The Peanut Butter to My Jelly

Hi everyone.... it has been FAR TOO LONG- I know.... so for that I am sorry, but I'm back- or well sort of.

I think you will be able to understand why the blog is titled what it is after you read the review from a very amazing human in my life... Here is to yet another experience in our friendship and our undying love for sweets as we were traveling downtown Chicago for work..... Hope you love it <3 xoxo Bridge

I LOVE Dessert. I mean, I LOVE dessert more than anyone you’ve ever met. Like, if there were an “alcoholics anonymous” for dessert lovers – I would be the president/founder/lifetime member. That said, I am also EXTREMELY judgmental of any and all sugary goodness that enters my mouth. The one thing that I honestly could care less about is how the product looks. I have never eaten with my eyes (except for maybe men LOL) and so as long as the texture and flavor are there – I am thrilled to eat ALL the sweets.

I found Firecakes with my (then good friend, now bestie) Bridget (the stunningly beautiful creator of this blog) while attending a work function several years back in downtown Chicago. My typical donut shop mantra is: buy one of everything, take bites out of them all and then eat the ones you can’t live without. Sounds crazy, right? Well, I’m THAT girl. AND, as fate would have it – so is Bridget. Hence the reason why we probably became besties.

Needless to say, I’ve eaten at Firecakes a total of four or five times now and have come to the conclusion that they are, in fact, my most favorite donut shop of all time. Please understand that I keep a list of my top bakeries in all areas (cake, cookies, donuts, pastries, etc…). For most of my life there was a local bakery shoppe from where I attended college that held this prized number one spot. Firecakes has since claimed this top position. OK – on to the donuts already, because that’s why you’re really here – duh. Here’s what I ate - details and all. I should REALLY be one of the hosts of Unique Sweets – in fact, I emailed them and told them. Much to my dismay they disagreed. LOL Also - this particular trip to Firecakes was my favorite (but that’s another story that has nothing to do with donuts).

- Cake donut: White, Vanilla Frosting and Rainbow Sprinkles. This had the PERFECT cake donut texture. Slight bite to the outside and great soft, crumb structure on the inside. The frosting for this selection is spot on – it isn’t too buttercreamy or too glazey. It has the perfect touch of vanilla and compliments the cake flavor perfectly. The sprinkles I could do without but they were pretty and made me smile. - Butterscotch Praline: this is one of those donuts you look at and think – I’m either going to love this or hate it. Here’s the thing: I usually love them all! But seriously – this yeast dough based donut has the most glorious creamy, thick vanilla custard that fills basically each and every bite. The custard has a caramel flavor with the consistency of a homemade pudding. It may glop out onto your lap if you aren’t careful (napkin for this one is a necessity). The glaze on this is more heavenly than anything Krispy Kreme could ever create. It’s got a hint of butterscotch in it and it is as light and airy as the yeast donut it enfolds. To top this off are tiny sparkles of crushed butterscotch. These crunchies do not get stuck in your teeth. PERFECTION. - Peanut Butter &; Jelly: ALL TIME, HANDS DOWN, FAVORITE DONUT EVER. That really just sums it up. I have dreams about this donut and could not WAIT to eat it again. In fact it’s the only one of the donuts I actually ate in its entirety, in the same sitting. This is a rectangular shaped yeast donut. Somehow Firecakes fills it perfectly up and down the center with the most delicious & creamy (not too sweet, not too salty) peanut butter filling and “jelly”-jam. The peanut butter is like half way between a peanut butter frosting and real peanut butter as far as taste goes. But it is much thinner than either of those options as far as texture goes and it pairs perfectly next to the jam in this pillow of heaven donut. Now for the jam: Homemade, raspberry jam with seeds. It is thick and tangy: adding the perfect complement to the richness of the peanut butter filling. What could make this combo better? GLAZE. Glaze makes ALL donuts better. They don’t ruin this with frosting. Just a simple, gorgeous glaze, with hints of vanilla, enrobes this masterpiece. I make love noises when I eat this donut. So did the other person with us; and that was after just one bite. LOL - Old Fashioned Buttermilk Glazed: This one was exactly what you would expect. An exterior with a bite, almost crunchy from the deep fried goodness and then slathered in vanilla glaze. I must note that I thought maybe this one had been fried either too long or that their fry oil wasn’t up to par for this particular selection. I felt like there was oil out into the inner portion of the donut and I don’t like the way that feels in my mouth. I know, way too much detail – but there ya have it folks. I think I had 2 bites of this just to make sure I gave it a fair shot. It was good but I probably won't order it again.

- Vanilla Iced: Last but not least this is a SOLID vanilla donut. I am not a chocolate girl. Weird, know but I have to be in the mood for chocolate and even then it needs to be cold – like, frozen hard cold. Anyways – I LOVE just about anything NOT chocolate. And this yeast based donut is a little heavier than the filled options. It has a perfect bite all throughout and is iced with a beautiful, creamy, ivory vanilla frosting. There is not too much frosting and it is not so sweet that it overpowers the entirety of the donut. The flavors of the dough itself still shine through and really just compliment the frosting. This one is topped off with these tiny little crunchy balls of white goodness. I’m not really certain what they are. I think they are some type of rice crispy type base covered with a light candy coating. The good news is that you won’t break your teeth biting into them and they really do add a nice element of texture to the entire donut. YUM.