Fall Is for Catch-Ups and Cake

A slow Bellville weekend, a pot of Zuppa Toscana, and the sweetest fall bakes to bring you back home.

Friends, hi!

I had a houseguest in Bellville this weekend! My dear friend Timothy (Mississippi Vegan) made the road trip from New Orleans to small-town Texas for a little recharge. We spent the weekend exactly as one should: vibing out by the pool, taking a slow lap through HEB (the best field trip there is), eating Whataburger fries late at night, and giggling until our faces hurt. It was the kind of easy, slow catch-up that lets real life spill out in the in-between moments - the care, the confessions, the lightness that comes from being known by someone who’s seen every version of you.

Timmy made the most incredible pot of soup (Zuppa Toscana) while he was here, and I have to say, Karlee nailed it this week when she wrote When The Cook is Cooked For. It’s truly the best gift. I hope you find a few of those slow, cozy moments with friends this fall. They make everything feel right-sized again.

Let’s get into a few links and a cookbook interview!

Let It Be Sunday, 537!

Our friend Abby is back with a splash (quite literally) sharing her swimming lesson updates and the joy of learning to trust the water (and herself). She’s reflecting on boundaries, grief, and finding stability in this new season while serving up her signature mix of cozy, thoughtful links.

This week’s reads include a must-devour 5-star novel (Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid), a love letter to chili with beans (of course), reflections on Diane Keaton’s passing, and also makes a strong case for barrel jeans, book lights, and my Apple Fritter Focaccia.

Read it here: Trusting the Water

If you bake one thing this week, let it be this Brown Butter Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake. It’s got all the cozy spice and warmth of a classic pumpkin loaf, but in that signature sheet cake format we love. Bake it once and you’ll see why it’s quickly becoming the fall version of the chocolate original.

An Interview with baker Matt Lewis on Sure Thing Desserts!

This week I’m thrilled to host Matt Lewis, the baker-genius behind Brooklyn’s iconic bakery BAKED and author of one of the first cookbooks I saved money to buy of the same name. His new book is a love letter to everyday classics: cookies that never fail, cakes that feel simple and celebratory (see: Whiskey Cocoa Bundt), and desserts that make the bowl-cleaning worth it.

In our chat we dive into his lifelong sweet obsession and the recipe that’s always his fallback: “Everyday Chocolate-Chip Cookies.” The conversation is fun, warm, and such a pinch-me moment.

Enjoy and keep your eyes on the end of this newsletter for a cookbook giveaway!

Let’s start with the origin story. What was the spark that made you think, Yep, this cookbook needs to exist?

After leaving the city and moving upstate I started baking differently. I became less fussy (I was always an unfussy baker, but became even more so after moving to the Hudson Valley) and I started returning again and again to the recipes I knew for both comfort and ease and happiness. I was less enthused about trying something “new and different.” This book became a compendium of my favorite tried and true recipes. A reflection of my current baking style and life and while I hate the “best of” moniker, I do think of it as a greatest hits of sorts.

What’s the recipe in the book that people will come back to over and over again?

The chocolate chip cookies in this book are always so comforting and they ALWAYS work. They don’t require a mixer and they are equally appropriate for a coffee catch up or after dinner dessert. I always keep some refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough in my refrigerator to bake on demand. A warm-ish, gooey chocolate cookie is pure bliss.

Marry, shag, kill: buttercream frosting, whipped cream, jam.

Kill Jam. Marry buttercream frosting. Shag whipped cream.

What’s a cooking or baking hill you’re willing to die on?

I stopped sifting flour years ago (my life is too short) and I really think if you are going through the trouble of baking from scratch you deserve to use a premium chocolate like Valrhona (YUM).

We’re going to a dinner party with a recipe from your book?

I would bring my Upstate Pumpkin Bundt in the fall and Whiskey Cocoa Bundt Cake any other time of year. It’s hard to hate on a Bundt and they always look so fun.

What’s the most chaotic recipe in the book?

The Crispy, chewy, ugly, thin, delicious chocolate chip cookies are kind of trashy but kind of necessary.

What’s a kitchen task you secretly love that everyone else seems to dread?

I love seasoning my cast iron pans. They probably are so seasoned at this point, they really don’t need any more attention, but I find it so satisfying.

What’s the most you recipe in this book?

The chewy caramel blondies. They are nostalgic and sweet. While I don’t make these as often as some of the other recipes in the book, they definitely take me to a place of happiness when they are in the oven baking.

What’s your current cookbook crush?

I bounce around a lot lately, but still loving anything Sarah Kieffer writes. Everything is approachable and no skips. I also still love going back to Missy Robbins’ Pasta book. It is terrifying in a way but also kind of soothing.

✨ Sure Thing Desserts Giveaway! ✨

To celebrate the release of Matt Lewis’s brand-new cookbook, Sure Thing Desserts, we’re giving one lucky reader a copy!

💬 To enter: Comment below and answer this week’s question: When you need a baking win, what’s your go-to recipe?
(Open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends Thursday, October 23rd. Winner will be contacted via Substack message.)