From the monthly archives:

December 2009

Dear Future Joy the Baker,

December 29, 2009

Pin it Dear Future Joy, Once upon a time, probably a good handful of years ago, you took yourself on vacation. This was at a time before you had kids or a husband. When you would treat yourself to the expensive shampoo and conditioner. When you were convinced that only super rich people get [...]

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Blackberry Granita with Whipped Cream

December 27, 2009

Pin it Let me lay out some facts for you: My bed has an electric blanket on it this winter. My fears of spontaneous combustion are usurped by my complete inability to actually get out of my warm bed. Yes… I’m totally writing this from bed. Try and stop me. This cozy just won’t quit. [...]

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Merry Christmas

December 24, 2009

Pin it Merry Christmas from me to you. I hope Santa brings you peace and love, a KitchenAid mixer and a dishwasher… and a kitten.

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Honey Cranberry Cornmeal Quick Bread

December 21, 2009

Pin it I just stepped into my kitchen, turned on the light and was greeted by a massive amount of dirty dishes… not to mention a random stick of butter I left out this morning. I walked across the way to the dining room table to find all of the half addressed holiday cards I [...]

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Peppermint Meringues

December 20, 2009

Pin it What are you up to on this fine Sunday? Holiday shopping? Holiday partying? Trying to find a pair of pantyhose without a run in them? Yea… me too. I thought I’d pop in and remind you of these little peppermint gems. They’re light. They’re beautiful and festive. You can put them in the [...]

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Eggnog (without Eggnog) Pancakes

December 16, 2009

Pin it Eggnog Pancakes with a slight hitch. Eggnog Pancakes without the Eggnog. You should know that I’m going to capitalize Eggnog in this here post. If that bothers you…. apologies. My Grandfather is the first person to pull a carton of grocery store branded Eggnog out of the refrigerator every year about this time. [...]

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Regifting Winners!

December 16, 2009

Pin it You are just the most lovely people ever. I’m so glad you’re out there in the world! Reading through your best holiday gift comments totally put a smile on my face. Who knew you all were so charming and touching and genuine and humble and all around rad!? I knew… I totally [...]

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Sea Salt and Poppy Seed Crackers

December 14, 2009

Pin it Here are a list of questions I think might be running through your head right now. Well… I like to flatter myself by thinking that these questions might be running through your head. It’s a self-involved delusion . I know you have better things to worry about. Also included here are the answer [...]

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Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

December 12, 2009

Pin it I’m dusting this recipe off, shining it up and throwing it in your general direction. It would just be a shame for these cookies to languish in the Joy the Baker archives when they absolutely must be included in your holiday baking. Let’s make a deal. You jump in the kitchen and throw [...]

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Gifting and Regifting: The Giveaway

December 11, 2009

Pin it I’m a regifter. Yep. Please reserve your judgement. This is about to get interesting. See… I’ve been given all sorts of gifts this year. From two blogger conferences, I’ve amassed enough kitchen supplies to equip a small army of chefs. The good news is that I want to share all of [...]

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Lemon Glazed Spice Cake with Whipped Cream

December 9, 2009

Pin it I sometimes daydream about spending a day holding a sign, perched on some sort of stoop at the base of a freeway off ramp. Totally random daydream, right? My daydream sign holding isn’t about begging for money or protesting a cause. No. My signs are much more silly and benign. In my daydream [...]

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Big Fat Bolognese Sauce with Fresh Pasta

December 6, 2009

Pin it Remember a few months back when I made fresh pasta? Were we friends then? I made fresh pasta at the tail end of summer this year. I wore a snazzy red apron. I got my hands dirty. I walked around the house showing off my ball of dough to anyone who would pay [...]

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Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

December 3, 2009

Pin it There are things I allow myself to buy… things like new jeans, the occasional pair of fancypants shoes, milk, butter, frozen yogurt and a bottle of chocolate syrup. Ok… to be honest, I allow myself to buy a lot of things. There are things that I do not, under any circumstances, allow myself [...]

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Joy the Baker Handmade Aprons

December 1, 2009

Pin it Aprons. Aprons. ApronsApronsAprons! We made aprons. We bought the fabric. We cut the patterns. We sewed and stitched and sewed and stitched and sewed and stitched about a million (ok… just fifty) times over. Maybe ‘we’ is a bit too liberal. My darling and most talented mother made each and every one of [...]

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