Protein Brownies!

We have something new to share with you!
When one of our customers makes a request for a protein brownie.... you rise to the occasion!

If you or a friend or family member you know, like to stay strict with their diets, or simply want a healthier version of a sweet treat, this is for you! When it all comes down to it, let's be real, we all want healthier versions of our favorite treats without the guilt, right?! Packed with protein powder, cocoa powder, peanut butter and sweetened with real fruit and honey - there really isn't anything bad in here for you! Quite the opposite, actually!

We have more great news! These brownies are a gluten-free and vegetarian option! However, since they do contain honey, they wouldn't be considered vegan. But, I'm betting we could sweeten with maple syrup or coconut sugar, with the same enjoyable results! :) The options for creativity in the kitchen with baking.... are pretty much endless!

So, we hope you are as excited as we are about new goodies .... with more goodies to come in the near future! We have some yummy cupcake flavors coming your way!! Maybe some cookies... I can't say for sure... that would spoil the anticipation! Stay tuned.

Check out the "Cookies & Brownies" page of our website for price and quantity information!

Thanks for supporting our bakery!

Kira and The Sonoran Sweets Tribe

Smash Cake Update

Beloved customers! Hello again! Kira here.

My daughter's birthday was in January.... she turned one. I cried. Who am I kidding? I always cry. Since becoming a mom, I think crying might literally be my new hobby. I'm an emotional mom, what can I say?

However, I'm not here to talk about crying... I'm here to talk about cake! I had in my mind a plan to make my daughter a cake that was more acceptable within my standards for her diet, since I am not your conventional kind of mom. I was not into the idea of buying a cake that was way too sweet, and full of dyes and things I wouldn't eat myself, or serve to my friends. And hey, you know, that's just me, but that's also what Sonoran Sweets is all about. We love sweets, don't get us wrong, but we want them to be basic in their ingredients. Butter, sugar, flour, good. Artificial flavors, food dye, things you can't pronounce, bad. So, I took my time researching and looking into some ways to make a nice cake that wasn't all bad. And, I have not given dairy to my daughter yet, so I needed something that could work within that restriction too!

I'm happy to say, the cake came out great! I just used fruit to sweeten it, so no added sugar beyond what she's already had before. We are talking homemade applesauce, bananas, all that good stuff. And the great news is, applesauce and bananas are really common first foods for babies, so if you have a baby you are taking it slow with (in regards to introducing new foods, especially dairy or wheat) then this can really work for you! I did, however, make my cake out of whole wheat flour. My daughter had been introduced to organic sprouted wheat before her birthday, so I knew she didn't have any negative reactions to it and I decided to try out whole wheat flour for her cake. Add some yummy spices and some eggs and you have yourself a really tasty cake. Actually, I'd really enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee. It made a great breakfast treat because it wasn't sickly sweet. Hey that rhymed.

So, now on to the frosting - since I didn't introduce dairy to my little one before her first birthday, I wasn't interested in experimenting at her party and decided to go with a dairy free, in fact, vegan option, for frosting. This is where things got a little tricky for me. Because I didn't want to add a lot of sugar to the frosting, the frosting base, was too... hmm, greasy, I guess you could say and it was very difficult to decorate, and it wouldn't really set, so it was very easy to accidentally mess up. Like when I was trying to put it in a box that it didn't fit in.... come to find out, after I mess the cake up. This is real deal, behind the scenes of life as a baker, haha. I was able to add some natural pink coloring to it, and made a very basic layered/ruffled look to the cake and called it a day. And in the chaos of preparing for my daughter's first birthday, I forgot to get a proper picture of what the cake even looked like.

So, as of right now, some kinks are still being worked out before we will offer this as a cake to our lovely customers, but it is on the planner, it is in the works, and we are working on creating solid options for moms out there who want to do something a little different for their wee ones.

Thanks for reading!



Kira and The Sonoran Sweets Tribe

Cookie DOUGH

I am pleased to announce, we have a new member of the Sonoran Sweets Family! Not actually human or alive.... hate to disappoint. But it does taste good. Really, really good. :)

It's cookie dough... a cookie dough cupcake in fact! February is a fun time for me, (Kira speaking, by the way... and I do realize I'm posting this in March...) because it's my husband's birthday. Ever since meeting my husband, when we began dating, he has been the one guy that I actually really love to shop for, or do things for. He's easy to please, and he looks good in everything I buy him. Alright, I'll stop. ANYWAYS. He adores cookie dough. He's basically obsessed. So, I thought, hey, let's experiment with a new cupcake, that is devoted to his very favorite sweet treat (other than chocolate ice cream!).

So, without further adieu, let us introduce Mr. Cookie Dough Cupcake! I don't really know why it's a "He" but... just roll with it? He has cookie dough on the inside of a buttery, delightful batter, topped with vanilla icing and yet another piece of cookie dough! There are chocolate chips found throughout and everything about this cupcake is just so YUMMY. If you like an ooey, gooey, chocolate chip cookie, then this is for you, except, it's bigger than most cookies and the batter is literally amazing. So, it's better, that's what I'm saying. I'm obsessed with how the batter came out on this cupcake. It's so buttery and delicious and there aren't a huge amount of chocolate chips, so it has a really cakey, brown sugary, yummy consistency. "Yummy consistency" is a thing, here at Sonoran Sweets, just saying.

This is definitely a sweeter cupcake that we make, right up there with our Prickly Pear cupcake. As to be expected, since cookie dough isn't exactly a savory item. HA! But, we always want to strive to make our goodies edible and enjoyable, because we appreciate the flavors and relationship of ingredients as opposed to simply loading it up with sugar and making you feel like you can only have one bite. That's just sad. I really hate when something looks so good and you take a bite and you're disappointed and can barely force yourself to take another bite because it's already given you a stomach ache from how sweet it is. Nobody likes that. So! The cookie dough cupcake is sweet, but we promise you will want to eat the whole thing, not just one bite!

We very much hope you enjoy this news! We are working hard on creating a delicious menu, one baked good at a time.

Ta-ta for now!

Kira and The Sonoran Sweets Tribe

Smash Cake

Before my daughter was even born, I knew that I was going to be that mom that did everything in her power to breastfeed, make my own baby food and be super strict about what went in my baby's mouth for the first few years. Is that called a crunchy mama or a granola mama? I'm not sure. I try to stray away from the silly labels and just do my thing; that's the best thing to do. As it is, I'm like that with my husband. Ha! Ha! I do the best I can considering budget and sanity, to make all of our meals, send him to work with lunch, and buy all natural and mostly organic groceries (I did mention budget here, so it isn't 100%). I mentioned sanity too, so we do have the occassional junk food or take out. Don't worry, I am still actually human. Yeah, there's plenty of jabs I've received... I am that crazy girl that barely eats junk food and bends over backwards to home cook just about anything, while maintaining a budget. I've even made my own graham crackers because the natural ones are way too expensive for a silly graham cracker and the alternative is bad! But, I truly believe that what you put in your body matters. The more pure it is, the better. The less ingredients, the better. Your body just performs that much better when it's getting the nutrition it requires! Today's lifestyle is all about the rush, and quick and easy meals (which don't end up being good for you, which is really sad) after your exhausting day of being over worked just to make ends meet. I'm not sure what went wrong, but today's lifestyle is kind of ... rough.

So anyway! My daughter is approaching her first birthday at the end of January and I'm already thinking about her first cake. (If you haven't learned yet, I'm a planner.... probably a little obsessive compulsive too.) Like, there is NO WAY she is having a sugary, artificial dye filled birthday cake. They say that once your child turns 1, it's even more important to be careful what you're giving them because this is when the opinions about food really start! Pressure much?! But I don't want to miss out on the oh so fun, first cake experience either... and let's not forget the PHOTOS. (You will learn, if you haven't already, that I am obsessed with capturing photos... Seems like you're going to learn a lot...) Okay, so how can I make this work? How can I give my daughter a fun first birthday, stay within the boundaries of her healthy diet, follow the super fun "Smash Cake" trend, which I love, and give myself the opportunity to take 1,000 photos. A NATURAL SMASH CAKE FROM YOUR VERY OWN SONORAN SWEETS! That's how!!

I'm here to tell you that you can follow the trends while maintaining your baby's healthy diet! And if you're like me and didn't want to introduce dairy, wheat or egg whites, until 1 years old, then here I am to make your life that much easier! By one years old, it's pretty typical that nearly all babies have had bananas, apples, and oatmeal. We will definitely use these in the cake! Plus, what's super awesome about our frosting is that it is naturally dairy free (and delicious!!), plus an actually nutritious base ingredient that contains vitamins AND it's good for the environment too. You're getting excited now, aren't you!? We will just adjust the sugar content and ~voila~ a beautifully decorated cake that is good for your baby too. Ta-da! You can even do a colored cake without any worry, because our colors are all fruit and veggie based. Awesome Sauce!

Stay tuned as more information is updated on our "Cakes & Cupcakes" page for information on Smash Cakes! I hope you're as excited as I am!

Kira and The Sonoran Sweets Tribe

24 Carrots!

So, it's a really beautiful thing to be able to say that Devon and I giggle a lot together. Now, from my (Kira) point of view, I don't laugh that much. I'm not really a serious person... I don't think? But, I am definitely particular, and so is my sense of humor; my funny bone is very preferential. In turn, not much good ol' fashioned, guttural laughing happens on my part. I feel confident enough to say that Devon is not so preferential and actually has a soul, and laughs a great deal in her day to day. BUT, when we are together... we laugh so much, that my husband (who is usually watching my dear daughter, while I bake and giggle, but mostly giggle) gives us "the look" like.... geez you guys are weird. It happens, ya know. So, Kira, get to the point already. No one wants to read a novel and yet you are so good at writing them. 24 carrots! So, as responsible business owners, who are dedicated to their customers, we have to price every little ingredient, every time we try a new recipe out. When we price our items, we aren't just guessing. When it came time to make our zucchini bread, I was fiddling around making the recipe, therefore, I called upon my assistant to price out some items, try to get a couple things done at a time (especially since it was only getting later and we were both losing steam). I needed her to find out how many cups of carrots we could get out of the bag we had. So, I'm doing my thing, and I check back with my dear cousin and my husband is doing the mathematical calculation for us ('cus let's be honest, he's WAY better at it than the two of us) and he's ready for the carrot price. All I remember is my cousin piping up and saying: "24 carrots!" and I'm like "What?!" and thinking to myself there's no way we get 24 cups out of that bag.... and I'm like "24 carrots? What are you talking about?" and my cousin very seriously restated that it took 24 carrots to get a cup! And I'm laughing at this point, I'm laughing as I write this, even.... "Noooo! How many cups in the whole bag, not how many carrots in 1 cup, silly!" Of course, my cousin thinks it's hilarious too, but you can tell she's like "oh man, seriously?!" We proceed to laugh, a lot, a lot... and for the rest of the evening, every once and a while, I call out "24 carrots!" and it remains funny, even to this day.

SO, the point of this story is that we have decided to call our zucchini bread "24 Carrot Bread", which is ironic because the zucchini bread takes one cup of carrots, which is 24 mini carrots AND 24 carat, is indicative of high quality, which fits our zucchini bread, because this zucchini bread is nothing short of grand! Zucchinis, pineapple, carrot, orange juice, spices, zest, walnuts AND golden raisins. Yum. We hope you'll try some.

With love,
Kira and The Sonoran Sweets Tribe

Working, Working

Last night we worked on some new flavors to add to what we offer! We of course have to get on the band wagon with all things pumpkin this time of year, so we have our Pumpkin Spice cupcake! Often when I have pumpkin goodies, it is usually really sweet, with very little of the actual "spice" component. That's not right! Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.... all that good stuff needs to be there for a truly delicious pumpkin spice flavor. That's just what our Pumpkin Spice cupcake achieves! Yum!

Next up, the Marbled Almond, a nice swirl of chocolate and vanilla batter with an almond frosting to create the perfect blend of flavors. The swirl of batter looks so pretty!

Then we tried out hand at a Lemon cupcake. This is one of the favorites at the house. A tart and light frosting to accompany a moist, light lemon, vanilla batter is the perfect pairing. Plus, the candied lemon on the top gives it a little, zesty bite!

Then we worked out a recipe for a tasty chocolate cupcake that mimics the flavor and texture of a brownie (yum) and here's the catch: it's gluten free and vegan, so very enjoyable for those with a restricted diet, either by choice or by necessity!

We hope you will enjoy these as much as we do!

Kira and The Sonoran Sweets Tribe

Logo

This whole logo thing is taking a little longer than we thought. That's probably mostly my (Kira) fault since I really preferred having something personal for our little budding business as opposed to buying the rights to a photo/logo/design already in existence. Well, we are known for having quite a talented family when it comes to art, so we're turning them into our slaves for just a wee bit. Devon and I did try to be artistic.... I blame the weakening gene pool for the lack of the superb artistic skills being passed down that our mothers have.

Stay tuned! Things are moving over here at Sonoran Sweets and we are excited for the up and coming Halloween holiday ... It's my daughter's first Halloween and seems like it will sort of be the kick off for Sonoran Sweets too.... I don't think I've ever been this excited for Halloween, like ever!


Kira and the Sonoran Sweets Tribe