Sweet Finds at Target

I don’t get to Target often; I hate dealing with the crowds and the parking lot and the lines.  But I went last Sunday to pick up a few things I needed and, as always, swung through their “Dollar Zone” on my way in.  You can find really cute things in this section if you’re willing to weed through all of the plastic placemats and children’s toys.  I found some items I was excited about and decided to share them with you!

This black and white bakery box ($1) was the perfect thing to send my donation to Bloggers Bake for Hope in:

How sweet is this magnetic memo pad ($1)? 

And these gift bags were 2 for $1 – I love the bright patterns, and it’s always good to have non-holiday-specific gift bags around.

Have you had any great finds at Target lately?

Baking for a Cure!

Next week I’ll be participating in Bake for Hope.  I found out about this event at Cupcake Camp, at Jen from Beantown Baker’s  booth. 

Per the website, Bloggers Bake for Hope is a virtual bake sale. Bloggers will donate their time, ingredients, and shipping costs so there are no expenses associated with this virtual bake sale. All proceeds from the bake sale will be sent to the Massachusetts Komen for the Cure. The virtual bake sale will take place on May 4-6, 2011.  Buyers will make virtual pledges on the Bloggers Bake for Hope site, and at the close of the bake sale the highest bidders will be awarded the donated baked goods. They will make their donations via PayPal, and the bakers will then bake and ship their goods. Because the bakers are donating their ingredients, time, and shipping costs, there are no expenses associated with the virtual bake sale. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Massachusetts Komen for the Cure.  

I’m going to be making my M&M Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips  for this event.  You can view these and all the other items available for auction here.  I hope that on May 4^th you’ll head over to the site and bid on some baked goods (there are some awesome looking treats on there)!!

Cupcake Camp

Last week I attended Cupcake Camp  - it was held at the Somerville Armory.  You can learn more about it here.  I first heard of Cupcake Camp a few years ago on Cupcakes Take The Cake, and I missed last year’s in Boston so I was really excited when I saw on Twitter that it was going to be held in Boston again this year!  I made my Thin Mint Cupcakes again, and did a mix of mini and regular size.  Big thanks to my friend Whitney for helping me bake/decorate the cupcakes AND set up at Cupcake Camp!

A little blurry - oops :)

Yum :)  Did I say THANK YOU to Whitney for helping decorate?!

King Arthur Flour was a sponsor and had a special booth set up with demonstrations – I can’t wait to try these mint chip ice cream cone cupcakes!

All the decorations are fondant!

Next time, I would probably make all minis – most people (myself included!) seemed drawn to the minis – more cupcakes, less stomachaches!  Plus then more people could try them – I ended up cutting the ‘regular’ size cupcakes into quarters anyway.

Another thanks to Whitney for this nifty sign ;)

I would also make more cupcakes!  Mine were gone within a half hour, sad L

Overall, this was a great time and it was wonderful to meet some fellow bakers and get some more cupcake ideas!  Some of the 'amateur' cupcakes were presented so well and tasted so good, I couldn't believe they weren't professionals.  I mostly tasted the 'amateur' cupcakes since I'd been to most of the bakeries that were there.  The sugar hangover the next day was well worth it.  I couldn't believe how packed it was, I left around 8:15 (the event went from 7-9) and the line was still around the block!

Below are some pictures I took while I was wandering around before the doors opened  – I tried to get the cupcake/baker’s names in the photos when I could, but feel free to let me know in the comments if you see yours here and want a call-out.  The lighting wasn’t the best at the Armory, so my apologies for some of the poor pictures!

These hamburger cupcakes were adorable!

I can't eat almonds so unfortunately couldn't try these, but I loved the frosting on them - so pretty!

These were fantastic - and presented so well!

These were gone before I could try one :(

I loved these adorable little honeybees

Whole Foods' Easter-themed cupcakes

Some of the amateur cupcakes were presented SO well, I couldn't believe they weren't professionals!

Yum!

setting up the 'professionals' section

Beantown Baker's cookie dough cupcakes - one of my favorites of the night!

These girls were next to me - I loved these cupcakes!

The creamsicle cupcakes (2nd tier from the top) were to.die.for.

Loved this sweet cupcake bouquet - I think this was C-Cups?

YUM

These were from an amateur baker - how beautiful!

So there are a lot of random things that are fairly common foods to make that I have never even attempted to bake/cook.  I decided to record them on here – my goal is to attempt all of these before my (gulp) 26th birthday, which is in early September – so approximately 6 months.  Hopefully having them here for all the world to see will give me extra incentive to actually try all these and not just resort to my tried & true recipes!

Without further ado, here are my top Foods To Make Before I Enter My Late-Mid Twenties.

The Baked Goods (aka the majority of this list)

·         Fudge - I know, the simplest thing ever – or so I’ve heard

·         Pillow Cookies - essentially a brownie stuffed into a cookie.  I’ll have to save this for a diet-busting day

·         S’mores Cupcakes – I love s’mores. I love cupcakes. These should make me ecstatic (which means “like, really really happy” as Deena from Jersey Shore taught us last night)

·         Popovers – I’ve tried Jordan’s popovers in Bar Harbor.  I don’t expect mine to be nearly this good.

·         Layer Cake – I’ve never made one of these from scratch.  I tend to stick to smaller, more manageable treats.

·         Bread – I’d like to try honey wheat, but any (non-dessert) bread will do!

·         Soft Pretzels – from SCRATCH (sorry Crate & Barrel, I loved your kit but it’s time for me to put on my big girl pants and venture into the great world of pretzel-making on my own!)

·         Angel Food Cake – one of my favorite desserts when I was younger; I’ve always used the store-bought variety (I know, boo! hiss!)

·         Shortbread – I LOVE shortbread, but have never attempted it.  I once tried butter cookies and they were nothing short of a DISASTER; I think it scared me off all similar recipes.

·         Cappuccino Cupcakes – a special request from my boyfriend, who is a weirdo and doesn’t like sweets, and usually just humors me by having a bite or two of my baked goods. 

·         Cake Pops – I love Bakerella’s website; and love looking at all the images of these cute pops.  But I’ve always been too afraid/lazy to make them.

·         Whoopie Pies - normal sized ones this time. 

The “Real Food”

·         Beef Stew – nice n’ hearty; I better make this before the weather warms up!

·         Roast Chicken – yup.

·         Soup – any soup. I’ve only ever used the canned variety.  I’d like to conquer this; or at least attempt it.

·         Macaroni and Cheese – the possibilities are endless.. truffle oil, bacon, spinach, oh my!

Obviously I’ll record my successes (and failures!) here.  Godspeed to me!

Hi there!

Hi there! I'm a 25 year old marketing professional in Boston. I've always had a sweet tooth and in the past few years, I've taken up baking as a hobby.

My baking addiction initially started with a pink-frosted cupcake on a visit to Buttercup Bake Shop in New York City - to this day, the best vanilla cupcake I've ever had!

However, I've started to expand into baking other, non-cupcake treats as well - like cookies, muffins, scones and even (gasp!) full-size cakes!

I decided to start this blog to chronicle my successes (and failures - trust me, there are many!) as I learn my way around the kitchen.

Do you have questions, suggestions or want to get in touch? Leave a comment or email me!

Thanks, and happy baking :)