Parker - Out of the box desserts: simply spectacular semi-homemade sweets

Sweet-Inspired Cakes and Cupcakes

Brownies, Blondies, and More Sticky, Gooey Bars

Chewy, Crispy, and Everything Good Cookies

Cheesecakes, Chocolate Pies, and More Creamy Treats

Brownie Bombs and Candy-licious Confections

Once upon a time, long, long ago (well, okay, it was 2012, but doesnt that feel like forever ago?), I decided I wanted to create a blog. All I was sure of was that it would be a place on the Internet to share fun cupcake recipes with my invisible Internet friends.

Invisible they were. For the longest time, my only readers were myself and my mom. I would stalk the page counter religiously and squeal with delight when I reached 30 visitors in one month. Despite the lack of traffic, I still continued posting recipe after recipe, complete with a story and a picture, to entice readers to my site. For a year and a half, barely anyone visited, but I was content with my space on the Internet and proud of my recipes.

Then, as clich as it totally sounds (and is), everything changed overnight. Suddenly, I had Internet friendspeople who would regularly comment on my blog, share my posts on Facebook and Twitter, and pin my recipes on Pinterest. Suddenly, I had big-name brands wanting to work with me, send me free products, and promote my recipes. Suddenly, I had this notoriety that materialized out of nowhere and I was seeing my recipes on popular websites like Huffington Post, Good Morning America, and Ladies Home Journal. Even to this day, with the page counter nearing 15,000 views a day, a bunch of big-name-brand partnerships under my belt, and a cookbook, Im still pinching myself because I cant believe its real.

Even though several years have now passed since its conception, The Domestic Rebel blog has remained true to its aestheticusing ordinary, everyday ingredients to create extraordinarily awesome desserts. Ive never pretended to be a culinary genius (in fact, I took oneONEclass in college and it was on pairing food and wine. I really only wanted to take it so I could drink wine at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday because it was for my GRADE) and I dont act like I know everything there is to know. The saying baking is a science used to scare me off for two reasons: One, because I was terrible at science in school, and two, because it made baking sound like it was some unachievable art form that only the greatest pastry chefs in the world could master. So. Not. True. Yall.

While you cant necessarily throw a bunch of baking junk together, cross your fingers, and hope something magical will happen in the oven, and while, yes, there is some kind of science behind baking, thats not to say only fairies and French chefs can master desserts. This reminder, along with my simple aesthetic, is what has made The Domestic Rebel such a ridiculous success. It shows anyone and everyone, from the novice to the experienced, that baking can be fun and does not have to require abnormal ingredients, techniques, or machinery. In fact, in my eyes, baking isnt so much a science as it is an (achievable) art form. Were baking our feelings; were baking for our loved ones; were baking to challenge ourselves, to try new things, to satisfy cravings. Were baking because we want a dang brownie, and we want it now, and we want to bake it in a way thats friendly, approachable, realistic, and easy.

I use store-bought ingredients like cake mix and refrigerated cookie dough and transform them into outrageously awesome desserts. Take, for instance, my Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake, made with cake mix, Nutella, powdered sugar, and cream cheese. Its SO sinfully rich and deliciousyou wont even know it came from a box! How about my Sinful Brookie Cake? Guests will be none the wiser when they take a biteonly you have to know it started with a roll of refrigerated cookie dough!

This book also has an entire section on my signature creation: Brownie Bombs. Whats a brownie bomb? It started as an egg-free chocolate chip cookie dough ball wrapped in a baked, fudgy brownie, coated in chocolate and chocolate chips. Since its conception in 2013, Ive made several other brownie bombs filled with wonderful, unexpected surprises some of which are in this book! Think Baklava Brownie Bombsfudgy brownies surrounding crisp, sugary sweet baklavaor Cheesecake Brownie Bombs, filled with irresistible creamy cheesecake. Each one is better than the last, and I know youll love this inventive and fun chapter!

Whatever you do, have FUN. My recipes are created to be easy and accessible but with unique twists that keep you coming back for more. I dare you to find a baking snob who frowns upon packaged ingredients and give them my Blueberry Muffin Cake, bursting with fresh blueberries and topped with a tantalizing homemade crumb. I guarantee they wont know it started with a boxed mix.

So get in the kitchen, tie on your apron, and get baking! Consider this book a talisman that guides you through your kitchen, creating unexpected new desserts with a few simple ingredients that will inspire you to think outside of the box! If you ever have any questions, you can always reach out to me on my websiteId love to hear from you!

Happy Baking!!

XO, Hayley

In order to navigate through each chapter of this cookbook, youll want to have some pantry staples on hand. These are essential ingredients that will save you time, money, and a huge hassle down the line. I always have my pantry stocked with these ingredients so I can bake anything at a moments notice!