From The Today Show to Your Kitchen: My Life in Baking

When people hear that I built a career out of desserts, their eyes usually widen. “What a dream job,” they say, and they are right.

For me, baking has never been just about sugar and flour. It has been a way of life. National Dessert Day feels like the perfect time to look back on my journey from an eager home baker to the author of more than 15 cookbooks, many of them focused on the sweet side of life.

The Early Spark

My love of desserts began in childhood. I was the little girl who wanted to lick the mixing bowl and who pressed her face against the glass oven door just to watch cookies spread and rise. That sense of magic never left me. Baking felt like alchemy, turning ordinary ingredients into something extraordinary. By the time I was in high school, I was baking for friends, neighbors, and anyone who would let me experiment.

But it began much earlier! In second grade I made a cake for out headmaster’s birthday. Tunnel of Fudge; I remember it well. And the first recipe I memorized was for “Surprise Meringues,” simple meringue cookies filled with walnuts and chocolate chips. That was probably sixth grade, and I had adults asking me to make them for their dinner parties.

Cookbooks and Career

Turning passion into profession came with discipline and years of practice. I am not formally trained; rather I am self-taught. I developed, tested, and wrote until I felt confident that I could share recipes that would truly work for people at home. My first book, The Wedding Cake Book, was nominated for an International Association of Culinary Professionals Julia Child Cookbook Award.

Later on came books on chocolate (my favorite food) and A Baker’s Field Guide series, including A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies, followed by others, including A Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes, A Baker’s Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cake Balls, Christmas Cooking for Dummies, The Birthday Cake Book, and Unforgettable Desserts. Each title taught me more about what readers wanted. They were not just looking for recipes. They wanted reliability, creativity, and a sense of fun. My role was to guide them, not just as an instructor but as a fellow lover of sweetness.

Signature Recipes That Tell My Story

Certain recipes from my books have become signatures for me, and they tell their own stories. My Mocha Toffee Crunch Cake (from The Birthday Cake Book), made from chocolate cake, brushed with Kahlua, filled and covered with Espresso Buttercream, and covered with mini chocolate and toffee chips is my number one requested special occasion cake. From the Baker’s Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies, I explored every version of America’s favorite cookie, from classic chewy rounds to whimsical twists, proving that even the simplest dessert has endless variations.

Desserts in the Spotlight

My career has taken me into places I never imagined as a child at the counter. I became a contributing editor to Bon Appétit, which gave me a national stage for my recipes and dessert ideas. I appeared regularly on shows like The Today Show, The View, and Dr. Oz, sometimes walking on set with a towering cake or a tray of cookies in hand. I hosted two seasons of the public television show, Seasonings. Each opportunity reminded me that desserts hold universal appeal. They cut across backgrounds, regions, and ages. Everyone loves a good treat.

The Books That Changed Me

Of all the books I have written, Unforgettable Desserts might be closest to my heart. It was about those show-stopping recipes that turn a moment into a memory, whether it is a wedding cake or a celebratory pie. The Baker’s Field Guide series was a labor of love too, blending my affection for holiday traditions with my curiosity about the history behind cookies, bars, doughnuts, candies, and other sweets. Those books felt like field notes for sugar enthusiasts, capturing both the science and the soul of baking.

Lessons from a Dessert Career

Working in desserts has taught me lessons beyond the kitchen. It has taught me patience, because you cannot rush a custard or fudge. It has taught me humility, because no matter how many cookbooks you publish, there is always a cake that sinks or a pie that cracks. It has taught me joy, because few things compare to the look on someone’s face when they bite into something you created. And it has taught me gratitude, because I have been able to spend my life doing work that blends creativity, science, and storytelling.

Harvest Moon Bakery, which I owned with my business partner, Robin Jaffin, was a cherished part of my life. Opening those doors meant pre-dawn starts, endless trays of muffins, cookies, croissants, Danish, and scones, and the steady hum of ovens that rarely cooled. We baked not just for pleasure but for people—families who picked up birthday cakes, commuters who relied on their morning pastry, children with noses pressed to the glass case deciding between brownies and pies. Harvest Moon became a place where recipes turned into rituals, and that experience of consistency, discipline, and joy laid the groundwork for my cookbooks and broader dessert career.

The Sweet Connection

Desserts, I’ve learned, are not just about indulgence. They are about connection. A cookie is shared. A cake is sliced. An ice cream sundae is often eaten with two spoons. My writing and recipes have always been about more than sugar. They have been about bringing people together and giving them reasons to celebrate.

Looking Ahead

Even after all these years, I still feel the same flutter of excitement when I open the oven door. The food world has changed. Baking trends come and go. But my love for dessert endures. Today I write not only for books but also for digital outlets, lifestyle sites, and my own platforms. I still hear from readers who made their very first cake from one of my recipes, and those are the sweetest moments of all.

The Takeaway

My dessert career has been a journey filled with butter, sugar, chocolate, and joy. It has carried me from childhood kitchens to national television studios, from scribbling notes on recipe cards to publishing glossy books on bookstore shelves. On National Dessert Day, I celebrate not only the desserts themselves but the life they gave me. For me, it has never been just about sweets. It has been about building a life rich in creativity, connection, and memory.