Hi, I’m Amelia

 

 

I have been baking for a long time, but that doesn’t mean that you need a ton of experience to follow my recipes. I work to make my recipes interesting for advanced cooks but still accessible for beginners. 

I approach baking with an emphasis on family-friendly snacks and the tastiest ways to eat healthy together! When not in my kitchen, I’m often hiking in the mountains around my home and exploring the best food locations in America.

Food has a special ability to bring people together. I often find this in my own life and I hope you will find that this online community feels just as welcoming as a real kitchen. For me, baking together builds the best communities, let’s get baking together!

 

 

 

It all started when my husband and I brought our family to Idyllwild for the weekend in the winter of 2000. We rented a nice cabin near Saunders Meadows. As we walked around the center of town, we came across a pie place that made delicious pies. My husband said to me “we should open a donut shop here someday and sell your amazing donuts”. I had grown up coming to Idyllwild and my husband had been there a few times. Yearly visits turned into a regular thing for our family, and we continued to dream of retiring in Idyllwild some day and opening our donut shop.

 

Who would have ever thought that this would become a reality? You see, I had learned how to make my Original Buttermilk Donut “OG” when I was only fourteen. My family loved it when I would make them, as well as my friends and co-workers. People would always ask me when I was going to open a donut shop?

 

In December of 2019, I was semi-retired from nursing and a long 33 years in healthcare. I needed a hobby to keep me busy. My family was gathered around one night for dinner and they all talked me into going for it! I launched an add on my local FB page and went for it. The response was immediate, and I started delivering fresh, hot, homemade donuts to the locals of Idyllwild, CA. Soon, I acquired my Cottage Food Operation from the county and was well on my way to bringing deliciousness to local homes.

 

A few months later, I was invited to start doing pop-ups at a local business in town. My husband and I would transport donuts every Saturday and Sunday. People started lining up, placing pre-orders and I began to build a customer base. We could hardly keep up with the demand and began to start looking for a permanent spot.

 

September of 2020 was when we launched Amelia’s Donuts & More storefront! We opened Labor Day Weekend and the locals all came out to support us. It was amazing and we felt so blessed. Soon, we began to add coffee and other hot drinks. We bought a bakery case and started selling milk and other cold drink options. We had regular customers and even knew what days they would come on. We could not believe how fast we were growing.

 

Recently, we have started doing daily deliveries to local businesses as we grow our wholesale side.

This experience has been an absolute blessing for us. As we wake at midnight and begin to make our donuts, our tired eyes turn into inspiration. When we arrive at our shop and see the joy in our customers eyes, “it’s all worth it”!

 

We have big dreams for the future of our shop! We will be building a commercial kitchen, a counter for all our customers to sit at, offer homemade breakfast, lunch and occasional dinners. Covid has delayed this process but nothing will ever stop us from achieving our ultimate dream. God brought us this far and he will guide us through the rest!

 

We look forward to continuing to grow our business and bringing smiles to all of our customers’ faces when they say “these are the best donuts ever”!