Cookies and music in Lisa Loeb’s kitchen

Epicurious.com

The singer invites us into her cozy, colorful kitchen, bakes up a batch of homey cookies, and performs a song off her new album. (Watch the videos here!)

An admitted sweet-tooth, Lisa has been an avid cook and baker as long as she has been a musician. Though often on the road, her homey kitchen is very much a reflection of her.

Lisa has an impressive wealth of knowledge, shortcuts, and tips on the subject of baking. One of our favorites: When a recipe calls for softened butter and she doesn't have any ready to go, she grates cold butter using the coarse side of a regular cheese grater. The butter is left malleable and ready to be creamed with other ingredients.

Raised in Dallas as one of four children, Lisa still has a soft spot for what she calls "Icebox Cookies." These Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies are her variation of Mark Bittman's "Refrigerator (Rolled) Cookies." She has adapted the recipe to make it her own, experimenting with various types of flour and sugar and adding an extra dose of kosher salt. The dough is easy to whip up in advance, and Lisa keeps tightly wrapped logs frozen for when unexpected guests drop by. She slices the logs right out of the freezer, spreads each cookie with a touch of all-fruit jam, and pops them in the oven for ten minutes. The resulting cookies are a blend of saltiness and sweetness-perfect for both kids and adults.


Personalize Your Space
Even though she rents her apartment, Lisa has decorated her kitchen with objects that hold special value, such as family heirlooms-her grandmother's Formica table and her cousin's handmade tablecloth-and personal mementos that remind her of places she has been, like her collection of mugs from around the world.


Invite Others In
A large external window and pass-through window to the dining room let in lots of natural light, making Lisa's kitchen seem larger. She has made her space informal so that friends and family feel comfortable, whether they are eating at the counter or sitting down for an impromptu cup of tea in the vintage diner chairs.


Be Smart About Storage
Lisa keeps her kitchen pristine and organized; everything is in its place. Her most commonly used equipment and products are easily accessible, while those she does not use every day-like her set of pink bakeware and cake-decorating supplies-are stored in higher cabinets.


Keep a Well-Stocked Refrigerator
Lisa makes sure all of her favorites are on hand: organic baby spinach, eggs, goat's milk yogurt, natural nut butters and jams, and always a bottle of bubbly for unexpected celebrations. Because she's often touring, she has learned to extend the life of many products: For example, she freezes bread and coffee, and leaves her nut butters upside down so they do not separate.


Put Your Equipment to Work

  • Lisa has filled her kitchen with well-designed equipment that makes cooking and baking easier and more enjoyable:

  • Her small toaster oven heats up quickly and allows her to roast vegetables without turning on the oven and heating up the kitchen.

  • She can whip up cookies in no time thanks to her sturdy pink stand mixer.

  • An adjustable measuring cup with a sliding sleeve makes measuring sticky ingredients, like peanut butter, a cinch. Plastic cutting boards with rubber nonslip sides sit securely on the counter and protect her knives.

  • The Lucite cookbook holder she made in the seventh grade props up and protects her book while she cooks.



A prolific musician, Lisa Loeb first caught the public's eye in 1994 when her song "Stay (I Missed You)" was featured on the Reality Bites soundtrack and hit No. 1 on the national charts. Almost 15 years later, her career encompasses not only music-with albums including Tails, the Grammy-nominated Firecracker, The Way It Really Is, and the award-winning children's CD Catch the Moon-but also film, television, and even a stint as the host of a weekly culinary television show, Dweezil and Lisa, with Dweezil Zappa. Visit here for more on Lisa.


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