Nuts for Pecans

I've recently realized the pecans are not common nuts. To those who've never heard the word said, there's two ways: 'pee-cans' and 'peh/puh-cahns'. Yeah, I use the second one.

A pecan is an oblong nut, with a pointy tip on the dark brown, striated shell. It's fairly easy to crack, revealing the treat inside. Pecans kind of look like two ax-head shaped spaceships glued together; I suggest you look it up for a better image. It's easily to crumble or snap a piece off and pop into your mouth, and it also freezes well.

This nut is special in that most of the time, it has an innate sweetness. Good in pies, cookies, brownies, fudge, on ice cream or just on its own, the pecan is a versatile nut.

You heard me right - nut pies. A pecan pie is special, and also a little odd. It involves an egg-and-corn-syrup caramel gel, with the top usually completely covered in nuts. There are a variety of ways to bake it, depending on crust, depth of gel, etc. etc., but one thing for sure is that those who dislike sweets should only get a small piece. But if you've never had one, it's definitely worth a try.

Round Rock Donuts

To those who have been to Round Rock, a suburb of Austin, you probably know what these are.

Once you've tried a Round Rock Donut, you won't eat any other kind.

Dyed(?) orange and covered in crumbly yellow glaze, it's deeply contrasted from a perfect, white Krispy Kreme donut. There was in fact a Krispy Kreme for a year or so in Round Rock, but ultimately it went out of business; the only other name donuts available are HEB (another local franchise) bakery donuts and Shippley's.

The home-made appearance of the Donut is an effective marketing idea, but not the only thing that has us coming back for more. Not only is it a sweet treat, but the rough texture of the sugar, the light marks of a fry basket, the slightly eggy taste, and the sheer joy at eating a fresh, warm Round Rock Donut is not to be forgotten.

There are several varieties of this confection, including the aforementioned plain, the chocolate (lovingly smeared with a top layer of thick chocolate icing, for those with especially strong sweet-tooths), cake Donuts (for those who prefer the less sweet, drizzled with a light, clear glaze), and many more, including the enormous Texas Donut, which comes Plain or Chocolate and is big enough for twenty people to share; I've never seen anyone buy or attempt to eat one, but I'd be surprised if one person could carry it alone.

The building itself is situated across from the First Baptist Church of Round Rock, in downtown Round Rock; it's common to see church members, especially Sunday School leaders, carrying boxes of dozen Donuts and bags of Donut Holes in to their class.

If you've never had the opportunity to taste a Donut, and you find yourself in Austin, it's a good idea to run by and try, even if you buy just one plain. And for those who don't like donuts, pies and cakes are also available at the Round Rock Bakery.