Pull out your beret and get your black-and-white striped boat-neck t-shirt — we’re making a basic French baguette.

This is the bread that we all look forward to eating when we go out to a restaurant or that we expect to see slung under the arm of Parisians out doing their daily shopping: a simple baguette with fabulous flavor, smooth and chewy texture, and the best crust. This delicious traditional bread is anything but fancy, containing nothing more than flour water, yeast and salt. Make often and eat fresh, as without any fat, these breads have little staying power… but that won’t be a problem, as they will most certainly be devoured well before they’re past their prime.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as making bread. Especially if it’s the nourishing traditional bread of European Jewish peoples known as “challah,” eaten on Shabbat and Jewish holidays (except Passover, when leavened bread is not allowed). Challah is a rich, eggy, and deliciously tender yeast-leavened bread that’s surprisingly easy to make, and quite fun to shape, as it is typically braided, which makes for a beautiful presentation.

There’s no reason to limit cupcakes to just vanilla or chocolate; put a festive spin on the traditional cupcake with gingerbread! With aromatic spices such as ginger, cinnamon and allspice, these gingerbread cupcakes are perfect for fall and holiday baking. And a generous swirl of the creamy, rich, citrus-cinnamon cream cheese frosting perfectly balances the deep and dense flavors of the gingerbread.

Brownies are fabulous. Turtle candies are divine. And anything that melds these two all-time favorite treats can only be described as supernatural. So in this recipe, the dense, rich, chocolaty goodness of your classic brownie collides in a beautiful union with the sweet, chewy caramel, milk chocolate chunks, and famous pecan crunch that we all love about turtle candies.

Kick your sugar high up a notch with a sophisticated spin on the traditional candy apple; except set aside the apples for another dessert and indulge on the last of the season’s  fresh strawberries… add a dash of balsamic. Yes, that’s right: balsamic vinegar.