Welcome to Handle the Heat!
Here, you’ll find step-by-step recipes developed by a professionally trained chef, triple-tested in home kitchens across the U.S., and shared with insights into baking science (and a generous serving of love!) so you can be a confident, creative, get-all-the-compliments baker.
Baking’s your love language?
Mine too!
“Dessert is my favorite part of any day!”
Hi! I’m Tessa Arias,
a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and self-proclaimed cookie queen.
I didn’t grow up a baker.
I inherited my sweet tooth from my grandmom and learned to bake when I went to culinary school.
But now?
I love baking, obviously! It’s such a sweet, wonderful, and magical way to add joy to one’s life!
What gives me the confidence to whip up new recipes and improve a few classics?
Baking science!
My superpower?
Simplifying baking science for home bakers like you so you can be creative when baking and get perfect, consistent results.
When I’m not baking, I’m chasing my dog, Chewie, hiking the desert with my husband, Joe, or exploring new restaurants in Phoenix, where I live.
My top 4 favorite recipes are…
A fun freebie for you if baking is your happy place…
…and you want to bake the traditional way while being besties with simple science so you can get consistent results, up that confidence level, and push the boundaries of creativity while you’re at it.
Sign up for my FREE baking science course for bakers who want perfection whenever they whip up a sweet treat.
“Thank you helping this momma’s dreams of learning to bake delicious treats come true” — Charvi Modi
Bake Better Cookies with My Cookbooks
THE ULTIMATE COOKIE HANDBOOK
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Bake bakery-style cookies in your home kitchen! AND get answers to all your cookie questions with over 50 recipes and simple explanations for cookie baking science and troubleshooting!
COOKIES & CREAM
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Craving ice cream sandwiches with homemade cookies and ice cream so you can enjoy the perfect portable dessert that looks as good as it tastes!
Why Do Thousands of Home Bakers Trust Handle the Heat Recipes?
“I tend to find myself using more HTH recipes because I know they are reliable!! — Lauren Fabrizio
“I have learned so much from Handle the Heat, including how to create new recipes, how to finesse recipes to fit my style as well as the ingredients I have on hand. The Handle the Heat team provides so many tips and tricks for each recipe that they are just absolutely foolproof.” — David Burnett
“It may sound cliché, but I honestly wouldn’t be the baker I am today if it weren’t for Handle the Heat helping me learn more and bake more than I would have ever done on my own.” — Alyssa Williams
Bakers like Lauren, David, Alyssa, and thousands of others trust our recipes because they know they’ll get perfect, consistent results every time.
Why?
Because of our rigorous 7-step recipe development and testing process!
Step 1
Ideation and round 1 testing
Tessa conceptualizes and drafts the recipe, then tests it in the kitchen over and over until the desired taste, texture, and appearance are achieved.
Step 2
Testing with team HTH
Tessa passes the recipe to Emily on the HTH team to test in her home kitchen in Michigan.
Step 3
Recipe testing report
She fills out our Recipe Testing Report to confirm whether or not the recipe was a success.
Step 4 (optional)
Retesting
If there were issues, we both retest until it’s just right. That might mean trying a few small tweaks or comparing side-by-side batches.
Step 5
Alumni round
Occasionally, we ask HTH Alumni (bakers who have joined past baking courses) to test recipes when we’re uncertain of regional or climate differences or need more feedback.
Step 6
Testing for finer details
We also test alternative pan sizes, brands of ingredients, or substitutions for harder-to-find ingredients during this process to accurately answer community questions.
Step 7
Finalize, final bake, and photoshoot
Once the recipe is finalized, only then do we take it to our photographer’s studio and make it once again for its final glamour shots!
Ready to Bake with Handle the Heat?
Start Here!
Bakers gonna bake, bake, bake …
At Handle the Heat, we believe …
- 🧈 Butter makes baking better. It should not be replaced.
- 👻 Ghosting on baking instructions, techniques, or ingredients will devastate your poor cookies, cakes & brownies. Rejection sucks — even for sweets!
- 🫶 Baking is all about chemistry — and the perfect chocolate chip cookie can lead to something magical.
That’s why, while we respect and appreciate those with sensitivities, allergies, and food restrictions, you won’t find any keto, gluten-free, vegan, or other dietary recipes or swaps on our site, in our Baking Challenges, or programs.
Looking For A Fabulously Talented Speaker For Your Podcast Or Event?
If you have an event or a podcast that caters to bloggers, creators, or brands in the food industry, we should talk!
I’ve been on The Today Show, Food Blogger Pro, Chopped Academy, The Shift Show with Nicole Culver, and Creatively Speaking.
My favorite topics include:
- All things sweet and the science of baking
- The business of content creation, social media, and blogging
- Writing and marketing a cookbook
- Self-development and doing the inner work to achieve your goals
But I’m happy to customize a talk for your audience.
