Pumpkin and Spice

I'm pretty sure it's a scientific fact that a pina colada is the most summery drink ever created. Icy and frozen, creamy, coconutty with a hint of pineapple, it practically begs to be sipped with your toes in the sand and the sound of crashing waves and rustling palm trees in the background. It's so perfectly tropical, so fantasically summery that it would be next to impossible to beat a freshly blended pina colada...

... Unless you drank your pina colada while eating a pina colada cupcake. For my birthday party, I knew I wanted my birthday cupcakes to be a flavor that would perfectly sum up the Hawaiian Tiki theme- And I knew nothing would fit the bill better than a cupcake that encompassed all the deliciousness of my favorite tropical drink.

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits, especially at breakfast time. As just about anyone who has seen me prior to about 8am can attest, early mornings are not really my "peak hours". I like to keep breakfasts as easy as possible- grinding my own beans for my coffee is about as complicated as my breakfast gets. Usually, I just do a bowl of cereal (Grape Nuts are one of my favorites) with soymilk, coffee and a piece of fruit. Bananas are perfect for breakfast because they're easy to peel (unlike oranges- I'm not that patient in the morning) and easy to eat (unlike, say, apples... I'm like the slowest apple-eater ever.)

Of course, everyone has their own idea of when bananas are at the perfect ripeness. Kyle likes his pretty green, whereas I prefer my with brown speckles. Usually this works out well, because I buy a bunch of green bananas. Kyle eats the bananas when they're green, and as they turn brown, I eat what's left. Sometimes, though, Kyle leaves me with too many bananas to eat before they go mushy and black. I hate to throw them away, so sometimes I freeze them for smoothies, but, of course, the classic standby for squashy bananas is banana bread.

For some reason, lately I've been craving coconut macaroons. I love them so much, but I really feel like they're an underrated cookie. Maybe it's the coconut. People seem to be either on the "love it" or "hate it" side of the coconut line- there is rarely middle ground.

Personally, I love it! I'm especially fond of Mounds bars. (I like Almond Joy, too, but I prefer the chocolate-coconut equation sans nut.) So, when I decided to make macaroons, I decided to add a Mounds-inspired touch and include some dark chocolate. Specifically very dark chocolate ganache.