Half-Baked Puzzles

 Hi friends,  I'm back home from ACPT, and what a weekend! It was, by turns, incredibly fun and completely overwhelming. I had a blast. I finished the tournament clean, coming 43rd overall, 20th in B Divison, and 3rd in Midwest. That was a lot of my goals for this year's ACPT achieved, so I feel great. This puzzle was made for the ACPT lobby. I printed 300 copies, which was woefully inadequate. Since it was made for folks at ACPT, it's definitely a little more "inside baseball" than my usual blog posts. But I got nice feedback on it, and hopefully it's enjoyable for everyone.  This puzzle is a collaboration with Rich Iurilli , go check out Rich's other puzzles. Thanks also to Shannon Rapp and Matthew Gritzmacher for help in test solving. Rich, Shannon, and Matthew are all contributors to Daily Crossword Links , an invaluable resource and a great way to get even more into puzzles.  And lastly, thanks to the person who inspired this puzzle, for being a good ...

 Hi friends,  Today's puzzle comes to us from Matt Forest, who not only graciously made us this guest puzzle but has also provided an absolutely incredible-looking bake to go along with. You can find more of Matt's puzzles on his blog , and in a recent offering over at Defector .  Thank you, Matt! This puzzle is a mid-sized themed offering that's laden with fun.  Matt says: "This puzzle came into existence after the revealer phrase popped into my head one day, and I thought, "Maybe that could be something." So, I jotted it down, and later went searching for theme answers to see if anything would fit the bill. I ended up parking this on a midi-sized canvas because I didn't think the theme necessitated anything larger. I chatted with Will about it one day and he graciously offered to run it as  a guest puzzle on his site. I just so happened to be baking some banana chocolate chip muffins on the day we discussed the puzzle, so giving it a home on Half Baked ...

 Today's puzzle is small, and silly. Someone encouraged me to blog it, despite that. Enjoy!  (If OneDrive prompts a log-in, try a private browser window) .puz   Solution Mmm… lemon shortbread cookies

 Hi friends,   Today's puzzle is a themed offering, and a lesson in striking while the iron is hot. It's one of my oldest crossword ideas, but I was never quite able to make a grid that I was happy with for it. Years later, I revisited it. I did find my grid-making skills had improved, but I dithered in making and cluing it. By the time I sent it around and got feedback from venues, I got told by not one but two different editors that they already had a very similar puzzle in their queue. Such is life! I still love this theme, and I'm happy I finally managed to make the puzzle a reality. I'm excited to see the different paths people took with a similar concept as well, so keep your eyes peeled for those other puzzles.  Thank you to Geoffrey Schorkopf for invaluable help in testing this puzzle!   You can find Shannon and I over at The Defector .      If OneDrive prompts you to log-in, try opening in a private window.   .puz PDF Solution  ...

 Hi friends, I'm back, and a bit earlier in the week than I usually publish. If you solve the puzzle, you might find one reason why, but what better to do on New Year's Day than solve some crosswords? I hope your 2025 is filled with good friends and good solves. Thank you to Norah and Steve for testing this one! No .puz file or PDF this week. You'll see why when you see the grid. Mmm, chocolate nut toffee crunch   Amuselabs direct link Created by Will Eisenberg with the online cross word builder from Amuse Labs

 Hi friends, It's been a minute! While I haven't blogged in a while, you can find my puzzles in other places, including a 2000's-themed book (where I have two collaborations with Shannon ) and in the Puzzmo book , where Shannon and I have a collab, and I edited a few of the others. I'm closing in on a full year of being part of the leadership team for Lil AVCX , and what a year it's been! Watching the success of all the editors and mentees involved has been a pure joy. I recently wrote a few words about what Lil AVCX means to me. If you'd like to support our work in 2025, AVCX is in the midst of a subscriber drive . Gift subscriptions make a great present, too! Every cryptic is a labor of love, and I hope this one makes you smile. Steve Mossberg was instrumental in pushing this puzzle where it needed a push and reminding me to trust my instincts, too.  You can find Shannon and me with a themeless this week at AVCX+. I've got puzzles on the Crossword Flow ...

 Hi friends, Got a themed collab with Alex Boisvert this week, coming at you in an oversized grid! Alex is the wizard behind Crossword Nexus and the AVCX solving interface .   It was so great to see so many good friends at Lollapuzzoola last weekend. Tickets are still available for the Midwest Crossword Tournament , both in person and online, so I highly recommend getting one! I'll see you there. Mmm, white chocolate cherry cookies .jpz .puz   PDF   Solution Created by Wil Eisenberg and Alex Boisvert using crossword creator by Amuse Labs