Have you watched Big Little Lies? HBO’s addictive new series starring unofficial Preheated icon Reese Witherspoon may not have much to do with food, but is worth your time for any Tracy Flick and/or Leanne Moriarty fans out there.

Back in the kitchen, Andrea’s having success keeping her New Year’s Big Batch Baking (BBB) resolution thanks to Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies. This slice and bake cookie is delicious, has a sweet backstory, and easily triples (!).

Old-Fashioned Slow Cooker Rice Pudding was a win for both hosts, and so versatile! Whether you eat it warm or eat it cold, this “mystery recipe” from a bygone community cookbook yields delicious rice pudding morning, noon or night. Our hosts tried several variations, including subbing coconut milk for the evaporated milk, and adding sour cherries or dried cranberries instead of raisins. And if you want to splurge (both monetarily and flavor-fully), Andrea recommends using Sonoma Syrup Co.’s Vanilla Crush for a treat.

Next up is Irish Bread & Butter Pudding with Salted Caramel Whiskey Butter Sauce, which had both hosts salivating and counting the days ’til St. Pat’s. Stock up on Jamison’s Irish Whiskey and Kerry Gold Irish Butter now. And have your story ready for the liquor store clerk, if you, like your hosts, feel the need to explain your booze purchases. (Perhaps a plug for Preheated?)

Finally, back in the Gadget Garage, the hosts marvel at the many ways in which slow cookers have evolved in the decades since their own were manufactured, and Andrea debates the convenience of a kitchen blow torch after an experiment with creme brulee.

Listeners: Do you have a favorite slow cooker brand? What do you love about it?