Dear Mimi,
I know it’s been a while since I’ve done some baking, but with the swing of the holiday spirit, I was craving some frosted sugar cookies!
In middle school, the cafeteria used to sell these soft chewy sugar cookies with icing and colored sugar on top. They were so good and since I can’t back to 6th grade (but let’s be honest, who would want to?), I decided to recreate them myself!
Dear Mimi,
I opened up an Etsy shop! Super exciting right?! FYI, if you don’t know what an Etsy is, it’s an online website where people can sell their homemade items.
How did I get into this you may ask? Well, remember my ingredient jars? I started giving them out to people as gifts and my best friend suggested I sell them. I thought about it and that was it! My shop is now live and it even has a cute little logo that I designed myself! (*⌒▽⌒*)
Pickled because the desserts come in a jar, not because I have actually pickled them. Ok, glad we clarified that haha.
Anywho, here is the link! https://www.etsy.com/shop/PickledDesserts?ref=hdr_shop_menu
And to top it off, I’m giving 25% off to the first 25 customers as a grand opening sale! Just use the code “PDGRANDOPENING“.
So why did I decide to do this? First off, it would give me something exciting to do in my free time. I love making these jars because a) I love desserts and b) I love cute gifts, and c) these jars combine points a) & b). Secondly, most people out there are only putting cookie recipes in their jars, and while I do enjoy cookies quite a bit, why leave other desserts out? So, I have decided to fill them with a variety of desserts, from cakes/cupcakes, to brownies, to bars, and of course, cookies.
AAAAAAAND I also have patterned jars! These jars are more decorative and fancy, and unfortunately I only have a limited number. Perfect for a more special event!
Even though it’s scary at first Mimi, you have to take chances. Right now, I don’t know how this will end up, and when I first thought about it, I had no idea how to do any of this: marketing, shipping, starting an Etsy, making a logo, nor had I ever thought about it. But sometimes, you just gotta tell yourself to ‘go for it’, and who knows? It might be great or it might be a flop. But, if it gets you excited to wake up everyday and do the work, do it. Either way, it makes life a little more interesting, and heck, an even better story to tell.
Love,
Didi
Create the life you can’t wait to wake up to. ~Josie Spinardi
Dear Mimi,
Here is what I had for dessert today.
Oatmeal Cinnamon Apple Crisp Topped with Vanilla Ice Cream and a Butterscotch Caramel Drizzle
After one of my friends dropped off some of this homemade apple crisp and told me she ate it with ice cream, I just HAD to try it myself. And you can imagine just how delectable this was. ヽ(^。^)ノ
Naturally, I asked her for the recipe and here we are. Continue reading
Dear Mimi,
With the fall season upon us, it’s time for vanilla cinnamon scents, colorful leaves, warm sweaters, and apple pie (of course you already know how much I love this stuff, and if for some reason you still don’t, you can read that in the “Who Is Didi” section).
Anyways, so this year I FINALLY went apple picking for the first time! Of course I wanted it to be all autumn-y and crisp and I wore my sweater, but it ended up being 80°F out, so you know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But I wasn’t gonna let that stop me!
It was actually kind of difficult at first since most of the apples were less than edible on the trees, but after about 2 hours and 1 pound of sweat, we finally filled up 1 peck of apples! (Please don’t ask me what the exact measurement of a peck is, I have no idea).
Now what to do with all these apples? You already know I’m gonna make me some apple pie ^.^
Original Recipe from Pillsbury (for the filling) and I made the crumble myself!
Dear Mimi,
So recently (aka for the last 2-3 years), mason jars have been all the rage. And since I am late to practically all the ~*trendz*~, I am just getting into them now and they are preeetty darn cute. Plus, ever since I switched to glass water bottles 3 years ago, I love anything glass; one of my (many) weaknesses.
The other day, one of my dear friends dropped off some coffee for me (remember what I said about my weaknesses) and I had to repay the favor, obviously. That is how you do friendship, Mimi. Instead of going out and doing the same thing though, I thought I would do something a little more personal and fun. I had seen this idea floating around and since I have had quite the baking craze lately, it seemed like a great and easy gift!
I used the chocolate chip cookies recipe for this, but substituted caramel chips for the chocolate chips, and both light and dark brown sugars.
The idea behind these is simple. You fill the jar with all the dry ingredients needed to make some sort of dessert, usually cookies or brownies, and the receiver will add the remaining ingredients and make the dessert. Most of the ingredients you will need the fill the jars are essentially the same, so it’s super uncomplicated to make, and it’s fun for the person you give it to as they get to bake some homemade desserts! Plus, it looks so elegant and chic and, they get a jar to use afterward! Continue reading
Dear Mimi, Love Didi 