Have you tried these famous New Jersey donuts?

Fluffy donuts, fancy bar snacks and more most impressed food writer Kara VanDooijeweert this week.

This column publishes on Saturdays, and typically features standout eats from Morris, Essex, Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and/or Sussex counties.

When I was a kid, I thought icicles were sentient beings.

Like Olaf from Frozen (or Frosty the Snowman), I believed they had thoughts, feelings and families; and was thus highly upset by the idea of them melting in the spring.

In order to soothe my paranoia, then, my mom used to take the biggest icicles from the porch and put them in our freezer. From there, I'd dye them with food coloring (I guess this was a grooming attempt), talk to them and occasionally take them out for walks to the living room. Ultimately, I'd end up forgetting about them — b