Make Our Editor Sunny Hubler's Beloved Dessert Recipes At Home... And They Are Soooo Good!

About every week, on a random day, when our editor Sunny Hubler walks through the door to our office in South End, a waft of deliciousness follows. Then everyone seems to scurry down the stairs or out of their offices to the kitchen to see what dessert recipes she made. Some days its honey buns and cinnamon rolls, some days it’s the best chocolate chip cookie of your life. The fun is you never know what treat she’s going to bring. You can guarantee, however, that it’s A) going to be good and B) you’ll reluctantly delay your diet for another day and get a second, and eventually third, helping. Isn’t that right Brett (our publisher who’ll go back four times without shame)?!?!

Here are Sunny’s favorite dessert recipes. Hope you try to make them at home, and if you do, tag us at @qcexclusive on Instagram. We would love to see how yours turned out. Enjoy.

Baking has long been one of my favorite pastimes — yes, even pre-quarantine. With that, here are my personal favorite family recipes that I hope will bring a little extra joy to you and yours during this season.

COOKIES

Classic Chocolate Chip (with a few twists!)

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips

Options: Sub chocolate chips with same amount M&M’s.
Sub 1/2 bag semisweet chocolate chips with 1/2 bag white chocolate chips.
Add 1/2 cup of your favorite chopped nuts.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Beat the butter, both sugars, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a second large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at time.

Reduce the speed to medium, add the flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

For best results, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes minimum.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto each prepared baking sheet.

Bake until the cookies are golden but still soft in the center, 9 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar with extra set aside to roll cookies
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
Optional: 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter.

Beat in egg to mixture.

Mix in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Stir in salt, baking soda and flour until well combined.

Add chopped nuts if desired.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in sugar.

Place on baking sheet and flatten with fork. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

HEALTHY STUFF

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups gluten free oat flour (you can grind rolled oats to make the flour)
3 tablespoons pure keto maple syrup
3 tablespoons cashew butter or melted coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar-free chocolate chips (we like ChocZero)

DIRECTIONS

Add oat flour, keto maple syrup, cashew butter, salt and vanilla to a medium bowl. Stir until thickened and well incorporated. Add chocolate chips.

Scoop and drop balls of dough (about 2 TBS worth) onto a prepared sheet.

Allow to firm up in the refrigerator before enjoying.

CAKE

Texas Sheet Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup water
2 sticks butter
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

6 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick butter
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 18×13 pan. Add water, butter, cocoa powder to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In another small bowl mix together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla.

Add sour cream/egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Once the chocolate mixture in the saucepan in boiling, remove it from heat and pour it into the batter. Mix until combined and no lumps remain.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth with a spatula to make sure it is dispersed in an even layer. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until set (mine is usually done around 15 minutes).

For the frosting:

Add milk, cocoa, and butter to a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil.

Once boiling, remove it from the heat and stir in powdered sugar. Pour hot icing over hot cake. Use a spatula to spread it evenly over the cake. Allow frosting to set for about 10 minutes before eating.

PIE

Tollhouse Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie pastry
2 large eggs
1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1⁄2 cup brown sugar, packed
3⁄4 cup butter, softened
1 cup Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chip
Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts of choice

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy.

Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Beat in butter.

Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts if opted into).

Spoon batter into uncooked pie shell.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until knife inserted half way between outside edge and center comes out clean.

SWEET BREAD

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

INGREDIENTS

2 and 1/4 teaspoons (1 standard package) active dry or instant yeast
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup (120ml) water
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
5 Tablespoons (72g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and divided
3 cups (390g) bread flour (plus more for your hands and work surface) (spoon & leveled)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (75g) raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the yeast and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar together in a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer.

Heat the water and milk together on the stove or in the microwave until warm. Pour over the yeast/sugar and whisk until combined. Cover loosely and let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.

With a spatula or the dough hook attachment on low speed, beat in 4 TBS of butter until it’s slightly broken up.

Add 2 and 1/2 cups bread flour and the salt. Mix on medium-low speed, then add enough bread flour to make a soft dough that no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Knead by hand or with the mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until the dough is smooth but still slightly soft.

Smooth into a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Turn the dough to coat all sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a slightly warm environment to rise until doubled in size, around 1-2 hours.

Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter or spray with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, toss remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the cinnamon, and raisins (if using) together. Set aside.

Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and with a floured rolling pin, shape into a 9×18-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top, leaving a 1-inch border around the sides. Roll the dough up very tightly into a 9-inch log.

Pinch the ends to seal. Place into prepared loaf pan bottom seam side down. Cover loosely and allow to rise in a warm environment until the dough rises to the top of the pan, about 1 hour.

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position then preheat oven to 350. Melt the remaining 1 TBS of butter and gently brush the top of the loaf. Bake until golden brown and, when gently tapped, the top of the loaf sounds hollow, about 35-45 minutes. If you find the top of the loaf is browning too quickly as it bakes, tent with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and cool loaf completely on the wire rack.

MISCELLANEOUS GOOD STUFF

Savory Scones

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp black pepper
8 tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into cubes
1 cup meat or meat substitute of choice, chopped into ½-1 inch pieces (ham, bacon, seitan… etc.)
2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese or hard cheese of choice
1/3 cup half-and-half or full fat coconut milk
2 large eggs