She left the film industry in 2004 and relocated to Vermont. From 2005 to 2008, she owned a bakery, Gesine Confectionary, in Montpelier;[5] she is now a pastry instructor at her own baking school in Hartford, Vermont, Sugar Glider Kitchen, and at King Arthur Flour Company.
She is the host of Food Network's Baked in Vermont and appears as a judge on Beat Bobby Flay, Christmas Cookie Challenge, and Worst Cooks.
She is the author of books, including the memoirs Confections of a Closet Master Baker (2009) aka My Life from Scratch (2010) – dedicated to her mother, and the cookbooks Sugar Baby (2011), Pie It Forward (2012), Bake It Like You Mean It (2013), Let Them Eat Cake (2016), Fantastical Cakes (2018), and My Vermont Table (2023).