Cookbook Review: Potluck Desserts

Baking from Potluck Desserts: Joyful Recipes to Share with Pride (The Countryman Press) was a joy from the start. The recipes feel familiar but with a creative edge, and with many “I used to love those” and “wow, let’s make this” desserts inside. The cookbook hit shelves during Pride Month in 2025, celebrating queer gatherings and the spirit of sharing something sweet with chosen family. Author Justin Burke, who lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with his partner and son, weaves history and personal tales into the book. Since the 1950s, queer potlucks have provided a welcoming and laid-back space for the community to share dishes and stories, inspiration and comfort. Burke’s first queer potluck had a tremendous impact on him, shaping his experience in the LGBTQIA+ community and encouraging self-love.

Burke is a professional pastry chef, but he wanted Potluck’s recipes to feel doable. “I had to keep checking myself—Is this too chef-y? Am I contradicting the welcoming tone I set at the start?” says Burke, who ended up scaling way back on the number of desserts. “I think what’s left is a beautiful range: nostalgic, homey, playful, a little unexpected—but all rooted in the idea of bringing something sweet to share.” The result is a colorful collection of lighthearted yet beautifully crafted desserts that translate to everyday life. The recipes do take a bit of skill, but are not overly complicated. 

This book feels like summer to me, with bright colors and no-bake options. South Carolina summers are no joke, so I looked for quick bake times and chilled treats. The chapters are broken up into cooking vessels like sheet pans and casserole dishes, and the recipes include time labels like Thirty Minutes or Less, and An Hour Or So. I decided on Jasper’s “Tastes like Cookie Dough” Fudge (named after Burke’s son), Chocolate Strawberry Cobbler, and the Scotcheroos, recruiting my friend Abby for an extra hand and someone to share with. We spent a Saturday afternoon making desserts in her sunny kitchen, and I got to know the author through his stories and recipes. “This is more than a cookbook to me,” says Burke. “It’s lived experience, shared through sweets. I’m proud of every page.”

Q&A with Potluck Desserts Author, Justin Burke

TLP: What did writing Potluck Desserts mean to you?

Justin Burke: Writing this book meant everything. It was a long road—10 years of rejections, of folks saying a queer-focused cookbook was “too niche.” So when Countryman Press said, Yes, let’s do this. We believe in this book, I felt this rush of emotion. And then, honestly? A deep sense of responsibility. I knew I had one real shot to make something that didn’t just feature desserts—but gave space, care, and representation to my queer and trans community. That meant being incredibly intentional with every part of it: the recipes, the stories, the photography, the styling, even the way the pages are laid out.

This is more than a cookbook to me. It’s lived experience, shared through sweets. I’m proud of every page. And I’m especially proud I didn’t water anything down just to make it more palatable to publishers early on. Potluck Desserts is exactly the book I wanted it to be—and I hope it means something to the folks who see themselves in it.

TLP: How did you choose the recipes?

Justin Burke: Choosing the recipes was harder than people might think. When folks hear “professional pastry chef,” they expect a book full of fancy, technical showpieces. But if you know me, you know my love for pastry started in home kitchens—watching, tasting, doing. That’s the energy I wanted this book to carry. So I asked myself: where did it all begin for me? And where do most bakers begin?

I really tried to honor that spirit—foundational recipes, yes, but with personality. There’s a lot of restraint in this book. I had to keep checking myself—Is this too chef-y? Am I contradicting the welcoming tone I set at the start? There were also so many good recipes that fit the potluck theme—I had about 100 at one point and had to scale way back. I think what’s left is a beautiful range: nostalgic, homey, playful, a little unexpected—but all rooted in the idea of bringing something sweet to share.

TLP: Do you have a favorite or go-to recipe from the book?

Justin Burke: It’s impossible to pick just one—but if I had to choose a few that feel like instant classics, I’d say the Chocolate Cherry Soda Cake, the Snickerdoodle Peach Cobbler, Malt Chocolate Delight, and Shirley’s Cake. Each one of those carries a story or a memory that means a lot to me. And honestly, they just taste damn good.

Recipes from Potluck Desserts

Scotcheroos

These Scotcheroos instantly reminded me of the peanut butter Rice Crispy Treats I made with my granny as a kid. The ingredients that made all the difference were butterscotch, dark chocolate, and sea salt, which added much more interesting flavors and dimension to this nostalgic treat. My friend and I made these first because they needed to chill in the fridge for at least a few hours, and we could work on the other recipes while they cooled. No oven needed for this one, just elbow grease and patience. We attempted a swirl of chocolate and butterscotch on top of the rice base, but it was a mess, so we gave up and just blended it all together. (Be sure to use parchment paper like the book calls for; aluminum foil tore easily with the knife.) In the spirit of sharing, I handed a Ziplock-full to my neighbors, who were thrilled (and have no peanut allergies, I was assured).

Chocolate Strawberry Cobbler

One of my favorite snacks is chocolate-covered strawberries, so I knew I wanted to try this cobbler. The bake time was short, a relief on a sweltering Saturday. We opted for 23-ish minutes in the oven, the lower end of the recommended time, and it came out perfectly: strawberries bubbling just like the recipe called for, chocolate crust just dry enough. This is definitely a scoop into your bowl kind of dessert—don’t expect any kind of structure, which is true of most cobblers. The strawberries produced more liquid at the bottom of the baking dish than we expected, possibly from rinsing the fruit, so I removed a few spoonfuls and it was good to go. I liked that it wasn’t too sweet or too heavy—and it’s a great way to use up your strawberries. Of the three, this recipe was by far the prettiest and looked like something off a magazine cover coming out of the oven, so I plan to impress my family with this one at future summer get-togethers.

Jasper’s “Tastes like Cookie Dough” Fudge

Created by Burke’s son, Jasper, this chocolate chip treat is a no-bake recipe that’s great for coconut lovers (like me). Like the Scotcheroos, this recipe from Potluck Desserts involved mainly elbow grease and waiting impatiently by the fridge. One thing I wished was included was how small to make the graham cracker crumbs—we ended up going with about the size of granola for a good middle ground. After chilling overnight, these came out a little softer and stickier than I expected—but condensed coconut milk is pretty sticky in general. For more of a cookie dough consistency, I popped them in the freezer overnight and that did the trick: a perfectly fudgy, chilly bite. The flavor is coconutty and light, and I texted my friend to tell her how good they were. She messaged right back, saying she was eating them as we spoke! Thanks, Jasper.

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