Sweet Road trip: Baking our Way Across America

Pack your bags and bring your appetite! We're taking a nostalgic food road trip across America, with favorite recipes, memorable places, and plenty of sweet stops along the way.

Every road trip has to start somewhere.

This one starts in my kitchen.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the way food can transport us. A familiar flavor can carry us back to childhood, remind us of someone we love, or put us right back in a place we haven't visited in years. Sometimes a recipe can even make us dream about somewhere we've never been.

So I decided it was time for a road trip.

We're going to start at my home in Texas, wander through the South, make our way up the East Coast, visit family in Pennsylvania, and then turn west and work our way home again.

Some of our stops are connected to foods that were actually born or made famous there. Others are places I've visited myself and foods I associate with them. And a few are simply wonderful excuses to get off the highway and eat something.

Pack your bags.

We're going to eat our way across America. (Yum! I'm hungry already!)

Texas, my Texas!

We're kicking off in my stomping ground, Texas, and what better way to start than with some of our local favorites. I live in the Houston area and here are some of the sweet treats we enjoy:

Texas Sheet Cake

It wouldn't be Texas without this popular dessert. Rich chocolate cake and a gooey, fudgy topping loaded with pecans? Yes, please! (And you don't have to live in Texas to enjoy it!)

But let's don't stop with cake. Oh, no. In my neck of the woods we're all about the rodeo. . .and where there's a rodeo, there are cowboys. So, let's celebrate with some cookies that fit the bill!

Cowboy Cookies

These delicious cookies (also known as Ranger cookies) are loaded with all of the things we Texans love - oats, chocolate chips, pecans, and more.

But let's don't limit our boot scootin' trek across Texas in Houston. We need to move on!

San Antonio, Texas: It's Fiesta Time!

Next we're heading to San Antonio, because there's no way I'm taking a sweet road trip through Texas without stopping for Fiesta themed desserts.

San Antonio is one of those places where the colors alone make me want to bake. Bright pinks, yellows, oranges, greens, flowers, papel picado, music, celebration—give me all of it.

Over the years I've made so many Fiesta-inspired sweets that choosing just one would be nearly impossible. So we're not choosing.

We're having a Fiesta dessert table.

Once we've had our fill, we'll get back in the car. We've got a lot of miles ahead of us.

Fredericksburg and the Texas Hill Country: A Little Taste of Germany

From San Antonio, let's head into the Texas Hill Country and make a stop in Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg's German heritage gives us all sorts of baking possibilities, from old-fashioned German treats to breads and pastries. I've got plenty of recipes on the site that could make themselves at home here.

Normally I'd be tempted to fill this section with peaches, too, but we're going to save those for later.

Trust me. I know a place.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Let the Good Times Roll

Now we're finally crossing the Texas state line.

And if I'm leaving Texas in search of something delicious, New Orleans seems like a pretty good place to start.

There are plenty of Louisiana foods we could talk about, but this is a baking road trip, so I'm putting a King Cake right in the center of the table.

With its colorful purple, green, and gold sugar and its connection to Mardi Gras celebrations, King Cake doesn't merely taste like New Orleans. It looks like a party.

I've made mine completely from scratch, and it's one of those baking projects that's as much fun to make as it is to serve.

Traditional King Cake

And King Cake isn't the only Louisiana-inspired treat we can enjoy while we're here.

Of course, there's another cake I can't help remembering while we're in Louisiana.

If you've seen Steel Magnolias, you probably remember that unforgettable red velvet armadillo groom's cake. Louisiana isn't actually the birthplace of red velvet cake, but that particular cake certainly earned itself a place in movie history.

I'll take mine without the gray frosting, thank you very much.

Classic Red Velvet Cake

Now we'd better get back on the road. We've barely left Texas and we're already full.

Through the Deep South: Save Room for Dessert

We're going to slow down for this part of the trip, because we're traveling through a region where dessert has always had a place at the table.

This is banana pudding country. Pound cake country. Cobbler country.

It's pecan pie, coconut cake, divinity, chess pie, fruit cobblers, and the kinds of recipes that appear at Sunday dinners, church potlucks, family reunions, funerals, holidays, and celebrations year after year.

I have so many classic Southern desserts on Out of the Box Baking that there's no possible way to squeeze them all into this road trip. So we'll sample a few favorites and leave the rest for another day.

These aren't simply desserts from a particular dot on a map. Collectively, they remind me of Southern baking itself—recipes passed from one person to another, carried to gatherings, written on cards, and remembered long after the people who first made them are gone.

We could stay here for weeks.

But we've got places to go.

Mississippi: Mississippi Mud Cake & Other Southern Favorites

Some destinations make choosing the recipe remarkably easy. Mississippi?

Mississippi Mud Cake

I recently made this rich chocolate dessert, and between the chocolate, marshmallows, and all that gooey goodness, it certainly lives up to its name.

And while we're in Mississippi let's explore another local favorite, sweet potatoes. I happen to have quite a few sweet potato recipes to enjoy.

We've had plenty of sweets in Mississippi, but before we get back on the road, I think we need a basket of warm Southern biscuits for the journey. I've got a couple of options:

Georgia: Sweet as a Peach

We couldn't very well bake our way across America without stopping for a Georgia peach.

So let's pull over for a while, because this stop is all about one of the South's favorite fruits. Fresh peaches are wonderful on their own, but put them into a warm cobbler, a tender muffin, or a beautiful Bundt cake and I'm a very happy traveler.

For our Georgia dessert table, I'm serving:

And while we're in Georgia, let's don't forget Atlanta, home of Coca-Cola! This time, I'm putting it in a cake. My Coca-Cola Cake is rich, chocolatey, old-fashioned Southern comfort food—the sort of dessert that fits beautifully on a church potluck or family dinner table.

Coca-Cola Cake

Williamsburg, Virginia: Gingerbread and a Step Back in Time

As we make our way north, let's stop in Colonial Williamsburg.

This is where our road trip begins to do something interesting. We're not simply traveling from one place to another anymore. We're traveling backward in time.

There's something about old-fashioned gingerbread that already feels like another era. The molasses, warm spices, and simplicity of it make me think of old kitchens and recipes made long before anybody could run to the grocery store for a boxed mix.

And you know how I feel about boxed mixes.

We'll be doing a lot more traveling through time in another collection I'm working on. For now, though, we'd better keep moving.

Washington is waiting.

Washington, D.C.: Is This Really a Salad?

Welcome to Washington, D.C. We're having Watergate Salad.

If you grew up in the 1970s, you probably remember some version of this fluffy green concoction made with pistachio pudding, pineapple, marshmallows, and whipped topping.

Is it actually a salad? No.

Did that stop anybody in the 1970s from calling something a salad? Also no.

Simple Watergate salad

This may not be the most sophisticated dish we've eaten on our American tour, but it might be one of the most nostalgic.

And I wouldn't dream of leaving it behind.

New York City: Cheesecake, Obviously

After Watergate Salad, I think we've earned cheesecake.

Welcome to New York.

New York-style cheesecake is one of those desserts whose name and destination are permanently attached. Rich, creamy, dense, and unapologetically decadent, it deserves its own stop on our trip.

And since we recently spent some time with the Golden Girls and their fondness for cheesecake in my Baking with the Stars collection, this particular dessert may feel like an old friend by now. So, why not have another piece.

Golden Girls Cheesecake Cookies

But New York's baking story certainly doesn't begin and end with cheesecake. The city's rich Jewish food traditions have given us some of America's most beloved breads and baked goods, and I happen to have one of my favorites on the site: challah.

Homemade Challah Bread

Grab a loaf for the road, because we're leaving the city behind. We're heading to Amish Country.

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Whoopie Pies and Amish Country

This part of the trip is personal.

My sister lives about an hour from Pennsylvania Amish Country, so when I visit her, we make our way to places like Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. It's one of those areas where the drive itself is part of the experience.

The countryside, farms, shops, markets, bakeries—there's so much to see.

And, naturally, I'm interested in the baked goods. I can't think of anything more appropriate than whoopie pies.

They're portable, nostalgic, delicious, and essentially two pieces of cake pretending to be a sandwich.

What's not to love?

Other Amish Favorites:

And we can't leave Pennsylvania without talking about pretzels. With Pennsylvania's deep German and Pennsylvania Dutch roots, pretzel-making has been part of the state's food story for generations. Fortunately, I've got a homemade version waiting for us.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

We could linger here for a while. In fact, in real life, I usually do.

But it's time to head west before turning south once again.

Chicago, Illinois: Pizza First, Brownies Second

By the time we reach Chicago, we're going to need dinner.

Chicago is famous for pizza, and while my Puff Pastry Pizza Bites aren't pretending to be deep-dish, they're a fun little nod to one of America's great pizza cities.

Besides, we've already established my position on puff pastry.

But don't fill up.

Chicago also gives us one of the best stops in American baking history: the brownie. The Palmer House in Chicago is famously associated with the early history of this beloved chocolate dessert.

And if there's one thing I don't lack, it's brownie recipes.

Pizza and brownies.

Chicago has treated us well. But we're not prone to idling. Not on this road trip! So, buckle up. We've still got places to go and sweet treats to eat!

Wisconsin: Come for the Cheese, Stay for the Cream Puffs

Next we're headed to the Wisconsin State Fair, which is famous for its enormous cream puffs, a tradition that dates back generations. And really, what is a road trip without at least one stop at a state fair?

My homemade Cream Puffs start with a light, airy choux pastry shell that's filled with plenty of sweet cream. They're simple, old-fashioned, and exactly the sort of treat I'd happily go a few hundred miles out of my way to eat. I've got a couple of versions for you to enjoy:

While we're at the fair let's take advantage of a few more fair-themed favorites:

So grab a sweet treat, take a spin on the Ferris wheel, and don't worry about the map. But before we leave the state, we simply must pick up something with—you guessed it!—cheese!

Easy Mac & Cheese Bites

Yum! Just what the doctor ordered. A little savory to balance out the sweet. But wait, there's more deliciousness ahead! St. Louis, here we come.

St. Louis, Missouri: Things Are Getting Gooey

Next stop: St. Louis.

Gooey Butter Cake is so closely associated with this city that I don't even need to spend much time explaining why we're stopping.

Sweet, buttery, gooey, and decidedly unconcerned with looking tidy—it's my kind of dessert.

Gooey Butter Cake

We'll take napkins.

Lots of them.

Kentucky: Butter Cake for the Road

At this point the cakes are practically functioning as highway signs.

Texas Sheet Cake. Mississippi Mud Cake. St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake.

And now:

Kentucky Butter Cake

It's rich, buttery, wonderfully simple, and exactly the sort of old-fashioned cake I love.

Take a slice for the road.

We're finally pointing the car toward home.

Arkansas: Flour, Friendship, and Traffic Jam

Before we get home, though, we're making one of my favorite stops.

One of my childhood best friends lives in Arkansas, so I make my way there fairly often. Over the years we've found some wonderful places together, and a couple of them absolutely belong on a food road trip.

First up: War Eagle Mill.

It's a beautiful old-fashioned working mill in the Ozarks, and when we visited, naturally I bought flour.

Some people bring home souvenir mugs and T-shirts. I bring home baking ingredients. This should surprise absolutely no one.

But then there's the Pig Trail. If you've never driven the Pig Trail through the Ozarks, imagine a roller coaster with trees. The road twists and winds through the mountains, and it's an absolute blast.

And eventually, you can find yourself in tiny Oark.

That's where we stop at the Oark General Store, one of those wonderful old places that makes you feel like you've wandered backward in time.

I have a very specific shopping agenda when I'm there: Jam. More specifically: Traffic Jam.

I always buy it.

Apparently my ideal road trip involves roller-coaster roads followed by jam shopping. I'm perfectly comfortable with this.

Arkansas doesn't need an official dessert to earn a place in this collection. It's here because someone I've loved since childhood lives there, and these are some of the places we've explored together.

Sometimes the best food memories aren't about the food at all.

They're about who was there.

Atoka, Oklahoma: A Stop at Reba's Place

On a recent road trip to Arkansas, we made another memorable stop along the way: Atoka, Oklahoma.

We visited Reba's Place, and of course I took pictures.

After all the celebrity-inspired baking I've been doing lately, there was something particularly fun about making a real road-trip stop at a place connected to one of country music's most familiar faces.

And from Atoka, we're getting awfully close to Texas.

Dallas, Texas: German Chocolate Cake

We're back in Texas!

But we've got one more important baking-history stop before we head home.

Dallas has a fascinating connection to German Chocolate Cake. Despite its name, German chocolate cake isn't actually German, and a Dallas-published recipe helped turn the chocolate-and-coconut-pecan combination into an American favorite.

And if you've spent much time at Out of the Box Baking, you know I have plenty of German chocolate recipes.

Coconut, pecans, chocolate, and Texas.

Now we're speaking my language.

Back Home in Texas

And just like that, we've made it back to where we started.

We've celebrated Fiesta in San Antonio, sampled King Cake in New Orleans, eaten our way through the Deep South, stepped backward in time in Williamsburg, had Watergate Salad in Washington, and cheesecake in New York.

We visited my sister and wandered through Amish Country. We turned west for pizza and brownies in Chicago, gooey butter cake in St. Louis, and Kentucky Butter Cake before winding through the Ozarks to visit an old friend.

We bought flour at War Eagle Mill.
We bought Traffic Jam in Oark.
We stopped at Reba's Place.
We ate German chocolate cake in Dallas and shared dozens of desserts.

And now we're home.

So what should we have?

I think there's only one possible answer.

Italian Cream Cake

Italian cream cake, you say? Why in the world choose that for the final Texas dish?

Because my friends, it happens to be my very favorite sweet treat on the planet. And if you're coming to my house for dessert, well, you're getting a big slice of my delicious Italian Cream cake, no doubt about it!

Where Does Food Take You?

When I first started putting this collection together, I thought I was writing about foods associated with different places. Somewhere along the way, it became something else.

Because that's what food does. A recipe can take us somewhere we've visited, somewhere we've dreamed of visiting, or somewhere we haven't thought about in years.

But sometimes the destination isn't really a place. It's your sister's house. It's an old friend you've known since childhood. It's the restaurant your family visited when you were young. It's a jar of jam you always buy, peaches piled into the back of the car, or a bag of flour from an old mill that somehow becomes a souvenir.

The roads connect places. Food connects the memories.

And maybe that's why I've had so much fun putting this particular road trip together. Some of these recipes carried me hundreds of miles. Others carried me decades.

So now it's your turn. Where does food take you?

Maybe there's a pie that puts you back in your grandmother's kitchen or a cake that reminds you of a family vacation. Maybe there's a little roadside store you'd drive fifty miles out of your way to visit.

Whatever the destination, I hope you'll come along for the ride.

No suitcase required.

Just bring your appetite.

Thanks for Stopping By!

I hope you enjoyed this trek across America. Next time we'll pick up with the western states. Until then, feel free to leave comments with your favorite state-based foods.

Before you go, why not pin some photos to your Pinterest boards?

Sweet Road Trip: Baking Our Way Across America