December Donuts - Weeks 2: Maple Donuts with Maple Glaze and Bacon Crumbles

It's official, Christmas is just around the corner, like a week from next Tuesday! The thing is, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it, but I am seriously trying.  I think my problem is that the temperature in DC is throwing me for a loop...it's warm, then cold, then mild.  Who knows what is going on, but I have been trying to get into the holiday spirit!

I am almost, so very, very close to being done with my holiday shopping!  Just a few more things need to arrive in the mail.   Christmas postcards are in the mail.  I have checked out Christmas trees, even though we don't have one up in my house in Alexandria.  Holiday parties are happening, and a gingerbread house has been built! (Check it out below.)  A Christmas Vacation has been watched!  I am planning the menu for the annual Christmas Eve brunch at my mom's house, and getting to listen to my nephew sing Away in a Manger.  I think it will truly feel like Christmas time though once I get home and get to hangout with my family.  I mean that's the big part right?  I mean family and seeing friends when we are all finally, for the most part in the same location.  

So, what are you doing to get into the Christmas spirit?  Have you watched Love Actually yet?  It is totally on my to do list this weekend!  Are you attending any awesome tacky Christmas sweater parties?  Making gingerbread men and attending cookie exchanges?  Let me know!  Happy Holidays!

What can get you in the spirit more than lights in the shape of animals?

Pecan Cinnamon Raisin Sticky Buns

I must admit I can be a total nerd and completely awkward.  I am not always great in social situations, but I have definitely grown over the past few years.  When I first starting working, everyone kept telling me "you change a lot in your 20's." I never really wanted to believe them, but its so true.  Over the past few years...

....I have grown to be more comfortable in my own skin; 

...to trust some people completely, but take what others say with a grain of salt;

...to not take the little everyday things for granted as much, because they can have the most impact sometimes;

...that some days we all need to try a little harder to smile and laugh...it really can make you feel better;

...that sometimes impromptu dance parties are just what you need (especially with your closest friends);

Maybe that looks something like this..

...that the best way to really clear my head is by going for a run and zoning out to really loud music

...or baking;

...and that I am truly a morning person.  Like even when I try to sleep in, I can't.

This weekend, I was early riser, waking up before my mom, so I decided that cinnamon buns for breakfast were totally needed!  Plus, I have been wanting to try this recipe for weeks.  I didn't have apples so I substituted them for raisins.  These buns come together easy, but do take some time.  The texture is a bit more like a coffee cake since they aren't yeast rolls, but the cinnamon pecan flavor is awesome.  They are a great breakfast treat, and the leftovers reheat wonderfully.  So, if you have someone special to make breakfast for I totally think you should surprise them with these!  Enjoy!

An Interview with a Baker: Erin of Pie Sisters

Last week I had the opportunity to interview Erin from Pie Sisters.   She and her sisters opened their shop in Georgetown this past January and have been receiving rave reviews ever since.

When I walked into the shop it felt like I just walked into a country home. With "If You're Gonna Play in Texas" playing in the background, this pie shop feels like it should be in the South.  However, sitting here you have views of Rosslyn and the Key Bridge, plus some prime people watching of those strolling through Georgetown.  The decor is absolutely perfect for a pie shop and only compliments the delicious pies.  The picture of two of the sisters during construction of the shop, that hangs in the shop, lets you know how much love has gone into building this pie shop, and everyday in the making of the pies.  From savory to sweet, Pie Sisters serves up fresh, seasonal and delicious pies.  

I brought two back to the office, and James may have even used the word phenomenal when describing the chili pie.  The filling in both the chili and the chocolate bourbon pecan pies were absolutely delicious, and the crust was incredibly flaky.  Plus, it was so nice to sit down with Erin and learn from her experiences over the past year.  So, to say the least I would highly recommend stopping in Pie Sisters next time you are in Georgetown.

A quick tour around the shop...

I want this clock...so cool!

December Donuts - Week 1: "Peppermint Pattie/Mounds" Donuts...Chocolate Cake Donuts with Peppermint Glaze and Toasted Coconut

It is time for donuts!  It has been over a year, and I have been waiting to get my pans back to make donuts. So, December will be donut month.  One donut recipe every Friday this month.  Next week, maple brown sugar donuts with a maple glaze that might just have to have bacon on top.  The trick is I want to serve the donuts the day they are made; they just aren't as good the second day around.  So, the game plan, and it worked this week, is to prep all materials the night before.  Even measuring out the butter and storing it in a plastic container.  Then, when I get home from boot camp its donut time, and time to get ready for work!  It can be done!  So ...Happy Donut December! 

The first donut this month is what would happen if a York Peppermint Pattie got together with a Mounds bar and had a donut.  The base is a baked chocolate cake donut.  It is then topped with peppermint glaze and finished off with toasted coconut.  The flavors really do go well together. The donut came out light, cakey and delicious.  Give them a try, because donuts really are fun and easy to make at home; its really just all about having the pans to do it.   Enjoy!

This is what happens when you meet a friend in the city for happy hour and to get your donut pans back.  First the pans end up sitting on the bar at Zengo...where else was I supposed to put them?  Then I walked out with them in my arms.  Finally I realized, Oh Yeah my purse is pretty darn big. I wonder if these pans will fit in it while I ride the metro home.

Crackers anyone? Cheddar Cheese Crackers Two Ways

I was watching the TV the other day when I caught the last half of the movie Garden State. I had forgotten how much I love that movie, plus all of the awesome music in it.  Just a few years ago, I could be caught quoting it, to the annoyance of my boyfriend, who does not necessarily share my love for the movie.   But really, as a freshman in college I thought that it was so "enlightening," so for your enlightenment here are a few tidbits from Garden State.

"If you can't laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a whole lot longer than you'd like. " - Sam

"I know it hurts. That's life. If nothing else, It's life. It's real, and sometimes it fuckin' hurts, but it's sort of all we have. " - Sam

Then there are times I think when we all feel like doing this to let it all out.

And then some of the better songs: "I don't think I will ever get over you" - Colin Hays

                                                                   "Such Great Heights" - Iron and Wine  

What is it about songs and movies that can take you back?  That can so easily mark specific times and even moments in life?  I guess food does the same thing...like how the standard boxed butter cookies with red and green sprinkles always make me think of holiday programs at daycare growing up.  How pomegranates make me think of my friend Lauren who was eating them back in middle school, long before they were a "cool" food.  And well cheese crackers make me think of Christmas, and cheese straws, which somehow makes me think of sausage balls.  I know, I know strange, but it has to do with the spiciness of sausage balls, plus they have lots of cheese in them.

So, lets talk about these crackers.  If you own a food processor they are super easy to make! They puff up the way goldfish do, have a nice cheddar cheese flavor, and are great by themselves or with tomato soup.  Plus, I did these two ways, one batch based on the original recipe and then in the second batch I added some paprika and chili powder for a bit more flavor and spice.  These would be great served at any holiday party this season or even thrown in a gift basket.  Enjoy!

James enjoying them in his soup with lunch this week.

What can I say I am on a pumpkin kick...Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

Happy December and thus Happy Holidays!  So, I think a count down of sorts is in order.  Today marks...

3 days until my mom comes to visit for her birthday weekend!

21 days until Christmas.

23 days until I get to go back to Scotland!

28 days until the New Year...time to start thinking about those New Years Resolutions.

75 days until the Mercedes Benz Half Marathon in Birmingham with Meghan (Hopefully it won't be as cold as last year.)

102 days until the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in DC

4ish months until Charles moves back from Scotland

Are you counting down to anything?  Have fun Holiday plans coming up?  Are you already making plans for 2013 like me?  

So, in the midst of this count down, over the course of December I will be counting up to four.  A total of four donut recipes that is, as I am coining this month Donut December.  First on the list, baked chocolate cake donuts with peppermint glaze and toasted coconut...look for it on Friday!

Let's talk about these cookies though.  They were a challenge that I accepted a couple of months ago, and have been thinking about how to recreate a cookie that I have only seen a picture of and heard a description of.  The cookies I was trying to mimic...Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies...see below.