Earl Grey & Vanilla Bean Birthday Cake

 

It's my mother's birthday again!  My mom loves tea, so I decided to make her a little earl grey cake this year.  Since earl grey is a pretty mild, delicate flavor, I decided to accompany it with a subtle vanilla bean buttercream.

Pear Pie

Ah, winter.  Seattle's color palate is dominated by grey, dark grey, and very dark grey.  Today is the shortest day of the year (fingers crossed that it's not the last day ever).  Sunset is officially at 4:20, but it'll start getting dark by 3:30.  And the endless winter drizzle, which will last until May at least, has begun in earnest.

So...it's absolutely necessary to brighten the winter days with some warm, sticky, delicious pie.  Pear pie is one of my favorites.  I first made it last Christmas instead of the apple pie I usually bake, and, although it's almost blasphemous to say in my family (we really care about pie), I actually prefer pear to apple.

Chai Spice Oatmeal Cookies (In a Jar!)

I decided to make cookie mix for Christmas gifts this year!  I have seen these adorable treats both around the Internet and in grocery stores for a while, and thought it would be fun to try them for a personal, DIY gift.

To give these oatmeal cookies a unique twist, I added chai spices and black tea to the mix for yummy, warm, chai spice oatmeal cookies.