Sweet Escape

Desserts are my downfall.

Everyone has one of those - you know, one type of food that you just can't say "no" to, no matter how hard you try. One type of food that immediately catches your eye when you enter a room where it is already a resident. One type of food that makes you drool and your pupils dilate immediately upon discovery...

...ok, it sounds like I am talking about drugs, not food, and that makes me sound a tad crazy (I am not ADDICTED to dessert, I assure you - close, but not quite) but you know what I'm saying!

Some people are inherently attracted to salty or savoury foods, and some crave sweets and I am firmly in the latter camp. Speaking of which, isn't that a strange phenomenon? Meaning the things that different people crave? Even people who are related by blood and very close emotionally (like, say, me and my mother) can have completely different food preferences. She is attracted to salty foods and I am attracted to sweet. But my grandmother has a sweet tooth too...I just find it all very fascinating! Humans sure are weird and wonderful creatures.

Anyhoo, pretty much anything sweet is pretty much my favourite thing to eat. Brownies, cake, cookies, squares, I love them all! Although I am particularly attracted to chocolate things. Have you ever had a whoopie pie? My mom has made these since I was a kid and they are amazing! Like a giant, soft oreo cookie.

Via

OHMYDEARGODYUM. Uh oh, I think I have started something dangerous (the drool is starting to form)...

Beyond the taste, there is something that is rather nostalgic and romantic about desserts. For some reason they remind me of being a kid and things like birthdays, parties, visits to my friends houses for fresh cookies, walks to the local corner store to buy penny candy (no, I didn't grow up in the '50's!! I'm only 26!! I just actually, ya know, went OUTDOORS when I was a kid. I didn't have myriad electronics to keep me busy, unlike kids today *endrant*).

Biting into a piece of cake or a brownie connects you to a simpler time, a time before fad diets and processed meals and hyper-scheduling. It's comforting and a reminder that life should be enjoyed, not worried about. Desserts are about celebrating - think about it, when do you often eat desserts? At parties and celebrations! Weddings, barbeques, showers, birthday parties, etc; i.e. occasions when people come together to laugh, relax and appreciate each other.

Ok, maybe I'm placing too much emotional weight on something so small, but I can't help how I feel. Maybe that is part of the reason I enjoy eating desserts so much - they not only satisfy my taste buds, but they connect me back to the romantic and celebratory in life. This is something we could all stand to do more often (though in moderation, of course - as wonderful as desserts are, too many of them can drastically alter your waistline in ever-horrifying ways). Desserts are fun, and we all need to remember to have fun once in a while.

I recently discovered a great blog called Big Girls, Small Kitchen, which is all about providing tips for 20-somethings to cook easily and inexpensively at home and have fun doing it. This post the other day had me drooling all over my keyboard.

Brownie Pie - I mean, seriously, come on!! How could you NOT drool over this photo?! And, furthermore, why have I never before seen or heard of Brownie Pie?! It's a genius idea!

This recipe is from another food blogger, Cake Spy. You need to start following this blog now if you aren't already, and if you like sweets and pink things, and just awesomely cute things in general (and really if you don't, I'm sorry to say you just suck...and you're weird. Harsh but true, IMHO).

Another great blog to follow to get your sweet fix is Bakerella. She is known for her Cake Pops, but posts about many sweet recipes on her blog, as well as other sweet life tidbits. For example, her mom is donating her kidney to her, I recently read! It doesn't get any sweeter than that!

Ok, I spoke too soon.

One of my favourite sweets in the entire world is a cupcake. Really, there are not many things in this world that make me happier and more excited than a cupcake. I don't know what it is - they are just so darn cute (perhaps because I'm a midget, I am attracted to mini things?), they usually have a lot of icing on them, and they are just the right size for a treat. There are so many possibilities for them too! There are dozens of cupcake shops out there nowadays and they all put out their own sweet spin on this classic dessert, and judging by the number of baking shows that are on tv nowadays, cupcakes are quite trendy.

Georgetown Cupcake

The Cupcake Girls

I'm not going to lie I kind of love watching shows like this, even though they are often silly and seem scripted. I just can't look away. It's even the same with Cake Boss, and half they time he really annoys me.

I just can't quit the sugar. 

For the best cupcakes though, I have to give props to local fav Susie's Shortbreads. 

God, I love that place. I'm like a kid in a cupcake shop when I go in there (literally). Speaking of which, I am looking forward to this show very much. Ummmm, best job EVER?!?! I think so.

Via. Two? Make it three, I'm not driving. 

Now, if you will excuse me, all this talk of sweets has got me craving a snack so you know what that means! That's right, time to grab those carrots and grapes from the fridge and chow down. No, really. Lets just say that doing what I ACTUALLY want to do at this point would not be very lady-like.

What kinds of foods do you crave? Do you watch food shows, if so, which ones? Time to put your neuroses right out there for everyone to read!