Baking with Joy:
A Morning with Alex George discussing her debut cookbook:
In the Mood to Bake
How many chocolate chip cookies does it take to find the perfect one? For Alex George, the answer was 3,143 — only to discover it’s really a Goldilocks story. We’ll kick off the morning with Alex’s Thin, Medium, and Thick chocolate chip cookies, then you can be the judge!
At 21, Alex was living her dream as a local TV journalist in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a clear vision of where her career was headed. But it was a diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer, that redirected the course of her life entirely. Returning to Philadelphia for treatment at Penn, Alex found herself drawn to something unexpected: baking.
That joy became @LilyPCrumbs — a wildly popular social media platform with over 650,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, built around whimsical, nostalgic, and deeply delicious baking.
Nine years later, Alex has now channeled that joy into her debut cookbook, a recipe collection inspired by the beloved snacks of the 1990s and early 2000s. Think Philadelphia Cheesecake Snack Bars, Salted Malted Blondies, Baklava Monkey Bread, and Confetti Snacking Cake — all made with her signature "more is more" approach.
But don't let the playfulness fool you — Alex is serious about the craft. Her goal is to teach bakers to understand the why behind ingredients, and have confidence to break baking rules with success.
In conversation with Rosemary Mark, Alex will discuss her remarkable journey, her baking philosophy, and the stories behind her favorite recipes in the book. We'll also get to the bottom of one of the most frequently asked questions her followers have: if she's Alex, who exactly is Lily P. Crumbs?
Alex George, known online as Lily P Crumbs, is a recipe developer, baker, and content creator. Her science-minded but playful approach, seen in everything from her viral cookie-ranking spreadsheet to Pop-Tart pop-ups and signature dessert riffs, has earned her a devoted following.
