Some Lovin' from the Oven

This weekend was a blast. Why? No, I wasn't at Pitchfork. No, I didn't run away and go backpacking in Europe. And finally, no, I didn't find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead of all these equally wonderful things that didn't happen, here's what did happen.

This weekend, I had a bake-a-thon of sorts. It was my cousin's baby shower and I was lucky enough to get to handle the desserts. Petit fours were a specific request and I was uber excited to try them out because (a) I had just the perfect recipe (found here) I was dying to make and (b) I'd never made them before and couldn't wait to try them out. They pretty complex little buggers, but they were loads of fun to make and turned out oh so cute!  ... Don't you agree?

Personal teeny sized cake party... in your mouth!

The batter for the cake layers in the petit fours is essentially a pound cake batter, so I wound up making pound cake too. And let me tell you... it turned out AMAZING. If you've been searching for a no-fail pound cake recipe, look no further. Trust me, its a million times better than pulling that SaraLee pound cake you bought 6 months ago out of your freezer.  

SaraLee's got nuttin' on me!

I also made these sugar cookies (they were the party favor) :

A-dor-a-ble!

I now find myself coming down from this "bakers" high weekend. Wishin' and hopin' IL would pass that darn Cottage Food Law already. In the meantime, I'm gonna keep on doin' what I do. Continuing to seek out ways of living, breathing and (can't forget) eating the sweet things in life.

One such "sweet" thing I learned of recently is Muddy's bake shop.  

Now, I've never been to Memphis, and I've never been to Muddy's, but after visiting their website and reading up on them a bit, I feel like we're practically family. Second cousins once removed... at the very least. Anyways, they get it. It's not about getting rich on the cupcake craze. It's about using quality, wholesome, FRESH ingredients, and serving customers with a smile. Your sweet treats may make their day, but your smile will stay with them for much longer. And it's about being a good neighbor to your community. They want to be a business in Memphis because they want to contribute something to their surrounding community. As their website says : "We serve the greater good… like a super-hero."  If I lived in Memphis, you bet your bottom dollar I would be hiding out at Muddy's all day, er'y day.  But since I don't presently live in Tennessee (never say never), Muddy's will instead serve as my new obsession and small business inspiration.  

Keep on seeking the sweetness folks!  

PS - What's something "sweet" you've learned of lately?!  I'm dying to know!