My Donut Obsession

Me:  "My name is Joyce and I am addicted to donuts." 
All: "Hiiiii, Joyce."

If there was a Donuts Anonymous, I imagine that's how one gets introduced to the group.  I'm practicing for that day because I have a slight addiction to the fried goodness.

Need proof?

- I have a Tokidoki donut shirt.  It's ridiculous and I love it.  If it was dri-fit with thumb holes, it would be perfect.
- I desperately want to host a cold weather event with spiked hot chocolate and a donette-topped stir stick.
- I text my donut orders to the owner of my favorite shop, DK's Donuts in Orange.  Oh, and we're collaborating to create a new flavor.
- I was dangerously close to purchasing a commercial donut machine.
- I ran a half marathon in San Jose just so I would have a valid excuse to visit Psycho Donuts.

When my hockey teammate announced that his clothing line, Markisa, would be unveiling a donut design, I was immediately on board!  And it was because of this hoodie that my donut cupcake was born.

Holiday Gifting

Every holiday season, I bake treats for my favorite people.  Usually, it's the year's most popular treat, like lava cupcakes, cookies & cream cookies or chocolate covered pretzels.

This year, I decided to change it up and took a DIY approach (DIY meaning Do It Yo'Self) that I thought would be fun and in a way, could be a gift that keeps on giving - after all, the best way to learn how to do something is to do it yourself, right?

Taking inspiration from Bakerella's popular Cowgirl Cookie gifts which feature an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with M&Ms and pecans, I took my favorite cookie recipe and created a mason jar treat that my friends could bake at their leisure.

I have to admit, making the jars was a bit more time consuming than I anticipated, but the end result - oatmeal Raisinet cookies - was quite lovely (and quite tasty).

Hope your holidays were great!  Wishing you a fantastic 2014!

I'm Back...Temporarily

It's been months since my trusty stand mixer has been put to use, but not to worry - I've found new baking inspiration to get me going.

But first, some background...

This past Thanksgiving, I was in Miami anticipating the regional fave, key lime pie.  Nine days later after a cruise through the western Caribbean, I found myself at the airport, hours before my flight home without having an authentic Miami treat.  SUPER SAD FACE.

So what is a girl to do?  Um, check in my luggage, grab my boarding pass and find a way to Joe's Stone Crab for some pie!  Duh.

And that's what I did.  My original plan was to bring home some of the creamy, tarty goodness, but after learning that the pie would melt in transit, I did the next best thing:  I bought the Joe's Stone Crab cookbook.

By the time I got back to the airport, my flight was boarding (oops!), but the pie was definitely worth it.

It didn't take long for me to make my own version of the pie using a cupcake pan, of course!  Although it took forever to juice the limes, the effort was well worth it and immediately brought back memories of that amazing Miami treat!