Monthly newsletter for anyone passionate about baking science! Join 4,200+ subscribers and expect dessert recipes, seasonal inspirations, and baking courses.
Sweet Life: January 2025 🍊
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What's Inside:
❄️ Hello Baking Buddy! ❄️ Part of me can't believe we're already living in 2025. This holiday season was spent with family - playing in the snow, cuddled up watching movies, baking hundreds of cookies, and exchanging presents and viruses. We're finally on the mend. I'm wishing you a happy new year with positive vibes and good intentions for the coming year. I've received so much positive feedback from readers about my monthly and weekly newsletters so I fully intend on continuing to send them out around the 1st of every month. As always, you're welcome to reply to any of my emails. I read every single one of them and will personally respond to your questions and comments. It's usually the highlight of my day! 🍋 Citrus Muffins: The Perfect Winter Treat 🍊Muffins are the year-round heroes of baking—quick, versatile, and endlessly adaptable! It's my favorite thing to make and the easiest baked good for beginners to master. These citrusy delights are perfect for cozy mornings or paired with a cup of tea after a brisk winter walk. These recipes showcase the natural sweetness, tanginess, and zestiness of citrus, providing a naturally flavored, refreshing twist to your average muffin. 🍋 Lemon Muffins With Lemon Glaze: Our OG fan-favorite muffin recipe with 5-star rating! Helen says, "My first bite is ‘sour’ but very different from other muffins which are overly sweet. My family loves it very much. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I love tangy lemon taste. Will try the orange the next time." Variations: 🍊 Orange Muffins: Made with real juice and zest from your favorite in-season oranges. Try this cranberry-orange variation, too! Sweet Science: Baking with Less Sugar 🍯When January rolls around and we're a little sugared-out from the holidays, it's natural to start cutting back on sweets. Myself included. I tend to do a little more savory baking + protein-added baking. Reducing sugar in baking can be a healthier choice for many people, but sugar does more than just sweeten—it's a key structural and chemical component in your recipes. Here's what you need to know: Why Sugar Matters in BakingStructure: Sugar helps retain moisture and adds tenderness to cakes, muffins, and cookies. Flavor Enhancement: It balances bitter and sour notes while caramelizing for color and taste. Chemical Reactions: Sugar plays a crucial role in browning and activating leavening agents like baking powder and yeast. 📌 This means that when you reduce sugar in a recipe or try to swap it for an alternative, the end result will be much different than the recipe had intended. Smart Sugar SwapsFor refined-sugar-free baking, consider these alternatives:
📌 Pro Tip: Boost flavor in low-sugar recipes with spices (cinnamon, nutmeg), zests (lemon, orange), or high-quality extracts (vanilla bean paste). 🌱 Healthier Dessert Recipe HighlightsFor best results, choose recipes already formulated to work without refined sugar. Here are our favorite no-sugar-added treats that still satisfy the sweet tooth! Zero-Added-Sugar Recipes:
Naturally Sweetened (refined-sugar-free) Favorites:
Dairy-Free Delights:
Bonus Recipe: 🍌 2-Ingredient Banana Pancakes - one large ripe banana mixed with two eggs lightly beaten. Optional - add vanilla or cinnamon. Cook on a griddle or non-stick pan like you would any other pancake. Serve plain, with a drizzle of agave syrup, or with your favorite nut butter. We made these all the time for baby when he was learning to eat! 2024 WRAPPED: Our Baking Year in Review 🎂✨2024 was a year of delicious bakes and shared memories. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and revisit the recipes that made this year unforgettable! Top Recipes of 2024Most Popular Cookie: Soft Funfetti Cookies Sweet Stats 🍰Total Website Visitors: 4.5 Million Community Shoutouts ❤️Our newsletter subscribers more than doubled this year... from 3,087 to 6,856! Your feedback and trust has made this possible. We launched our very first course- Mastering Baking Basics!With 160 students that enrolled too! To all of my students... I am so grateful and honored to be a part of your baking journey. Thank you for trusting me along the way! The thing I'm proud of most with this course is how profoundly I can impact your baking habits for life and save you frustration from baking mishaps. This excites me more than anything! Looking Ahead to 2025 🌟 I can’t wait to share even more recipes, tips, courses, and baking science with you. I'm working on writing a cookbook, so you might see a few less new recipes on the blog this year as I channel my creative energy into creating a quality physical product you're going to love! Which recipes were your favorites this year? What do you want to see in 2025? Reply to this email or tag me on Instagram—I love hearing from you! ⭐ One last thing... Did our recipes find their way onto your Christmas dessert table? Sharing an online review of the recipe you made and loved enriches our community so that others can find the great recipe, too! Cheers, Stephanie Gonzalez P.S. If you love reading these newsletters, enjoy my recipes, or simply just want to support the work I do, you can donate to my butter fund! |
Sweet Life.
Monthly newsletter for anyone passionate about baking science! Join 4,200+ subscribers and expect dessert recipes, seasonal inspirations, and baking courses.
☘️ Hello Baking Buddy! ☘️ Welcome to March! As I type this email, we're currently snowed in as a blizzard continues to dump snow in Southern Minnesota. Just 3 days ago it was sunny and 64°F (17°C) outside as we experienced "false spring!" What’s Inside:✔️ My latest baking revelation: Powdered Salt (Popcorn Salt) & Why You Need It!✔️ Berry-Licious Cakes – Fruity cakes filled with berries!✔️ Cherry Season Spotlight: Meet my latest cake – Cherry Garcia Cake 🍒🍫✔️ St. Patrick’s Day Cake: Irish...
Now that I got your attention, it seems like all eyes are on eggs (or the lack thereof) these days. Here in the U.S. egg prices have soared. I went to Costco on Saturday and they didn't have a single carton of eggs. Our local grocery store costs about $8/dozen right now. Other areas are paying $13/dozen We support a local farmer to purchase eggs at $4/dozen when they have eggs available, but demand is high too. As a result, it's been harder to bake cakes right now so... if you're in the mood...
💌 Hello Baking Buddy! 💌 It’s February, which means we’re celebrating all things chocolate, lovely, and romantic! Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, or just the joy of baking something delicious for yourself (hello, 5-minute chocolate mug cake), I’ve got you covered. You hold the power to create and spread joy and love! No one can take away your ability to create joy and spread moments of love and care every day. 💖 Valentine’s & Galentine’s Baking Ideas Whether you’re...