Joy the Baker

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

May 31, 2010

This dessert is not healthy. It’s not subtle. It’s not revolutionary. It hurts.

Chocolate and peanut butter piled on top of peanut butter and chocolate. There’s sugar too… and it hurts.

These cupcakes hurt your diet. They hurt your teeth. They destroy your morning workout. They’re bad for puppies. They upset kittens. Big-eyed baby cows are pretty pissed about these things.

They’re mean. They’ll punch you in the shin and say awful things about your hair.

You should probably stay away from these cupcakes. Sure… they’re the most delicious cupcakes eeeevvvveeeerrrrr… but they’re also dirty rotten scoundrels. Sorry.

194 Comments

Bake Out with Jill and Joy

May 27, 2010

I made Caramel Pudding with my friend Jill a few weeks back. You were here. You remember.

We made a video too! Oooh goodness gracious. We did.

If Caramel Pudding freaks you out… if you’re scared of cooking sugar to a golden brown… well, problem solved! I can show you how. I can talk you through it. I also happen to giggle the whole time. Let’s hope you find that endearing.

Bake Out with Jill and Joy is a little video series that Jill and I are putting together. Jill dreams up the dessert. I show her how to make it. We laugh… a lot. I say awkward things… a lot.

Not only is there real action going on here today… Jill and I also brought presents to give away.

751 Comments

Dear Thirty Nine Year Old Joy,

May 25, 2010

Dear Thirty Nine Year Old Joy,

It’s 2010. Today we’re Twenty Nine Year Old Joy. It’s exciting. My Facebook page is exploding with birthday wishes. Cool but mostly gross.

I’m making a birthday cake. That’s what that big mess is all about.

I’m writing you, Future Joy, just to say hello and remind you of a few things. A lot can happen in the ten years between us.

269 Comments

Dark Chocolate Brownies

May 24, 2010

Sometimes I turn chocolate into cookies.

Sometimes I turn chocolate into cake.

Once I turned chocolate into sorbet.

I usually sleep with a chocolate bar on my nightstand. You probably think I’m kidding. I’m not. It’s strangely comforting.

Chocolate bread? Ok… that seems like a good call.

Chocolate for breakfast? Duh.

But my all time favorite way to work some chocolate into my system is with a simple brownie. Dense. Fudgy. Unadulterated chocolate magic.

127 Comments

2010. It’s Happening.

May 19, 2010

Every few months I go on an over-sharing spree on Joy the Baker. I talk about all sorts of things that aren’t chocolate or butter or cake. I sometimes tell you about my sister. I often tell you about my tragic affection for The Real Housewives of Everywhere. Sometimes I talk about boys and other times I doooo nooootttt.

What’s weird about it is that… you actually like it.

When these over-sharing moments strike, I like to show you the pictures from my camera phone. Well… the pictures that aren’t the several hundred self portraits that take up most of my phone’s memory. Why my camera phone? I seem to have had my phone surgically attached to my hand so it’s with me to capture most of my moments. Here’s a peek at 2010 so far.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cupcakes. Because why should you have to choose between hot fudge sundaes and cupcakes? That’s just not fair.

176 Comments

Strawberry Blackberry Shortcakes

May 17, 2010

Is it summer yet? Seriously… can we just go ahead and kick this season off a little early?

I’m in… you should totally join me.

What does it mean to kick summer off a little early? Well, here’s a list of things I’m going to get rollin’… like toot sweet.

Summertime means:

Consuming abnormal amounts of pink wine. Yea… that’s totally going to happen.

Driving around town with all of the windows all the way down. Hair be damned.

Summer soundtrack… this one comes with time. So far I’m thinking a little Kanye and little Jay-Z and a smattering of Fleetwood Mac. I know… nuts-o.

How often will I be in a bikini? Nope… not often at all. How often will I not be in a bikini. Most of the summer. Believe that.

Strawberry Blackberry Shortcakes. Kickin’ off early summer right on time. Go and do.

89 Comments

Potato Frittata

May 14, 2010

I went ahead and made you breakfast for this weekend.

Except I ate it. All. It was delicious.

So actually… if you could just go ahead and make your own breakfast… that would probably be best.

Potatoes. I strongly suggest you get 4 big russet potatoes.

Peel them clean. Rinse them off. Marvel at how lovely they’re going to taste with eggs and fresh herbs.

Your Sunday morning is about to smell divine.

133 Comments

How to Make Butter

May 12, 2010

We do have butter to talk about today, but first I hope you’ll indulge me in allowing me to write an open letter to my little sister Lauren.

Dear Lauren,

This afternoon I found a card that you wrote me on January 1, 2000. That’s right. I found a ten year old thank you note from you.

Here it is.

You open the letter by saying “Happy New Year!” This seems sweet and appropriate. Well played.

Your next sentence gets slightly strange. You write “Would you be surprised to know that this card was painted by a kitten?… NO!… a very small kitten? …NO!… 10,000? 5,000? 10,000 kittens?”

To answer your question, dear sister… yes, I would be very surprised to find out that this card was paw painted by 10,00 small kittens. Yes. That would be weird. Also, I appreciate you liberal use of punctuation.

I also found this picture with the card. This is about the age you surpassed me in cuteness, as I seem to be rocking a girl mullet and no teeth. So… that happened.

I just thought I’d take this opportunity to remind you of how awesomely strange you are. And to let you know that you’re still way cuter than me too… but I have more teeth and less mullet now.

I love you sister. Go make some butter.

Love,

Joy

188 Comments

The Making, Baking and Consumption of the Best Chocolate Bundt Cake ever.

May 10, 2010

We have a system around here, don’t we?

I bake something every few days, take pictures of it, and post a handful of those pictures in this little wedge of the Internet.

What would it look like if I showed you a whole bunch of everything? The chocolate. The cake. The clock. The hike. The traffic. The indecision. The bourbon. The whole dang day! Well… it would be at least mildly entertaining, but more importantly… it would satisfy my need to over-share. And that’s really why we’re all here, right?

8:18am. What an utterly obnoxious time to wake up. The baker in me… the baker that used to have to wake up at 3:15am is disgusted with my current self.

297 Comments

Pretty. Pretty Things.

May 8, 2010

You and me? We always talk about yummy things. Today we need to talk about pretty things.

These beautiful porcelain creations are the work of Alyssa Ettinger. Alyssa makes pretty things with her hands… let me explain.

Alyssa makes these beautiful porcelain Ball jar and the small little sweater inspired votive holders using a process called “slip-casting”. It’s all about casting found objects in ceramic and then casting them in liquid porcelain. Liquid porcelain people…. don’t let me get my hands on liquid porcelain…. I’d porcelainize every cupcake I could get my hand on. I’m not kidding.

Alyssa has found old bottles at antique stores and NYC dumps, and created something pretty, delicate, and new. My favorite are these sweater vases…. absolutely gorgeous.

I love that beauty can inspire artists to make new out of old.
I love when pretty things glow.
I love that something as simple as a Ball jar can be transformed by the hands of an artist into something special.

also… I love bourbon… which has nothing to do with anything at all.

I’ve got a lot of weddings to go to this summer. Every couple is getting a sweater vase…. yea… they’re pretty lucky.

Check out Alyssa’s work. Care and beauty ooze from the art she creates. She makes pieces to be cherished… and that’s saying a lot these days.

27 Comments

Mama’s Day Brunch Menu

May 6, 2010

I love my Mama.

The older I get… the more I love my mama.

The farther away I get from being a bratty, insufferable and ungrateful teenager… the more I appreciate my mama.

Phew… I didn’t make it easy on her. Can I make up for those obnoxious years with brunch? I’m pretty sure it can’t hurt.

The key to making mama a Mother’s Day brunch is this: make brunch aaaaaaaand do the dishes. Sure, mama’s like brunch, but I think what they like even more than the food is seeing us kids clean up the kitchen after ourselves. It’s key. It’s shows our dear mama’s that they raised us right… cause they did.

Make brunch. I totally think you should.

You might start off with this super clever quiche.

63 Comments

Berry Cobbler Pie Bars

May 4, 2010

We’re all friends here, right?

I can tell you things.

I can tell you things like… how I put sour cream on just about everything that I ate yesterday.

Sour cream on my granola. Sour cream on eggs. Sour cream on kale. Sour cream in my dessert. Sour cream… everywhere.

I feel a little guilty.. but certainly not guilty enough to stop.

I also feel a little guilty about how I’m equally obsessed with watching The Real Housewives of New York City and wearing chipped gunmetal silver nail polish on my nails. Both are tacky as all heck… still though… I’m all up on it.

Today… berry cobbler bars. Because it’s just about summer and you should. They have sour cream in them. Of course they do. Welcome to my obsession.

110 Comments

Heck Yes. Wear a Dress.

May 2, 2010

For a second I thought I might sit around my house this past weekend and wallow knee deep in self pity and other sorrows. Sounds like fun, right? A real riot.

I thought better of it. I kicked myself right in the pants and put on the biggest party dress I could find.

Big party dresses are key to healing any of life’s little hiccups. You think I’m kidding? Put on a dress… you’ll feel way better.

Know what else helps with life’s hiccups? Bourbon. Or wait…. does that cause the hiccups in the first place? I’m not sure. Jury is still out on that one.

152 Comments

Recipe Index

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Bake Out with Jill and Joy

Dear Thirty Nine Year Old Joy,

Dark Chocolate Brownies

2010. It’s Happening.

Strawberry Blackberry Shortcakes

Potato Frittata

How to Make Butter

The Making, Baking and Consumption of the Best Chocolate Bundt Cake ever.

Pretty. Pretty Things.

Mama’s Day Brunch Menu

Berry Cobbler Pie Bars

Heck Yes. Wear a Dress.

Search

Social

The Book

Homefries

Breakfast

Lunch

and Cookies

Archives

Joy, Recently

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share

Search

Social

The Book

Homefries

Breakfast

Lunch

and Cookies

Archives

Joy, Recently