Almost as popular as ceviche, this chifa dish represents a fusion of Chinese stir frying and classic Peruvian ingredients. Juicy strips of soy-marinated beef (or alpaca), onions, tomatoes, aji chilies, and other spices are stir-fried until the beef is just cooked and the tomatoes and onions start to form a robust, meaty gravy. It’s then served with two starches, a happy mix of East and West: a mound of rice and french fries (often tossed with the meat). The crowd-pleasing dish is found nearly everywhere across Peru, and is equally popular in Peruvian restaurants abroad.

Aji de Gallina (Creamy Chicken)
Shredded chicken bathes in a thick sauce made with cream, ground walnuts, cheese, and aji amarillo. The sauce is mild but piquent, the aji’s fruity, moderately hot bite softened by the nutty, creamy sauce to a comfortable warmth. The dish reflects Peru’s love of sauces thickened with chilies, cheese, cream, or even bread, drenched over and often cooked with meats and vegetables. Here the sauce is mixed with the poultry and served over rice with boiled potatoes and black olives, making for a rich, bright yellow chowder that glistens on the plates of restaurants and households throughout Peru.

So much of what is now traditional Peruvian cooking was inspired by cultures oceans away. These foreign influences date back to the Spanish conquest of Incan king Atahualpa in the 1500s. Colonists brought European stews, sauces, and baked casseroles. Later, in the 19th century, immigrant workers from Guangdong Province brought their woks and stir fries, and Peruvians today love to eat chifa, a fusion of local ingredients cooked with Chinese recipes and technique. It’s Chinese food with Peruvian influences—or maybe the other way around.

Like food everywhere today, there is a new style of Peruvian cuisine emerging—so-called nueva comida—forged by Lima’s leading chefs like Gaston Acurio and Pedro Miguel Schiaffino. “It’s very ingredient-driven,” explains New York chef Eric Ramirez of the soon-to-open Llama Inn and formerly of Raymi Peruvian Kitchen and Pisco Bar. “With young chefs digging deep to find more exotic ingredients, the possibilities are endless.” So the evolution of the nation’s food continues, into territories of modernist cooking that’s simultaneously old and new.

But for now, here’s a quick tour of just some of the classic edible jewels Peru has to offer. Consider it the checklist for your next trip.

But culinarily speaking, Peru is the Hope Diamond of Latin America, home to dishes and flavors you won’t find anywhere else. While this is hardly a secret—there are more Peruvian restaurants outside Peru than ever before—it’s one we don’t give enough credit. Few places on earth offer such a variety of indigenous ingredients, let alone a jumble of flavors and techniques from Europe, Africa, and East Asia. Rather than remain culturally segregated, these foreign additions have blended seamlessly with ancient Peruvian cuisine into something utterly unique.

A Peruvian Primer
Peruvian cuisine has only recently exploded onto the international culinary stage, but Peruvians have always been crazy about their nation’s culinary heritage, and they steadfastly cling to the traditional, multi-culti flavors of home —pit-roasted feasts and all, even in the face of modern gastronomic innovation. A range of climates, from high altitude to low, offer an impressive diversity of produce. Yes, that means potatoes—over 3800 kinds—but also a variety of corn and other grains, to say nothing of the country’s native aji chilies that are often puréed into sauces.

Cuy (Guinea Pig)
One of the Andean region’s most popular sources of meat (the other being alpaca), this guinea-pig-as-food strikes fear in the hearts of Westerners who think of it more as a pet than a meal. But consider tender, smoky dark meat (almost like poultry!) beneath a glistening golden veneer of shatteringly crisp skin, and you can begin to grasp the appeal. Or think of it as a single-serving suckling pig.

The traditional recipe calls for stuffing the whole animal with local herbs, then roasting it over an open wood fire and serving it with potatoes. When served this way it tastes best with a dip of aji sauce and eaten by hand like fried chicken. But more refined restaurant-ready recipes, which may involve deep-frying or braising, are now regularly enjoyed from Cusco all the way to Lima.

Usually served as a side dish to a meal, it’s also a common appetiser, with tiny round purple potatoes boiled whole, enveloped by sauce and garnished with olives, eggs, and, yes, more crackers. Originating in the mountainous city of Huancayo, it’s now an almost everyday staple throughout Peru.

Peru’s national dish, and an immediate obsession for nearly all who try it. Though other countries may claim their own variations with shrimp, octopus, scallops, tomatoes, and even tostada chips, Peru started this cold-“cooked” fish craze with only five simple ingredients: sea bass (corvina) marinated for just minutes in lime juice, onion, salt and, of course, hot chiles (aji). The tenderness of super-fresh fish is heightened by crisp onion, and sides of starchy boiled corn (choclo) and creamy sweet potato (camote) to balance out the texture of the dish. Dry-roasted corn kernels (cancha) sprinkled around add a pleasing crunch.

The leftover marinade—known as leche de tigre (tiger’s milk)—is a briny, fiery elixir often tossed back from a shot glass or spiked with Pisco, either at the table or the next morning as hair of the dog. (In the latter case it’s then referred to as leche de pantera, or panther’s milk). Tiradito is a local variation of classic ceviche with a Japanese sushi-style twist of slicing the fish into thin strips, then adding puréed aji amarillo, soy sauce, and mirin to the marinade.

My first encounter with comida Peruana was over 20 years ago, thanks to my wife’s Peruvian family. Their cooking was a study in juxtaposition: hot and cold, acidic and starchy, robust and delicate. That’s because Peruvian food is all about spices and big flavors, some clean and crisp, others deep and heavy. Every sip of a pisco sour tamed the citrus and chile assault of a ceviche, the fish so fresh it almost crunched between my teeth.

When most of us think of Peru, we think of the ancient ruins and high mountain vistas. Those thoughts may be accompanied by a distant pan flute whistling over the Andes, and if we’ve been primed on the food, the conversation usually starts with the country’s mind boggling variety of potatoes.

Papas a la Huancaina (Potatoes in Spicy Cheese Sauce)
Alan Sheffield, Flickr
In another instance of “meat or starch covered in creamy sauce,” sliced yellow potatoes are drenched in a purée of queso fresco, aji amarillo, garlic, evaporated milk, lime juice and—you guessed it—saltine crackers. It’s not a looker: a yellow sauce over yellow potatoes topped with yellow-yolked hard boiled eggs. But don’t be deceived; this homely sauce packs a complex, slow-building burn, at once brightened by the queso fresco, lime, and salty cracker, and tamed by the earthy potato and cooling egg.

Ingredients
For the Dough:
10 ounces (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons; 285g) all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons (5g) instant yeast
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons (6g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume or same weight
5 ounces (10 tablespoons; 140g) unsalted butter, softened
2 ounces (about 1/4 cup; 60g) sugar
5 ounces (about 2/3 cup; 140g) plain Greek yogurt (whole or low-fat)
1 large egg (55g), lightly beaten
For the Filling:
3 ounces (85g) walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
2 1/2 ounces (about 1/2 cup; 70g) all-purpose flour
2 ounces (about 1/4 cup; 60g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume or same weight
2 ounces (4 tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
To Finish and Bake:
1 large egg, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt

Directions
For the Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, using a stiff rubber spatula, vigorously stir butter and sugar together to form a uniform paste. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; wipe out bowl that had flour mixture, lightly grease with cooking spray or butter, and set aside. Using spatula followed by hands, mix flour and butter mixtures together until even, cornmeal-like mixture forms, 1 to 2 minutes.

My favorite thing about this gata—aside from its good looks and deliciousness—may be the way it’s shaped, which is both straightforward and forgiving: Once you’ve pressed and rolled the dough out into a 12-inch-wide round, you place the filling in the center of it, fold and pleat the dough over the filling until it’s fully enclosed, and then you press and roll it into a disc again. It’s pretty easy to do, but the good news is—unlike other, similar preparations, like dumplings, which I’ve found are a challenge to shape prettily without lots of practice—the gata is very forgiving, because the dough is Play-Doh-malleable and the pleated part ends up on the underside, hiding any imperfections. As for the ornamentation, I opt for a simple crisscross pattern made with the tines of a fork on the top of the dough created, along with pleats around the outer rim. I mention this below, but it bears repeating: the dough puffs up as it bakes, softening the edges of the pleats and lines, so you should make them as sharp and dramatic as possible if you want traces of your art to remain.

A single egg helps give the crust structure and lends it a pale yellow color, while a touch of baking soda helps to further lighten the gata’s crumb. As for the fermentation itself, I leave the dough at room temperature for 30 minutes to get a jump-start on proofing before it goes into the refrigerator for at least four hours (or as long as overnight). Chilling the sticky, moist dough in the fridge while it proofs makes it easier to roll out and shape when the time comes.

A yeasted dough loaded with butter, sugar, Greek yogurt, and egg creates a tender, light bread-cake hybrid.
The filling, known as khoritz in Armenian, is a mixture of chopped walnuts, flour, butter, sugar, and vanilla that’s similar to a streusel.
The gata is filled with just a single layer, making it easy to assemble and shape.
At its most basic, a gata—also known as “kata”, “gatah”, or “katah”, depending upon who’s doing the transliteration—is a lightly sweetened, buttery Armenian cake, bread, or pastry meant to be served as part of a mezze (appetizer) spread, or with coffee or tea, or as a dessert.

When I set out to develop a gata recipe for Serious Eats, I was faced with the dilemma of deciding which style to choose from among so many. I didn’t grow up eating gata, and what I knew of the dish came from cookbooks and stories of friends and family who had eaten it on trips to Armenia. I knew I wanted something on the sweeter end of the spectrum—more coffee cake than savory bread—and I wanted to keep the preparation relatively simple. Which meant that the okhlavoo-rolled version was out; rolling out transparently-thin sheets of dough without tearing requires a lot of practice, not to mention miles of counter space. Since I am a bread person, and I knew I wanted some yeast in the picture, I chose to go with a walnut khoritz-filled cake made with a yeasted dough.

The dough I created is buttery and tender, thanks in great part to the fact that it is moistened almost entirely with Greek yogurt.

Some gata resemble croissants, made from an enriched bread dough rolled into paper-thin, table-wide sheets using an “okhlavoo” (a wooden dowel dedicated to dough work), smeared with butter, rolled up like a carpet and cut into spirals that bake up layered and crisp. Others are sweeter and decidedly more cake-like, whether they’re made with a yeast- or baking soda/acidic dairy-leavened dough (baking powder was, until very recently, unknown in Armenia, so most chemically-leavened baked goods are made using a combination of baking soda and an acidic dairy like yogurt or sour cream). This latter style is usually formed into a flattened disc and filled with a single layer of a butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, and (sometimes) chopped nut paste known as khoritz, a mixture that’s essentially the Armenian equivalent of streusel. These more simple gata are often dressed up with decorative strips of dough or by scoring patterns onto the top before baking.

This has been my constant companion this fall – from the office in the late afternoon to the couch on a chilly Saturday morning. It is pure coffee shop level deliciousness at regular-person skill and effort level. Bring on the cozy!
This latte method (shake in a jar) was one that I saw in the September issue of Magnolia Magazine – shaking in a jar to froth your milk?! Totally new concept to me. But flavor-wise, mostly this oatmilk honey latte is influenced by the Starbucks version that I love, love, love.
Oatmilk Honey Latte – a delicious homemade morning treat! Steaming hot, rich, and dark coffee that’s satisfyingly creamy, barely sweet, and warm-spiced.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup oatmilk
1–2 tablespoons honey (depends how sweet you like it)
tiny tiny pinch of salt
1/2 cup of strongly brewed coffee (decaf, in my case!)
dusting of cinnamon, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the oatmillk, honey, and salt into a glass jar. Microwave for about a minute, until very hot.

World Coffees
Italy – Espresso
Espresso, which Italians gift to the world, has a higher rate of caffeine than other types of coffee. Espresso is the perfect form of coffee for many people, resulting from the addition of hot water through pressure onto finely ground coffee.

Mexico – Cafe De Olla
Café de Olla, a traditional Mexican coffee served in pottery, is made from cinnamon and brown sugar called “Piloncillo”, a Mexican indigenous. Café de Olla is a flavor that families often consume for breakfast in highlands and rural areas with cold climates.

Morocco – Spicy Coffee
Spicy coffees, one of the most authentic flavors of Moroccan culture, reach a different dimension with argan oil. Coffees with a variety of spices, from black pepper to amulet, from sesame to cinnamon, enable guests to experience a mystical taste in every part of Morocco.

Ethiopia – Buna
Originating from Ethiopia, the homeland of coffee, Buna is widely consumed in the country. It turns into a coffee feast with its drink and way of making, and it is cooked over charcoal and served in small cups.

Kenya – Nyeri
These coffee beans grown in the Nyeri region, located in the central highlands of Kenya, leave a unique taste in the mouth with the harmony of blackberry, pomegranate and caramel aromas. This flavor, which makes you feel special in every sensation, takes its place among the world’s most admired coffees with the balance between flavors.

Indonesia – Kopi Luwak
Kopi Luwak, which is the least produced among the coffee types worldwide, is also among the most expensive coffees. It resembles Turkish coffee because of the Kopi Luwak grounds. It has a soft drink and coffee beans liken its flavor to chocolate.

With the fashion of third generation coffee making, concept coffee shops entered our lives. The trend that spread rapidly all over the world affected most of the world cities over the years. Well, which countries are famous for their coffee?
Coffee, which admires itself with its smell and leaves a unique taste on the palates, is consumed fondly all over the world. For this special flavor, which has hundreds of different trees, varieties, ways of processing and roasting, October 1 is celebrated as a coffee day all over the world. Coffee, which is very important in almost all world cultures, appears as an indispensable flavor for its lovers with its smell, taste and different aroma. Which countries are famous for this unique taste that we sip to start and continue the day well? Enuygun.com invites you to discover the world’s most famous coffees.

Turkey – Turkish Coffee
The coffee brought to Istanbul by the governor of Yemen Özdemir Pasha in 1543 was renamed Turkish Coffee with the cooking technique reinterpreted by the Turks. Today, Turkish Coffee, which is consumed by being loved “for 40 years to be remembered”, is a taste that attracts the attention of the whole world. This flavor, which dates back to the present day, can be drunk without sugar, cappuccino and sugar upon request. Turkish coffee is served according to the different tastes in different regions of Turkey.

In order to add flavor to the pleasure of coffee, it is one of the most important issues that the selected foods are suitable for the aroma of the coffee. Foods selected in accordance with the notes contained in the coffee ensure that harmonious flavors remain in your palate and complement your coffee pleasure.

Turkey 5 generations kahvecilig the first brand that Kaave Roastery, the food menu created by professional counseling to accompany gourmet coffee to the side of the palate offers special delicacies. Created with professional support from Mutfakkoçu Chef Recep Aydoğan, who advises many brands, the menu has been meticulously created by taking into consideration the harmony of the quality coffees brought by Kaave Roastery from different regions of the world and the selected foods. Indicating that they created the menu, Mutfakkoçu Chef Recep Aydoğan said, “It is really important for Kaave Roastery to be so meticulous about the menu and get professional support. I can say that this is a method that all businesses that adopt the understanding of quality service should apply. Since coffee is a beverage that makes you feel different notes on the palate depending on its variety, it is of great importance for the integrity of the palate that the food to be eaten is also suitable for these aromas. When you try a coffee and dessert that are incompatible and unrelated to each other, it is very difficult to leave the place happily. For this reason, it is necessary to approach this delicate and specialized business with care in terms of customer satisfaction. In addition, Kaave Roastery has the internationally recognized FSSC 22000 Basic Food Safety System Certificate. The certificate opens all doors to the brand in terms of sustainability, ethical trade, a healthy society and future in the international food market ”.

Cups Reflecting the Spirit of Coffee
The famous brand celebrates the 5th of December, World Turkish Coffee Day with its products that add pleasure to coffee lovers. Different coffee cups await Turkish coffee enthusiasts at Paşabahçe Stores for traditional or modern design lovers.
Paşabahçe Stores bring the enthusiasts of Turkish coffee, which is among the indispensable elements of Turkish culture with its unique taste, foam, smell and presentation style, with ideas and suggestions that doubles the enjoyment of coffee on December 5th, World Turkish Coffee Day.

Turkish coffee is a unique type of coffee in the world as the only type of coffee served with its grounds. “Coffee” culture has been one of the determining elements of the Ottoman lifestyle since the 16th century for the Turks who met coffee with the conquest of Cairo in the 1500s. In maintaining this cultural element that has been going on for centuries in its most vivid state; The tools and equipment used from the bean to the cooking and presentation phase of the coffee play a major role.

Paşabahçe Stores continue to keep hundreds of products alive with the “Coffee Bahane” theme, from glass, porcelain and ceramic coffee cups to indispensable coffee trays, to water glasses, the indispensable companion of Turkish coffee, to chic sugar bowls used for serving sugar and Turkish delight.

While the Sema Reflected Cup Set of 2 and the Dervish Reflected Cup Set, inspired by the philosophy of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rûmî, add a modern atmosphere to the coffee pleasure; Istanbul Reflective Cup Set, on the other hand, creates an Istanbul atmosphere in coffee conversations.

This has been my constant companion this fall – from the office in the late afternoon to the couch on a chilly Saturday morning. It is pure coffee shop level deliciousness at regular-person skill and effort level. Bring on the cozy!
This latte method (shake in a jar) was one that I saw in the September issue of Magnolia Magazine – shaking in a jar to froth your milk?! Totally new concept to me. But flavor-wise, mostly this oatmilk honey latte is influenced by the Starbucks version that I love, love, love.
Oatmilk Honey Latte – a delicious homemade morning treat! Steaming hot, rich, and dark coffee that’s satisfyingly creamy, barely sweet, and warm-spiced.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup oatmilk
1–2 tablespoons honey (depends how sweet you like it)
tiny tiny pinch of salt
1/2 cup of strongly brewed coffee (decaf, in my case!)
dusting of cinnamon, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the oatmillk, honey, and salt into a glass jar. Microwave for about a minute, until very hot.

Ingredients
1 espresso shot
1 tablespoon almond butter
240ml almond milk, or any other plant-based milk
2 tablespoons oats
2 medjool dates, pitted
method
Place all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor. we love to use almond milk here, but feel free to substitute with your favourite plant-based alternative. we love to use almond milk here, but feel free to substitute with your favourite.
Pulse until smooth. Once smooth, pour into a bowl and top with coconut chips, raspberries and a drizzle of almond butter.
This is great for warm, sunny breakfasts. it’s sweet and creamy, and so easy to make. i love the pink colour too! feel free to mix up the berries, it’s lovely with blueberries, strawberries and blackberries too.
This is such a quick, easy and delicious way to start your morning. the almond butter and oats give the shake an incredibly smooth, creamy texture. we love to use almond milk here, but feel free to substitute with your favourite plant-based alternative.

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons of coffee powder
50g ground almonds
200g plain flour
200g coconut sugar
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
70ml oat milk
3 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt flakes
100g dark chocolate (optional)
large handful of coconut chips (optional)
method
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), fan setting. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
Place the oat milk in a small pan over a medium heat and add the coffee powder. Heat until the coffee powder has dissolved, giving it a little mix to help. Once cooked, remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, ground almonds, coconut sugar, bicarb, baking powder and sea salt until there are no lumps. In a separate bowl, peel and mash the bananas until creamy, then add the warm coffee mixture and coconut oil, mix together.
Spoon the banana mixture into the flour mixture and mix really well until a smooth batter forms. Once smooth, pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin.
Put the loaf tin into the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until golden and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Once cooked, leave to cool for at least 10 minutes to firm up.
If using chocolate, place the dark chocolate into a small pan over a low heat and stir until melted. Once melted, remove from the heat and pour over the banana loaf. Sprinkle over coconut chips and leave to set before serving.
This coffee banana bread is the perfect early morning breakfast. the rich coffee flavour tastes delicious, while the creamy banana creates the perfect soft loaf. we love to top this with melted dark chocolate, but you can also leave it plain.

What results from this mind-bendingly easy combination of ingredients is nothing short of a holiday miracle. Bless you, Homemade Oreos.

The fudgy cookie, the thick swirl of cream cheese frosting, the dense, soft, buttery texture of all of it together after chilling in the fridge (or sitting on your snow-covered Midwestern porch) for a few days is a specific brand of joyful moment that I wait all year for.

Put on the cozy sweater, get a mug of milk, or eggnog, or hot dark coffee (omg), and let the magic loose.

MORE OLD-SCHOOL DESSERT GEMS
Give us all the retro baked goods and desserts (like good Midwesterners). Some other favs from the blog:

The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (classic of all classics!)
The Best Easy Peanut Butter Pie (peanut butter, cream cheese, whipped topping, YES)
Blender Lemon Pie (grandma’s favorite )
Golden Grahams Bars (gimme all the cereal bars)
Modern Scotcheroos (modern makeover on a classic)
Fruit Pizza (more cream cheese frosting happiness!)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Saltine Toffee (yes, saltines – trust)
The sweet mom of the family that I babysat for in high school used to make these, which is why I’m calling these old school. ♡ Sometime in the early 2000s, I got the recipe from her and then gave it to my mom who went on to make these for all our swim meets. To this day, I have friends who make these every year as a Christmas cookie (myself often among them). They’re wonderfully basic, charmingly old school, and dangerously good.

This has been my constant companion this fall – from the office in the late afternoon to the couch on a chilly Saturday morning. It is pure coffee shop level deliciousness at regular-person skill and effort level. Bring on the cozy!
This latte method (shake in a jar) was one that I saw in the September issue of Magnolia Magazine – shaking in a jar to froth your milk?! Totally new concept to me. But flavor-wise, mostly this oatmilk honey latte is influenced by the Starbucks version that I love, love, love.
Oatmilk Honey Latte – a delicious homemade morning treat! Steaming hot, rich, and dark coffee that’s satisfyingly creamy, barely sweet, and warm-spiced.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup oatmilk
1–2 tablespoons honey (depends how sweet you like it)
tiny tiny pinch of salt
1/2 cup of strongly brewed coffee (decaf, in my case!)
dusting of cinnamon, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the oatmillk, honey, and salt into a glass jar. Microwave for about a minute, until very hot.

Let’s just take a moment to address the fact that I really don’t share a lot of drink recipes here. In my real life, I hardly feel like I have time to get dinner on the table (just me? anyone?), much less make a beautifully crafted coffee drink or cocktail to complement the moment (unless it’s this Creamy Cashew Coffee). As a general life rule, I go for quick and easy at home (i.e. open a can of sparkling water) and I save my fancy drinks for my dining out experiences. So please know, when I share a drink, it’s because I really, really, really love a drink. (Thinking of you, agua fresca.)

This latte method (shake in a jar) was one that I saw in the September issue of Magnolia Magazine – shaking in a jar to froth your milk?! Totally new concept to me. But flavor-wise, mostly this oatmilk honey latte is influenced by the Starbucks version that I love, love, love.
Oatmilk Honey Latte – a delicious homemade morning treat! Steaming hot, rich, and dark coffee that’s satisfyingly creamy, barely sweet, and warm-spiced.

This has been my constant companion this fall – from the office in the late afternoon to the couch on a chilly Saturday morning. It is pure coffee shop level deliciousness at regular-person skill and effort level. Bring on the cozy!
This latte method (shake in a jar) was one that I saw in the September issue of Magnolia Magazine – shaking in a jar to froth your milk?! Totally new concept to me. But flavor-wise, mostly this oatmilk honey latte is influenced by the Starbucks version that I love, love, love.
Oatmilk Honey Latte – a delicious homemade morning treat! Steaming hot, rich, and dark coffee that’s satisfyingly creamy, barely sweet, and warm-spiced.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup oatmilk
1–2 tablespoons honey (depends how sweet you like it)
tiny tiny pinch of salt
1/2 cup of strongly brewed coffee (decaf, in my case!)
dusting of cinnamon, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the oatmillk, honey, and salt into a glass jar. Microwave for about a minute, until very hot.

What results from this mind-bendingly easy combination of ingredients is nothing short of a holiday miracle. Bless you, Homemade Oreos.

The fudgy cookie, the thick swirl of cream cheese frosting, the dense, soft, buttery texture of all of it together after chilling in the fridge (or sitting on your snow-covered Midwestern porch) for a few days is a specific brand of joyful moment that I wait all year for.

Put on the cozy sweater, get a mug of milk, or eggnog, or hot dark coffee (omg), and let the magic loose.

MORE OLD-SCHOOL DESSERT GEMS
Give us all the retro baked goods and desserts (like good Midwesterners). Some other favs from the blog:

The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (classic of all classics!)
The Best Easy Peanut Butter Pie (peanut butter, cream cheese, whipped topping, YES)
Blender Lemon Pie (grandma’s favorite )
Golden Grahams Bars (gimme all the cereal bars)
Modern Scotcheroos (modern makeover on a classic)
Fruit Pizza (more cream cheese frosting happiness!)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Saltine Toffee (yes, saltines – trust)
The sweet mom of the family that I babysat for in high school used to make these, which is why I’m calling these old school. ♡ Sometime in the early 2000s, I got the recipe from her and then gave it to my mom who went on to make these for all our swim meets. To this day, I have friends who make these every year as a Christmas cookie (myself often among them). They’re wonderfully basic, charmingly old school, and dangerously good.