptions for the next cookie block will be opening up at the beginning of September. Fill out this form to have your email added to the distribution list so you'll be the first to know when subscriptions are open.

Insipired lives inspire me.

I've alway wished I tlived a more inspired life. You know the types -- there are people who are actually doing the thing you wish you were doing with your life, and then there are people doing something so completely different than your own life that it makes you wonder how they got there. Often I find myself wanting those lives because, honestly, it just looks so dang cool. And it's pretty easy to get caught up in wanting something else. The grass is always greener, they say.

It's been a little quite around these parts lately, but it's not for lack of baking. You may have noticed a trend the past few months. A very singular trend - cookies! 

When I graduated from pastry school a little over a year ago (!) I knew my ultimate goal was to start my own business. The dreamer in me wanted to quite my day job and go work at a bakery, but the voice of reason kept reminding me that the bills wouldn't magically pay themselves. So I floated for a while and didn't really do much of anything.

It wasn't until a last minute Christmas gift idea came to me that I thought I might finally have found an idea that I could execute while still working. Enter 'cookie of the month' subscriptions.

I've been piloting this idea with some very willing out-of-town family members for the last six months and have finally gotten to a point where I feel confident in opening up subscriptions to friends and other family.

If you'd like to learn more, check out the details here. And if you love cookies and love even more the idea of them being delivered to your door, sign up to be notified when the next block opens here.

I'm taking on the world one cookie at a time!

If you are like me, you might have memories of your church's Sunday bake sale, a long table full of cookie plates and Bundt cakes, all wrapped in plastic, ready for the car ride home in the back seat, nestled in between to you and your younger brother. The knowledge of getting a donut or cookie was sometimes the only thing that would get me through Sunday mass.  

Whatever your motivation, if you are in San Francisco, really anywhere in the Bay Area, this Saturday, please consider coming out to the 3rd annual San Francisco's Food Blogger Bake Sale.  The amazing organizers - Anita, Shauna, Irvin, and Annelies - have an awesome event planned, with all proceeds going to Share Our Strength.  You'll be able to buy an assortment of cookies, cakes, pies and other baked goodies, including some of my very own breakfast cookies, all made by local food bloggers.  You can take a look at the participating bloggers here.  This year's event will be held at Omnivore Books, and if you come a little later in the day, you'll get the added bonus of getting to hear Alice Medrich speak about her upcoming book.

Hope to see you on Saturday!  

Snickerdoodles are the cookie of my childhood.  I have very vivid memories of making them often and it was the only recipe that I knew, as much as a child could know a recipe, for many, many years. 

Now, let’s get real for a minute.  These cookies that I love so much are traditionally made with shortening.  A few years ago, I was on the “I don’t use shortening and only use organic ingredients” kick along with the rest of the Internet and sought out a shortening-free recipe.  Looking back on that recipe, it definitely was not the snickerdoodle of my childhood.  Fast-forward to a few months ago when my mom found the actual recipe that I used to make and…well, words cannot explain.

I can’t count on two hands the number of batches I made of these cookies.  I need my toes to count them all!  We have been up to our ears in chocolate chip cookies for the past two weeks.  But enough with the body parts and on to the cookies.

I firmly stand in the “thick and chewy” chocolate chip cookie camp.  I’ve made many batches of chocolate chip cookies over the years but none of them were ever perfect.  None of them were ever my chocolate chip cookie.  So I made batch after batch after batch after…you get the picture. 

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, small gestures are the name of the game for me. I’ve never liked the pressure or the cost that comes along with planning a big Valentine’s Day celebration. Something about it being a Hallmark holiday, we already celebrate on our anniversary, yada yada yada. Yes, I’m one of those people. But I would be lying if I tried to deny that I crazily love all of the pink and the red and the hearts and the roses that have popped up everywhere, from the Internet to the corner gas station. Which brings me back to my small gestures.