When I was a kid I thought oatmeal cookies were the last choice. Mostly because they were the first choice of well-meaning parents who thought oatmeal cookies were the healthy choice cookie. (Luckily for me, my parents believed cookies brought joy and if something brought you joy, ipso facto, it was good for you.)

Buttery shortbread, packed with crystallized ginger and dried cranberries, they are perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas cookie swaps or also just eating hand over fist because they are easy to make and really quite good, as we say in England. Perfect for tea time, cookie swaps, bake sales or impressing people. Or just for yourself. Made for the Secret Life of Cookies podcast, found on acast and Apple podcasts or wherever nice podcasts are given away for free.

The official Ted Lasso shortbread cookie recipe is good, I tweaked it and made it better. But don’t worry, it’s still simple and sweet with a hidden complexity. Just like Ted Lasso. I baked these with Professor Jennifer Taub, author of Big Dirty Money for the podcast The Secret Life of Cookies.

This is the very best vegan cheesecake you can make. It uses only the best ingredients, is very simple to make and will please both vegans and non-vegans alike. I developed the recipe for Mary Trump, who politely asked for it. She deserves nice things.

Marian Burros’ Plum Torte is justifiably famous. My version offers a few tweaks and delicious variations. Cake can be yours soon. Perfect for an easy dessert.

This pie is versatile: Make it with passion fruit puree, lemon juice, lime juice, half-lemon/half-lime, Meyer lemon, Key lime…you get the idea? The coconut cookie crust with its hint of salt may make rethink your allegiance to graham cracker crust. The perfect party pie, it also happens to be super-easy. Promise.

My new favorite chocolate chip cookies. Made with spelt flour, chunks of milk chocolate with hazelnuts, semisweet chocolate chips and sea salt. Do not wait. Make these today.

Sugar-free breakfast cookies that are delicious and nutritious, c/o the brilliant writer, Merrill Markoe. Cookies for breakfast, people. Do you need to hear more than that?

Luscious, chocolatey, creamy cheesecake brownies that you can make in a flash. I made these with Rachel Vindman, on my podcast The Secret Life of Cookies and we talked about her podcast, the The Suburban Women Problem. This is a v. worthwhile recipe. Promise.

Soft, crumbly and craggy, this is one of my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

Scone and cookie met and fell in love and the scookie was born. There’s is the greatest love story and it will be yours, too, if you make these anytime-is-teatime wonders. This is a recipe to print out now and run to the kitchen with. I promise.

These cheese scones are flaky and intensely cheesy and at their best served warm with cold butter. They are baked in honor of the University Library, Cambridge.

Tender and full of banana flavor, this cake features streusel in the middle and on the top. The streusel isn’t the chunky, crumbly kind you find on traditional New Jersey coffee cake, but much softer. The streusel bakes into a ribbon of cinnamony soft caramel, disappearing into the batter in some places and leaving pockets of gooeyness in others.

This is the muffin to make when you need something cakey, quick. I created the basic muffin so you could make it any time you felt like, with what you had in your pantry. The add-ins are all up to you. Alternatively, you can just leave the muffin as the recipe is written: plain and simple. You really can’t mess up. In fact, you will be amazed and impressed at how much cooking genius is inside of you.

This spice-rich pumpkin bread is a staple in my house. Along with being exceptionally tasty, this breakfast cake is vitamin-rich thanks to chocolate chips and pureed pumpkin. Of course you don’t have to add chocolate chips. Of course you can add walnuts or pecans instead. They’re supposed to be nutritious too. This recipe makes two, count ‘em, two loaves and doesn’t require a stand mixer or any fancy tools. Great for tea parties and general, all-hour snacking.

This coffee cake actually puts the coffee in the cake. Rich with coffee and maple flavors, and studded with nuts (pecans! walnuts! you choose), it’s the ultimate breakfast cake.