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@vbartles.com Oct 14, 2026, 1:30 AM

Speaking of course corrections and changing plans... The virtual treats for tonight's #KidLitChat have to be my Gooey Butter Cookies! This was a difficult cookie to get just right, and I had to change tactics multiple times to get them to come out. Now, they're a crowd favorite!! #KidLitConfections

close-up photo of Gooey Butter Cookies in white cupcake wrappers. Soft butter cookies, golden around the edges, topped with a layer of gooey, sweet, buttery custard-like filling.

@vbartles.com Oct 10, 2026, 2:26 PM

I need to read this book. It looks like a fun candidate for one of my #KidLitConfections! <3

@vbartles.com Sep 30, 2026, 1:32 AM

Very true! Palm oil does ruin a lot of things for me, but it's not worth the pain when there are so many other delicious things to eat that don't make me violently ill! Like frosted sugar cookies topped with Pop Rocks! #KidLitConfections #KidLitChat i-am-so-grateful.blogspot.com/2025/09/expl...

lime sugar cookies with strawberry frosting, topped with strawberry, cotton candy, and blue raspberry Pop Rocks candies

@vbartles.com Sep 23, 2026, 1:57 AM

Oh yes! I love serving my ideas ala mode! (That really would be a good name for a podcast. Now I'm imagining that it would be my #KidLitConfections in podcast form, pairing books and delicious desserts in a whole new forum!) #KidLitChat

Close-up photo of a slice of Apple Walnut pie on a white plate with a pink and green floral border. The crust is flaky and golden brown, with sprinkles of cinnamon sugar, and there are multiple layers of apple slices and walnuts in the pie. There is a single scoop of slightly-melted caramel ice cream on top of the pie and a fork sitting next to it on the plate. In the background, slightly blurry on a wooden table top behind the pie slice, there is a pie dish with the rest of the pie, sitting in the middle of a green table runner.

@vbartles.com Sep 23, 2026, 1:35 AM

Ironically, I put down a sewing project tonight to join #KidLitChat ... but honestly, is anyone surprised that my brain immediately went to food analogies when I was asked about harvesting ideas? Baking and books are a perfect pairing! #KidLitConfections

@vbartles.com Sep 16, 2026, 1:15 AM

I decided I wanted to be here AND be square... so I came with a bonus #KidLitConfections treat for the #KidLitChat tonight. Because "pie r square," right?

Chocolate Cream Pie, topped with whipped cream rosettes, baked in a square pan for Pi Day a few years ago. Pi(e) R Squared!

@vbartles.com Sep 16, 2026, 12:06 AM

I might be a little late to #KidLitChat tonight, so I wanted to send #KidLitConfections treats early. My newest recipe is Croissant Cookies, paired with IT'S YOU EVERY TIME by Charlene Thomas -- and I actually shared the recipe on my blog! i-am-so-grateful.blogspot.com/2026/09/croi...

@vbartles.com Sep 10, 2026, 12:03 AM

Got all set to write a new #KidLitConfections post for one of my favorite recent cookie creations ... only I apparently didn't write the recipe down! This happens way more often than I'd like to admit. *sigh* Recreating the recipe now from a cryptic scribble I was *sure* I'd understand later...

Croissant Cookies - 6 crisp, flaky cookies shaped like croissants with a brown sugar filling, on a green plate with a brown starburst pattern around the edge

@vbartles.com Sep 9, 2026, 2:16 AM

That's where I'm going to circle back to here at the end of #KidLitChat I will be generous in sharing my words with the world, both in querying and in posting the #KidLitConfections treats I've been promising for freaking ever. Lots up on my website & more to come soon! vbartles.com/kidlitconfec...

@vbartles.com Sep 9, 2026, 1:29 AM

I am very proud of myself tonight, though. Today I sent TWO queries out into the world ... AND I updated the #KidLitConfections page on my website with a brand-new recipe post (first since April)!! Yay!! Allergy-safe Chocolate Cupcakes #KidLitChat i-am-so-grateful.blogspot.com/2026/09/alle...