Joy the Baker

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

I’m currently working on the pie chapter for my new cookbook… the new book that doesn’t yet have a name, but does have an awesome (and ever evolving) BRUNCH CHAPTER, and should be in your hot little hands in Fall 2014. Now though… now, I’m working on the pie chapter. It’s a humdinger. It’s a doozie.

A lot of words go into the making of a pie. A lot of butter goes into the making of a pie. A lot of proportions, and cream, and cornstarch, and hope, and confidence, and trust, and joy. Sometimes tears.

If you do it right, you can taste it all.

It’s hard to find the words to express the chaos and triumph of pie baking. It’s also hard to find the words to express the chaos and triumph of writing a book.

Whoa. Wait. Did I just have a breakthrough?

While I gather my thoughts, gather my butter, gather my pie recipes and try to get everything sorted… I’m realizing that some recipes were just too good to keep from you for so long. This is that.

I hope you make a pie this weekend. I also hope the pie plate is scraped clean come Sunday night.

I love you, it’s true.

43 Comments

Spring Roll in a Bowl

I realized this week that I use Instagram at a mini vacation from work. I click on my phone, tap into the Instagram app and scroll through images of your lives.

My mind wanders through pictures of your perfectly portioned lunch, your late afternoon coffee meeting , yes your child is totally cute… of course I’ll tap like on that picture.

You’re a farmer in the English countryside? Show me things! Help me escape!

You love taking pictures of your shoes? Sure, I’m into it. I’ll like that!

You like holding random objects up in front of a white backdrops? I’m down.

You’re Rihanna? You’re crazy and I kinda love it.

Ooh… you had a party and I wasn’t invited? That’s awkward for everyone, now isn’t it? Suddenly this mini work vacation feels bad.

Aaaand, just as easily as I click in for vacation… I can click out.

Um… Instagram vacations might not be that brain healthy. They’re cheap and easy and in-chair.

Speaking of Spring Rolls (I totally wasn’t speaking of Spring Rolls)…

I think we should unwrap and deconstruct spring rolls, load up a giant bowl, douse it in spicy peanut sauce, and have a mini eat-vacation. I did that. Obviously I took pictures… ironically, I didn’t Instagram it.

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Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich

This is my Dance Like Nobody Is Watching Sandwich.

I’ve been pretty humble on my blog up until this point, but it’s time I tell you something: I’m an uh-mazing dancer. (This is a bald-faced LIE!)

In my dreams, I’m an amazing dancer. In reality I’m a whole lotta elbows on the dance floor. Things get real arm-y. I also have this butt move that I’m pretty sure is flawless… but I refuse to bust that move in any sort of close proximity to a mirror. I fear I may be sadly mistaken.

I dance like nobody is watching because on a dance floor, no one is watching! Everyone is too consumed with their own possibly embarrassing butt move to be concerned with me, their elbow-y neighbor.

I’d like to take this moment to kindly suggest that we also eat like nobody is watching

Maybe that means putting peanut butter and sweet pickles on the same sandwich. Go on… I dare ya.

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Raspberry Rose Fizz

Welcome Friday! It’s time for Mother’s Day cocktail inspiration!

It’s been a stunning week of color and brunch-fun with HonestlyYUM.

We’ve made Lavender Blackberry Scones, Baked Egg Tartlets, a pretty DIY Dessert Stands, a gorgeous (if I do say so myself) White Chocolate Rose Cake, and today… today is pink cocktail day!

Todd, the cocktail mind behind HonestlyYUM, whipped up (literallly) these incredible Raspberry Rose Fizzes. Fresh raspberries, fragrant rose, and frothy egg whites for added class. This is just beyond! Find the recipe here!

images by HonestlyYUM

We had such a wonderful time putting together these pretties for you this week! I hope you’ve found some inspiration to treat your mama right. In the very least, get a card. Mamas have an abnormal amount of love for cards.

Thank you to HonestlyYUM + Love and Cupcakes + Twig and Twine + Dish Wish

Thank YOU for being here/being awesome. You are appreciated.

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White Chocolate Rose Cake with Strawberries

Time is a gift.

I know this because everyday feels like no one has time for anything ever. I’m not complaining. I’m not above it. I’m all up in it. No time? Guilty as ever.

Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is your time. Time at a new restaurant for one of those extra long lunches with pink wine and comfortable eye contact. Time at the dog park with a friend… when you’re mostly scared of large groups of dogs. Time on the phone when it’s late and your phone is over-heating on your face. Time in the kitchen making a very (very) special cake for the woman that took the dang time to carry you around in her body for nine dang months.

Time. Gosh it’s such a gift.

Let’s find some and share it with each other.

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Baked Eggs and DIY Dessert Stand

We’re still talking Mother’s Day Brunch. All week long! It’s a lifestyle.

Yesterday we kicked off our brunch menu with the mom-approved color, lavender. Today we’re talking yellow, and HonestlyYUM made you Baked Egg Tartlets. Supreme! Also check out this beautiful DIY Dessert Stand. Dessert stand meets Mother’s Day gift!? Genius.

Hop on over to check out the recipe and stand instructions at HonestlyYUM. We’re making cake tomorrow and cocktails on Friday. This life is a good one!

(images by Joy the Baker + HonestlyYUM)

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Lavender Blackberry Scones

My mom isn’t afraid of spiders. I am deathly, unreasonably, irrationally afraid of spiders. My Mom is the only one that will walk me down the spider-ridden stairs to my car when I stop by for family dinner. Ok… to be fair, my dad will walk me down the stairs too, but it took a lot of irrational screaming about spiders to make him understand my crazy brain.

I figure I’ll have to get over my fear of spiders before I become a mom myself. Is that normal? Does a fear of spiders dissipate during pregnancy or will I constantly be calling my mom every time I’m about to vacuum a spider (not that I’ve actually ever done that) (sorry spiders).

Because my mom saves me from spiders well into my thirty plus years on this planet, she has earned warm, lavender-scented scones. She’s actually earned so much more… but scones will have to do for now.

Spiders to scones. Yea… we just did that.

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Mother’s Day Inspired

I think we should talk about Mother’s Day. It’s time.

Let’s act like we’re all sorts of prepared to honor the women that were patient through our various temper tantrums (toddler, teenage, and otherwise). If anyone is deserving of pink cocktails and warm scones, it’s our mamas.

I’m pretty sure that my mom is the best thing that ever happened to me… ever. For this reason, she deserves brunch that she doesn’t have to prepared served on dishes she does not have to wash with gifts she did not have to wrap (or help me find the tape to seal). Once a year isn’t too much to ask (actually… it’s probably waaay too little).

This year I paired up with the awesome people of HonestlyYUM for some totally proper, majorly colorful, Mother’s Day inspiration. Everyday this week, Erica, Karen, Todd, and I will bring you a different Mother’s Day recipe, craft, or cocktail, centered around a pretty (mama approved) color.

Pink cocktails. Yellow yums. Lavender treats straight from the oven. Pretty cream cake topped with white rose petals. It’s going to be a good week indeed.

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Cinco de Cinco

What are you up to this weekend!? I really really hope your answer was tacos.

It’s the first weekend of May and I can feel my insides tingling with thoughts of summer. To celebrate, I’m having an all-taco weekend. Yea… that’s totally a thing. We’re grown. We can taco when we want. Taco = verb.

What else is in your weekend? Cold beer and short shorts!? Heck yes! Let’s be friends for life. Yea… it’s that easy.

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Sweet Berry Lime Cake

This Bundt cake is my way of making cake without rreeaaalllyy making cake. Filling, stacking, and fighting with frosting… sometimes (most times) making a layer cake is just too many steps in between me and a slice of cake.

I have sooo many tricks for doing things without doing things. (What does that even mean?) Mascara is my way of wearing makeup without wearing makeup. Carrot sticks and Tic Tacs are my way of eating lunch without eating lunch. Text messaging is my way of having a conversation without having a conversation. Coffee is my way of waking up without waking up.

You understand me. Let’s have cake.

This dessert feels like a fancied up cake mix situation without the guilt. Wait… am I the only one that feels guilty about adding eggs, water, and oil to a mix and calling it cake? I just know that I didn’t earn the compliments.

This cake is basically cake mix… without the mix or the box.

To be fair, I think brownies from a box are better than any brownie I could ever made from scratch. I’m not too proud to admit that. Delicious brownies without making brownies.

Ps. If Sweet Berry Lime makes you think of Dr. Steve Brule’s Sweet Berry Wine… you’re a friend of mine. If not… nevermind. XO!

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Blackberry Apricot Sunflower Oatmeal

You don’t need me to tell you how to make oatmeal. You might need me to tell you how to make Peanut Butter Bacon Pancakes, and tell you not to drink rum from a yard-long glass through the streets of Las Vegas. Oatmeal though… I’m sure you can handle that on your own.

Maybe I just need to remind myself how to make oatmeal. Maybe I just need to remind myself to make oatmeal at all… and eat it… and call it breakfast. Staring at the computer first thing in the morning, thoughtlessly burning my mouth on hot coffee does not a breakfast make.

I thought it was possible that if I needed a reminder, you might need a reminder too. Let’s breakfast! Let’s make breakfast as healthful and beautiful as we can. It’s a big week. We need this.

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Weekend Warrior

Can we talk about our weekend inspiration? Let’s take on the rest, the recharge, and the gathering and laughing with friends. Can we turn the email down and the Fleetwood Mac way way up? Can we find reason to bust out the sunscreen? Can we order a basket of French Fries at Brunch and order another basket at 1am after a very loud night of karaoke?

Can there be cold negronis and long dog walks. Maybe some catnip and breakfast cake? Too much coffee and a long afternoon nap? Oooh man… I’m just talkin’ dirty now.

My wish for you is that at least some of your weekend is a true weekend for you. Even if there’s a clock you have to punch, or overtime in your future… I hope there is at least a moment of cake and/or sunshine and/or a snooze button and/or an extra cup of coffee.

Here’s some weekend inspiration.

I love you (seriously, I do). Happy Friday!

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Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Guacamole

I didn’t have the kind of parents that made me pure, homemade, organic, sugar-free, vegan baby food. Not quite.

I had the kind of parents that would throw whatever they were having for dinner into a blender (no joke) and call it dinner for their crazy screaming baby girl Joy. I distinctly remember having Spaghetti and Meatballs in the blender… and I’m pretty sure there was some weird sort of Tofu Potato Bake blended to (probably pretty gross) perfection. Fish sticks? Blend ‘em. Taco Salad? Too far.

Why am I talking about baby blender food? Well… if I had voice enough to make meal requests, I would surely have asked for a chip and guacamole blender baby meal. Guacamole is a perfect food. Even babies know this to be true.

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Creamy Zucchini Tarragon Soup

I feel like Mary Poppins would be a really wonderful soup maker.

I’m not talking about the spoonful of sugar.

It’s that magical purse she carries around. If she can pull a coat rack and house plant out of her nanny bag, imagine the things she could coax from a giant soup pan. Dreams! I imagine the most lovely and effortlessly delicious soup, with a dash of cream like whaaat!?

Wait… can Mary Poppins make us all soup forever and always?

I wonder if Mary Poppins has wasabi peas and a baguette in her purse. Probably.

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Peanut Butter Bacon Pancakes

I can smell my neighbor’s bacon.

That’s not a euphemism. If it were, you’d have permission to kick me in the shin and be officially grossed out.

I can literally smell my neighbor’s bacon. His kitchen window meets my bedroom window, and I actually feel lucky that I don’t have to pay extra rent for a daily bacon alarm clock.

A good while ago, I found myself standing in a kitchen full of fancy chefs talking about the glory of a proper peanut butter and bacon partnership. I was suspicious. I had to test the partnership with crumbly and crisp Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies. If you like bacon… if you like crisp cookies, you will consider these cookies a grand success. I thought they were so bonkers that I also included the recipe in my cookbook.

I figured that if wonky flavor combinations could be cookied, they could just as easily be pancaked. Also… sliced bananas and maple syrup make everything breakfast. Let’s just cross this line. I’ll call my neighbor, he’ll bring the bacon.

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French Bread Pizza: 2 Ways

Two things you should know before this whole pizza extravaganza begins. One: a ‘maj’, short for major… is a best friend. Two: Tracy is my maj.

I met Tracy a few years ago. We caught one other rolling our eyes at the same thing. It was frozen risotto that deserved our collective eye roll. To be fair… it was gross and we were hungry. Tracy is the kind of friend that you can bring to a party because she’ll compliment all the girls (most sincerely), give all the guys a much needed ribbing (most sincerely), and laugh at fart jokes. She’s a crowd pleaser, and if you tend to be on the quiet side, like me… Tracy is a ringer. She’s such a win.

Also… if you were to say a sentence to Tracy like, ‘Hey what should I make for my blog?’, she’ll have the right answer… which is French Bread Pizza, always and forever.

Tracy and I live many miles apart, but found ourselves in the same kitchen this week. This sort of rare occasion calls for carbs and cheese. There was sausage and cheese, chicken and barbecue sauce, and a tremendous amount of laughter.

Tracy made Greek French Bread Pizza and Sausage and Pepper Breakfast French Bread Pizza… and she did a thing with Tapatio that made my heart kind of swoony. Check it, don’t wreck it.

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Kale + Blackberry + Beet + Almond Milk Smoothies

What’s in your morning routine? I make my bed, splash my face with cold water, drink a giant glass of lemon water, and try to forget about the giant bag of dark chocolate chips I’ve been meaning (and failing) to hide from myself. I try my best to start things off well, with some clarity and conscious eating… that’s because it’s easy to reason with my relaxed morning brain. By the time dinner rolls around it’s nearly impossible to talk my brain out of popcorn, wine, and handfuls of chocolate chips. Morning is my power hour. Dinner looks like a breakup rom-com where a heartbroken girl eats her weight in everything ever.

It’s a new Monday. It’s a new week. Let’s start things off feeling great! The morning is on our side in three major ways.

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Too Much Cheddar and Jalapeno Muffins

I did two things accidentially-on-purpose this week.

I put too much dang cheese in my muffins… which was such an awesome accident.

There was an incident between a spoon and a jar of Nutella: accidentally-on-purpose. Should we talk about the pickle jar that I decimated for no good reason? No. It was an accident (on purpose).

I also bought a pair of wedge sneakers (ohhh heck YES I did)… and my elongated calves could not be happier. I suppose I should tell you now that the real-talk you might expect around these parts also includes talk of super trendy, totally ridiculous shoes.

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What It’s Really Like

Hello my darling friends.

I’ve bombarded you with a ton of melted cheese, buttered popcorn, and chocolate chunks lately. I feel like we haven’t had the proper amount of time to catch up.

Can we just take a breath together. Maybe have an extra cup of coffee or another half glass of wine? Let’s absorb this Wednesday the best way we know how.

You may or may not know that I’m currently working on my second cookbook. It’s a blessing. It’s totally exciting. It’s a dream come true x 2.

I’ve heard people compare writing a book to giving birth to a child. I get it. Writing a book is laborious and time-consuming and… actually, I totally don’t get it, nevermind.

I haven’t had any back pain or swollen ankles or excruciating pain while writing this book. Although… I’d like to sign up for an epidural here and now, if you’re offering (which you aren’t).

You know what happens when you have a baby? It comes out and people are STOKED. You know what happens when you write a book? It comes out and people write a review on Amazon.

I was doing some deep thinking this morning while washing the dishes produced from a failed pie recipe testing session…. writing a book is exactly like this for me: I get dressed up, fancy but not tooooo fancy, to go to a friend of a friend’s party. (stay with me… this is a very detailed analogy… there were a lot of dishes to do). I’m wearing an outfit I feel pretty confident in, but I’m wearing my favorite, wear-them-waaaay-too-often flats because I’m interested in foot comfort on this particular evening. I get to the party and (to my horror) discover they this particular house has instituted a no-shoes-in-the-house policy. Gracious Lord in heaven please help me.

First panic: I know I don’t have a pedicure on these feet, and things are starting off a little less than perfect. Second panic: Do.My.Feet.Stink!? I have no way of knowing…. AND! Since this is my very own anxiety nightmare, I can’t go to the bathroom to check, I can’t leave the party, I can’t insta-pedicure my feet… I just have to sit with the self I’ve created.

Writing a book is EXACTLY like taking your shoes off at a party and hoping your feet don’t stink… or hoping people don’t notice that your feet stink. Replace ‘feet’ with the word ‘book’ if you aren’t following my (totally ridiculous) train of thought. You spend months and months writing a thing, preparing it for the world, trying your best to make it what you want it to be…. and at the end of the day, you just have to take your shoes off and hope to God they don’t (and your dang BOOK doesn’t) totally stink.

It’s just that. It really is.

Aren’t SO many things like that in life? You understand, I know you do.

In other news, I’m working on a pie chapter and I need you to come over and help me eat the pies that don’t stink. Sidenote: I should have a bake sale.

159 Comments

Shrimp + Grits + Cocktail

This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been down this shrimp and grits road before… and I’ve taken you with me. My last encounter with a warm dish of creamy grits and spicy shrimp was served to a gentleman whose only remark was that I had failed to remove the tails from the shrimp before serving them to him. Really, dude? Really!? So ended that short relationship (not really… but sort of… FOR REAL).

I needed a redo. Not for flavor’s sake, just for my own self… and because I totally just wanted a giant bowl of this madness.

New dating rule #37: I graciously and happily remove a cooked shrimp tail for every car door that is graciously opened for me. Respect, yo!

ps. I don’t actually have thirty-seven dating rules. I do, however, have two giant bowls of lunch. Who’s counting (I am).

I made these Shrimp + Grits with my friend Jonathan. I bought the shrimp, he crashed my house with beer, cucumber, and lime… and we shot pictures on the floor by my front door (see Instagram) (we’re really fancy).

Jonathan made a bonkers cocktail to pair with the Shrimp + Grits… a Cucumber Blonde Bloody Mary. It’s fizzy and refreshing. It’s takes the tomato thickness out of the traditional Bloody Mary and makes this cocktail truly gulp-able. In addition to being an awesome bringer-of-cocktails-to-my-house, Jonathan is also an incredible photographer, baker… and he’s obsessed with my cat. All the things I look for in a friend.

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Breakfast

Blackberry Apricot Sunflower Oatmeal

Peanut Butter Bacon Pancakes

Lunch

Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich

Creamy Zucchini Tarragon Soup

and Cookies

Buttered Popcorn Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vanilla Almond Orange Cloud Cookies

Joy, Recently

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

Spring Roll in a Bowl

Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich

Raspberry Rose Fizz

White Chocolate Rose Cake with Strawberries

Baked Eggs and DIY Dessert Stand

Lavender Blackberry Scones

Mother’s Day Inspired