A Message to DemonTHON

I remember the first time I got asked to participate in DePaul’s DemonTHON. I was a sophomore, and Gilly’s was less than 6 months old. I received an email asking me to donate some treats and I was so excited. There was just one problem. The event was taking place during my sister’s graduation. I pushed my scheduling worries aside and accepted the challenged. 350 cake pops and 100-something ribbon cookies. I could do this.

I’m going to be honest, it was a challenge. At that time, I had completed some of the hardest baking orders that I had experienced. I was tired, I was divulged in school work and a social life, and it was a lot. When calculated it took over 48 hours to do all the sweets. But once I saw how appreciative DemonTHON was, it didn’t matter.

Time went on and suddenly I found myself again being asked to do some treats for DemonTHON. I said yes, but under one condition, no cake pops. Now my kitchen was smaller, space was limited, and I had a newer job, and more responsibilities. So we settled with 2 9x13 cakes. My back and feet thanked me, and so did my time.

Now, 2015, I get an email from Teresa, like I have for the past two years. Obviously I was doing DemonTHON, just no cake pops. This year, we continued with the 2 9x13 cakes. One as a general DemonTHON cake, and one commemorating their fourth year at the university. Simple and sweet.

Developing an identity at DePaul has always been a real goal of mine. One of my favorite passions is meeting new people, and fostering those connections. I feel as if DemonTHON was one of those connections I would have never found anywhere else. The entire coordinators, dancers, families, etc. of DemonTHON are simply some of the nicest, most dedicated humans I have ever met. Continuing a tradition of cake donation has been a distinct honor for me and I truly cannot thank the organization enough. So, again, I thank you DemonTHON for choosing Gilly’s.

Here’s to next year!

                                                -Gilly 

Mint-Lemon Sorbet

Chicago, I love you. However, I don’t like it when you tease me with sun, warm weather, and birds chirping…only to take it away two days later. Seriously, what is madness? When I was moving to Chicago, snarky people would always be like “ugh the weather there is awful,” and it never really influenced my opinion. I have a home, I have heat and food, I can survive 5 minutes outside in the cold, and it’s not that terrible. While I feel like my blood has adapted to endure -50 degrees, for some reason today, I simply cannot handle it.

Last week, we were in the 70’s and I was pleasant. I got this amazing idea to start transitioning into making and mastering ice creams and enjoy my cold treats for the warm days ahead. Chicago was like, ha, not so fast, let me dump rain, wind and cold all over your pleasantness. So here I am, in freezing weather, trying to eat ice cream and sorbet while my bones chill from the inside out. Yikes.

I was in the zone with my KitchenAid ice cream attachment. Although I was hesitant to make more cold treats, I went for it. Specifically, I went for sorbet.

To be honest, I am not the biggest sorbet fan. It’s always a little too cold for my teeth. However, what I do like, is that it takes significantly less time than making ice cream. I don’t have to temper egg yolks, or milk a cow for whole milk. It’s easier on the bank of Gilly. I decided to try it.

Fun fact about me, I love lemons. They’re always in my water, I always have at least 5 handy. They’re my citrus of choice. So, making a lemon sorbet seemed kind of obvious to myself. I was browsing my baking book of choice, which I feel like I mention every other day, Joy the Baker’s Homemade Decadence, because right now, it’s just the best baking book for my needs. Her recipe for a lemon-mint sorbet simply screamed my name, and when my friend Elizabeth and I were at Whole Foods, I bought a 5-pound bag of lemons for my endeavor.

To begin, make sure your ice cream machine is chilled for at least 15-hours. Don’t skip this.

Take your lemons and juice them until you have 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. If you don’t want to juice your own lemons, you can buy the Realemon juice that they sell everywhere. I simply couldn’t find it this time around. I saved the halved lemons to use a serving bowl for my treats.

Next, take 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil on medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and mix in ½ cup of mint leaves. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

Using a strainer, pour the syrup into a medium bowl, discarding the mint leaves. Mix in the lemon juice, teaspoon of vodka (I used Pisco) and lemon zest. Mix together well and pour into a bowl or pitcher and place in the fridge for an hour.

When ready to churn, follow your manufacturer’s guide. Freeze the sorbet for at least 2 hours. I froze mine overnight. Enjoy!

In my opinion, I loved this recipe. It was refreshing and tangy. I think I would prefer to make a chill with it (soda water and sorbet) and have as a drink. Highly recommend this recipe!

Mint-Lemonade Sorbet
recipe by Joy the Baker, “Homemade Decadence”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• Handful, about ½ cup of fresh mint leaves
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vodka
• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest

Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine 1 cup of water with the sugar. Cook, stirring, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mint leaves, stir, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain the syrup, discarding the mint leaves. Stir in the lemon juice, vodka, and zest. Pour the mixture into a pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled, about an hour.
2. Churn the mixture according to manufacturer’s instructions. The sorbet will be about the consistency of thick (though icy) pudding. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. 
   

Sunday's are for Ice Cream

I like to think that I can conquer any challenge I set my mind to, especially baking. When I started baking, truth be told, I was not the best. My cakes were horrendously lopsided and dry, and my cookies would always burn at the bottom. In many cases, this can discourage people from ever picking up a whisk again.

But not me.

I bought a cake leveler to turn those lopsided cakes straight, and lowered my oven temp for softer cakes. I invested in parchment paper and then my cookies were amazing. I dominated.

Then there was ice cream.

For Christmas two years ago, I mentioned to my step-dad that I always wanted to make homemade ice cream didn’t have the resources for it. After I opened all my presents one Christmas morning, which included cupcake liners, whisks, metal bowls (the works), he presented me with the KitchenAid ice cream attachment and I was so excited. I read about ice cream all day and night, I didn’t care if it was the middle of December. When I got back to Chicago, I felt ready. I felt like, yes this I can handle, I know how this works.

I was wrong.

The first time I attempted a simple vanilla ice cream, it became just frozen cream. I analyzed it, and was intrigued on what I did wrong. So I back-peddled and realized I didn’t have enough cream. Mistake 1. Then I realized I didn’t let the custard cool after I cooked it. Mistake 2. Needless to say, there were 10 mistakes that contributed to Fail #1.

So, when I tried to make Oreo ice cream I had my mistakes handy. I let the custard cool, my KitchenAid was frigid, and I had the yolks, cream, whatever. Still didn’t work. Fail #2. However, it was a huge improvement from the first try.

Now, present time, here I am, with a recipe in front of me, memorizing it. So much so that I would triple check everything. I can do this, I can do this, third time’s the charm. I was pepping myself up and honestly, it worked.

I made ice cream! AH I made ice cream! I was so excited. I was so excited that I accidentally forgot to mix in the chocolate chips, but who cared it worked!

I froze my mixture overnight and when I photographed and ate it in the morning I was surprised. Obviously, it wasn’t as good as Ben & Jerry’s and I’m accepting that homemade ice cream might have a crystalized undertone to it. I just really didn’t care though, I made ice cream.

Unlike most recipes where I’m all-encouraging, I’m going to admit I think making ice cream can be difficult. You really need to pay attention and make sure you have all the resources. For some, it may be nothing. For me, it took three tries. You’re never going to know until you try it yourself.

This recipe comes from Joy The Baker’s Homemade Decadence, and an earlier version can be found on her website joythebaker.com. Seriously, her site is the best and her book is even better. Highly highly recommend.

The ice cream is a Cookie No-Dough. Basically ice cream that tastes like cookie dough. It’s amazing. Usually, I try to walk through the recipe step by step, but I’m going to just leave it to Joy to do so.

Good luck!

Cookie No-Dough Ice Cream

Recipe from Joy The Baker’s “Homemade Decadence” (pg. 246)

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 4 ounces chopped dark chocolate

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Cook until it starts to crackle and sizzle, about 3 minutes. Continue cooking until the butter begins to smell nutty and there are little brown speckles on the bottom of the pan, about 2 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour the brown butter into a small bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar and salt until the mixture is slightly paler and thick, about 3 minutes.
3. In a medium saucepan combine the cream, milk and brown butter. Cook until steaming and almost boiling, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour the cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap touches the ice cream mixture. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until chilled through.
4. Churn based on manufacturers instructions. During the last minute, add the chocolate chunks. Transfer to freezer safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Classic Brownies

Once upon a time, a young adult named Keryn had free time. It was glorious. But that dream is no longer. For the past week weeks I’ve been playing catch-up and my baking has been overlooked. Although I have a plethora of orders coming up, I have been completely divulged into school, work, making sure I get in a 60 minute walk, losing my kindle and buying a new one, and cutting off half of my hair (I got a lob aka “long bob” and I LOVE it).

Although my days have been jam packed, there is always a time to whip up some brownies.

See, I am a brownies spokesperson. I think they’re the quickest, most versatile, and scrumptious desserts out there. Can really anyone do wrong by showing up with brownies? No.

I’ve made a lot of brownie recipes. Regular amped-up box recipes, vegan recipes, mug brownies…you name a brownie, I’ve attempted it. I do have my favorite recipes that I recommend all the time, however this time when I was preparing I realized I had a problem. I was out of cocoa powder. No!

The one thing in my life that is semi-organized is my baking cabinet. I have a list of inventory, what products I have, where they we

re purchased, how much, etc. While it’s not always orderly, I know in my organized chaos where everything is. Which is why I was so angry when I realized my cocoa powder was gone. I usually have 2-3 boxes (I use a lot of cocoa powder) handy and I was shocked I used it up.

So, I needed a recipe sans powder. Simple.

What constitutes a “good” brownie? That’s entirely up for personal opinion. I like mine to taste like pure fudge and batter, and some prefer a cakey-taste. I would fight for the edge piece, and others want the center. It’s completely subjective. In this case, all I was looking for was something warm and chocolatey in my mouth.

I found this recipe from Jessica in the Kitchen and I was not disappointed. If I’m being honest with myself, I will accept that I ate 75% of the tray within a course of 2 days. Don’t judge me! It was a hectic week. I shared the other 25%.

To begin the brownies, sift in your dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking soda. Put aside.

Melt the 1 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave for 30-second intervals until it’s silky

Whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar and water in a separate bowl. To be honest, if I were to remake this recipe, I would switch the water with milk. Combine for 2 minutes using a whisk and then add the vanilla extract. To make my brownies extra chocolatey, I used chocolate extract from my favorite spice shop.

Next, drizzle in the melted chocolate into the wet mixtures and mix gently. Add in the dry ingredients and mix using a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined. Add in chocolate chips or other mix-ins. Try the batter because it’s amazing.

Pour the batter into an 8x8 pan and bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Let cool and eat!

Classic, Chewy Fudgy Brownies

recipe from Jessica in the Kitchen

Ingredients

• ¾ cup flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons water or milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chocolate chips, melted
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Melt chocolate chips in microwave for a minute, stirring after to see if chips have melted. If not, microwave in increments of 30 seconds until completely melted.
3. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, add the eggs, sugar and oil and mix until combined for about 2 minutes. Add the water and the vanilla extract. Add to the dry mixture to the wet mixture and melted chocolate chips and stir for about 3 minutes until combined.
5. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
6. Pour into a greased, parchment lined, or a greased foil-lined 8x8 square pan. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. When finished, remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Tangy Key Lime Bars with Gingersnap Crust

In terms of dessert shape, I really enjoy bars. I think they’re super easy to eat, quick to split (if you’re considering sharing), and they’re easy to photograph. Maybe it has to do with my attraction to square-shaped things. Back when I worked in a candy store, I would always eat the square candies. Whether that was the caramels or lime filled soft-centers, I enjoyed the rectangle/square shape so much more.

When I started Sarah and Evan’s anniversary order, which you can read about here, I suggested doing some key-lime bars. Previous orders for Sarah and Evan consisted of some sort of key-lime cheesecake, so I figured converting the classic recipe I use would be easy.

Key-lime cheesecake in my opinion, reigns as the easiest cheesecake on the planet. Seriously, I don’t think that there’s anything easier. If you’re new to baking cheesecake, I highly suggest you dip your toes into the key-lime, you won’t be disappointed. You can try baking in a traditional pie pan or convert over into a square pan for bars.

The recipe used comes from Tao of Nom and it’s delicious. Unlike previous recipes, these bars do not have a graham cracker crust. While that is traditionally what is used in the recipe, I used the suggestion of a gingersnap crust. The gingersnaps were actually gluten-free from Trader Joe’s. Initially, I was nervous about the crust because I was unsure if the snaps would give the crunch that a graham cracker typically brings, but I think they were successful. Really you can use any cookie of your liking!

To make the bars, begin by making the crust. If you have a food processor, pulse the cookie of your liking until it’s a fine crumb. If you don’t have a food processor and did not buy your cookie pre-grinded, place cookies in a Ziploc bag and take a rolling pin and roll until the cookies are crushed. This will take patience and time.

Once crushed, mix with butter and light brown sugar using a fork. Press into a parchment or tin foiled lined pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the crust is baking, make the filling. Simply take cream cheese and lime zest and mix together until creamy. During this time, I try to eliminate any cream cheese chunks by pressing them with a rubber spatula. Add the sweetened and condensed milk and mix until all lumps are gone. Add the egg yolk and juice and whisk until incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan after it’s out of the oven.

Smooth the filling with a spatula and bake at 325 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Let cool, and then place into the fridge to chill.

When ready to serve, cut into bars and enjoy! Simple, right?

Key Lime Pie Bars

recipe from Tao of Nao, Matthew Cetta

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 5 ounces gingersnaps
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled slightly

For the Filling:

• 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup Key lime juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing the extra foil to hang over the edges of the pan.

For the Crust:

1. Pulse the gingersnaps in a food processor into fine crumbs.
2. Add the brown sugar and pulse again to incorporate.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave and let it cool for a minute. Then drizzle it into the food processor and pulse about 10 times. The crumbs should be evenly moistened.
4. Spread the crumb mixture and press evenly in the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Make the Filling:

1. While the crust is baking, stir the cream cheese and the lime zest together in a medium bowl.
2. Add the condensed milk and whisk until all the lumps are gone.
3. Whisk in the yolk.
4. Gently whisk in the key lime juice.
5. Pour the filling into the crust and smooth it out with a silicone spatula. Bake until the filling sets and edges begin to separate from the pan, about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Let cool on a wire rack for about an hour. Then cover, and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
7. To serve, run a knife around the edges and use the foil to lift the whole thing out of the pan. Peel the foil off and cut it into 16 equal pieces. If you like, garnish with powdered sugar.

The Bombs

I’ll admit it, I’ve been lazy.

Two weeks ago, I was on a roll. I was divulged in finals work, I was writing and baking non-stop and my bedroom was surprisingly clean. I was like the Energizer Bunny on crack. Then I went on vacation. Sweet vacation. I swore while lying on the beach I would write about s’mores. I argued while drinking a strawberry daiquiri that I would finish editing my cheesecake photos. Well, I lied. I did none of that. In fact, I forgot about it all entirely.

When I returned from vacation, during my downtime at work, I didn’t write. Instead I read about Zayn leaving One Direction, or Buzzfeed articles about lasagna. I figured I needed a break and I treated myself to it.

Today is the start of my last quarter as an undergraduate and I couldn’t feel more motivated to write. My personal challenge is to cover all the sweets I’ve been baking up, but I don’t know how realistic that is considering I get distracted easily. But, right now, I’ve got my Enya blasting and I’m ready to write about s’mores.

Most of friends could tell you that I am a s’more addict. No matter the time of the year, I will always eat a s’more. I have mastered the microwave s’more, the broiled s’more, the baked s’more, literally any s’more possibility I’ve tried. My passion for s’mores has extended into many Gilly items being s’more theme, or at least drafted as so.

The following recipe derived from Sarah and Evan’s anniversary order, which you can read about here. When Sarah contacted me about her anniversary, we decided to go with mini s’more tarts. So all week I kept saying oh yeah s’more tarts, blah blah chocolate. I was wrong. I was so delightfully wrong.

These were not s’more tarts. They were bombs. S’more bombs of joy.

I should have realized. I mean, I used a muffin pan! This recipe comes from Love & Olive Oil. While she used a mini-muffin pan, I went straight for the big boys. I started this recipe by making the crust which was a simple graham cracker crust. I pulsed some honey-graham crackers from Trader Joes and mixed with some cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter and pressed into the muffin pan with paper liners. I used a shot glass (classy) to press the crust firmly in the cups. I baked them for 5-6 minutes, or until they started to brown.

Then I made the ganache, or filling. This recipe called for 12oz of milk and 12oz of dark chocolate. I used my faithful Trader Joes “Pound Plus” bars because they are awesome. The recipe also calls for 1 cup of heavy cream. Basically, on a low heat, add the cream and chocolate and stir. I usually let it rest for a few minutes and then take my wooden spoon and just mix until it is one creamy mixture. Once mixed, add the ganache to the cups. I did this by pouring straight from the saucepan, but if that seems too intimidating you can use a piping bag, a ¼ cup measurer or simply a spoon!

After that, place the pan into the refrigerator for at least an hour. During this time, I cleaned my dishes and poured whatever leftover ganache I had into a mason jar to keep as a hot-fudge sauce. I also scraped the bowl for leftover chocolate and had myself a merry ol’ time.

Next was the marshmallow top. I understand that making your own marshmallow can seem intimidating. But it really isn’t! It’s quite fun and when you see your finished product you will feel so accomplished. I highly encourage you try this out, but if you don’t want to, that’s cool!

To make the marshmallow topping you will need the following things, 1. One packet of unflavored gelatin, 2. Cold water, 3. Granulated sugar, 4. Corn syrup, 5. Vanilla, and 6. A candy thermometer.

To begin, placed ¼ cup of water into a glass bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Take the sugar, ¼ cup of water, ¼ cup of corn syrup and place into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Place the remaining corn syrup in your mixture and heat up the glass bowl of gelatin/water in the microwave for 10 seconds, or until it’s melted. Add to the mixer. Drizzle in the sugar from the saucepan and increase the mixer to medium-high and mix for five minutes. After 5 minutes, add the vanilla and beat on the highest speed for another 5 minutes until the mixture is glossy and tripled in volume.

If you do not want to make your own marshmallow topping, take some marshmallow fluff and dollop onto the liners.

Immediately add to a piping bag and pipe in circles over the liners. Allow to set for 30 minutes at room temperature. Toast the marshmallows with a kitchen torch or using your ovens broiler.

Allow the bombs to set for at least 30 more minutes…if you can wait that long.

When I took a bite of these bombs, delight exploded into my mouth. The center is so soft, the topping is sticky and the crust is crunchy. It was the perfect combination. When I let the chocolate harden, the center became like a giant thick candy bar and I was even happier. I ended up heating up some leftovers to get a melty center. Delicious!

Check out the recipe by Love & Olive Oil.

S'Mores Bombs
recipe adapted from Love & Olive Oil
Ingredients:

For Crust:

• 1/2 box (12 cookies) graham crackers, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For Chocolate Layer:

• 12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream

For Marshmallow Topping:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from 1 packet)
• 1/2 cup cold water, divided
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 24-count mini cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. To prepare crust, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add butter and stir with a fork until mixture resembles wet sand. Firmly press 1/2 tablespoon of crumb mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup (tip: a standard size shot glass is the perfect size for this task, and makes it much less tedious than using your fingers). Bake crusts for 4 to 5 minutes or until set. Let cool.
3. Combine chopped chocolates and cream in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Divide chocolate mixture among cups, filling each one almost to the top. Tap pans gently on the counter to remove air bubbles and level surface. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour or overnight.
4. To prepare marshmallow topping, place 1/4 cup cold water in a small dish. Sprinkle gelatin over and let sit for 5 minutes to soften.
5. Combine sugar, remaining 1/4 cup water, and 1/4 cup corn syrup in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, and boil until mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
6. Place remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer. Microwave gelatin mixture on high for 5 to 10 seconds or until completely melted, then add to bowl with corn syrup. Turn mixer to low speed, and slowly drizzle in hot sugar syrup. When all the syrup has been added, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and mix for 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat on the highest speed for another 5 minutes, until marshmallow is opaque, glossy, and tripled in volume.
7. Transfer marshmallow to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe heaping dollops of marshmallow onto each tart. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the marshmallow to set, then gently toast marshmallow with a kitchen torch, or place under the broiler for a few seconds until golden brown (be careful not to set the papers on fire). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to firm up again. While tarts are best enjoyed the day they are made, they will keep perfectly fine in the refrigerator for up to two days.

The Two Most Loyal Customers

Flashback to 2013. It’s March and Gilly’s was only 5 months old. I was still learning exactly what I wanted to do with Gilly’s and was kind of floating around ideas.

Then Sarah messaged me. She was asking if I could make a platter of treats for her second anniversary. I happily accepted and went full-force. For their anniversary, I made a mini-lemon cheesecake, chocolate cupcakes with individual fruit frosting, and salted caramel cake pops.

Then, March 2014 came, Sarah asked me again if I would do the honors of baking her and Evan’s third year anniversary desserts. Again, I happily obliged. This time it was mini key lime cheesecakes, s’more cupcakes and the self-proclaimed “Gilly Bars”.

Later that year, Sarah asked me to donate some treats to her sorority Alpha Xi Delta for their annual “Puzzlepalooza” a puzzle competition to raise awareness for Autism. Again, I was so excited. I made over 500 mini-cupcakes to serve and the women that assisted me were simply fabulous.

Now, here we are in 2015, and I completed Sarah and Evan’s fourth year anniversary treats.

In the history of loyal customers, Sarah and Evan are numbers 1 and 2. Every year, I cannot express how much I value their business and the ideas that they help inspire for Gilly’s. This year, Sarah and Evan requested some more key lime cheesecakes, some sort of s’more treat, and something with chocolate and bacon.

You can check out the recipes that are posted below. 

Chocolate Bourbon Cupcakes with Maple Frosting topped with Candied Bacon

"Joy the Baker's" Apple Pie with Bacon Cheddar Crust

S'more Bombs

Again, to Sarah and Evan, thank you.