In the Mood to Bake with Alex George: Nostalgic Desserts, Riffing & More
In Episode 142 of the Kitchen Confidante Podcast, Liren Baker talks with Alex George of Lily P. Crumbs about her book, In the Mood to Bake, her journey into baking, how she approaches recreating iconic treats, and what makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
On the podcast, I recently chatted with Alex George, the baker and creative force behind Lily P. Crumbs. Alex is a self-taught baker, recipe developer, and food content creator whose TikTok channel and blog have built an impressive following, and her viral videos have landed her on Good Morning America and The Jennifer Hudson Show.
Her new cookbook, In the Mood to Bake: Extraordinary Treats from Lily P. Crumbs, is going to bring out the kid in all of us. Alex takes the nostalgic treats we all grew up with — the ones you find yourself thinking about years later — and turns them into homemade bakes. We’re talking homemade Kudos bars, Italian rainbow cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and so many other treats that had me smiling as I turned the pages. But this book has much more to offer than nostalgia. Alex has had quite the journey, and she writes honestly about the challenges of creating this book, joking that it was the hardest thing she’s ever done — which even includes chemotherapy.
In this episode, we talk about her journey into baking, the creative art of riffing in the kitchen, how she approaches recreating those iconic treats, and, of course, what makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Listen to the full episode or keep reading for some of the highlights from our conversation.
How Did You Get Started Baking?
I’ve always loved baking — it’s always been part of my life. I think the first thing I ever made was zucchini bread with my mom when I was little. I took my baking pans with me to college, and then moved them again when I relocated to Tennessee to work as a reporter. I always knew it was something I’d love doing, though I never imagined it would end up here.
I was pursuing a career in broadcast journalism when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. I had to stop working and moved back home to the Philadelphia area for treatment. During that time, I started an Instagram account called Cooking with Cancer, which I joke about now because my only followers were the hospital staff I’d bring desserts to. But honestly, that was a success for me.
I kept photographing and sharing what I baked because it brought me so much joy during that time. After treatment, I wasn’t sure what came next, but I knew I wanted to keep baking, creating, and experimenting. I started selling some of my baked goods and renamed the Instagram account Lily P. Crumbs, after my dog, who lived to be 21.
I started with in-person pop-ups and eventually pivoted to online videos. I had a series called the Cookie Quest, about finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, and it really caught on. Everything snowballed from there.
Tell Us More About Your Book, In the Mood to Bake
During treatment, I learned to take everything day by day. Writing this book felt similar — completely different from anything I’d done in my career before. It was beautifully all-consuming and genuinely scary. I did all the photography myself, and I had very high hopes for what it could be.
I had ambitious visions of recipes I wanted to include, but as I developed and tested them, I realized some just weren’t right for what most home bakers actually want to do. I wanted this book to be fun for home bakers, so I had to pivot. One recipe in particular, the s’mores pavlova, was a real challenge. It’s in the Showstoppers chapter, so it needed to deliver a genuine “wow,” while also being approachable for home bakers. We tested it maybe eighteen times before we got it exactly how I wanted.
“I hope readers have fun. Baking can feel stressful, especially for beginners, but to make something like a discontinued snack from the ’90s and have that moment of nostalgia, just because — that’s such a fun, joyful thing. These recipes are unique and creative enough that you’re genuinely excited to eat what you made at the end.”
Alex George
Recreating packaged snacks is one of my favorite things to do. There’s such a sense of accomplishment in pulling it off. The Kudos bars were a great example — a fun, fast testing process and a no-bake recipe. I started a discontinued snacks series on TikTok and it resonated with so many people. I love that excitement, and I hope that nostalgic joy translates to everyone making these.
The title, “In the Mood to Bake,” is about comfort. When I want to bake, I need to be in the mindset that I actually want to do it — doing it reluctantly is never good. My best times in the kitchen are when I’m there freely and really in the mood to bake.
At the end of the day, baking has given me a place of solace. It’s given me a way to foster creativity that I don’t think I would have had otherwise. If I’d stayed in a separate career, baking would have been something I squeezed in when I could — and it still would have mattered to me, but it wouldn’t be this. It’s given me the ultimate joy, accomplishment, and self-confidence to know there’s something I can do well. Baking has really shaped me as a person, from being my hobby to being my career.
“I love baking — I love talking about it and doing it. And I hope more people will bake, too.”
Alex George
In the Mood to Bake, by Alex George (Countryman, 2026).
Learn more
Listen to the full podcast episode with Alex. You can follow her on Instagram, @lilypcrumbs, and learn more on her website, lilypcrumbs.com.
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