Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Cup Cake

Dunkin' Donuts recently announced that they'll be expanding to California in the next few years and there's one person I know who'll be waiting in line the first day they open in San Diego: my brother Ryan.  He's loves Dunkin' Donuts.  I remember growing up my dad used to buy a boxful of Munchkins and we'd always fight over who gets the chocolate glazed and jelly filled ones.  Ahhhhh childhood memories...a mix of warm and fuzzy nostalgia and pushing and shoving matches with your siblings. And speaking of Dunkin' Donuts, I thought I'd rummage through my old cake photos again and share this DD coffee cup cake.  I made it for Ryan's birthday a few years ago and it was one of the first 3-D cakes I ever tried to make.

Allergy-friendly Fruit and Seed Chewy Granola Bars

Last month, I was planning to make fruitcake cookies but changed my mind and made shortbread cookies instead.  So now I have a bunch of dried fruit and seeds sitting in my cupboard.  I wasn't really sure what to do with them.  I thought, "Well I guess I can just toss them together and make trail mix."  But then I remembered the trail mix chewy granola bars I used to love.  They were made with nuts, which my 7 year old is severely allergic to.  So this week, I decided to make an allergy-friendly version of my favorite granola bars.  Not only are they nut-free, they're also dairy-free, wheat-free, soy-free and vegan :-) 

Ruth's Bridal Shower

Here's another treasure from the past that I didn't get a chance to post.  As you might have read from a previous post, my sister Ruth got married last year and as the matron-of-honor, I did host a bridal shower for her.  It was a Parisian-themed party, with lots of pink and black decorations, cafe music playing in the background and all the Frenchy food you could think of, including dessert of course.  And before you start thinking that this sounds a lot like the movie, "Bridesmaids," no I didn't give away any free puppies.  My cousin Kristen was not too happy about that.  Oh well.  C'est la vie, I guess...