I'm taking a break this post from the much loved fall baking. While I am so happy I can now enjoy my Dunkins pumpkin coffee everyday and I've been buying the grocery stores out of their pumpkin...I needed to switch it up. So I thought this would be the perfect post to share with everyone what we have been up to around here.

As most people know, October is breast cancer awareness month. Myself and countless friends I know have loved ones that have been affected. It's so important that we are all aware of it. So next weekend, Foss Motors will be giving away a 2010 Jeep Wrangler to help raise money for On Belay! On Belay is an organization in NH that helps children who's parents are dealing with cancer. As you can see, the Jeep is pink!! It's actually black and shrink wrapped in Pink. Foss Motors has teamed up with WERZ 107.1, and the drawing will be Sunday October 17th, 2010! Your odds are really good, and someone in the seacoast will be driving home in a BRAND NEW PINK JEEP next Sunday!! So stop by Foss Motors by Wednesday to enter...it's free, what do you have to loose?? While you're there, you should buy one of the t-shirts we are selling (see below). They're $20 and ALL proceeds will go to On Belay.






OK, now to baking. I've had this Jeep and the t-shirts on my brain lately and all I can think is pink. I was itching to bake the last couple of days, so I decided to make chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting. They turned out really yummy!!! Sometimes all you need is a simple chocolate cupcake to make everything better.

Please THINK PINK this month...and DROP YOUR TOPS FOR A CURE!

Pumpkin...Pumpkin...Pumpkin

It's officially fall...which means it is officially PUMPKIN BAKING SEASON!! I love this season!! Actually I love all the seasons, but I really look foward to fall for all it's lovely baking. Something about the air cooling off and all the leaves changing get's me itching to bake. I just want to bake so I can fill the kitchen with the oven warmth and the sweet smells of apples, cinnamon, and pumpkin. So, heres to the pumpkin season kick-off!! So far I've baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin whoopie pies, and mini pumpkin pie bites. All super yummy!! But the favorite was without a doubt the pumpkin whoopie pies. They will defitenetly be a Messy Kitchen staple. I hope everyone is enjoying this fabulous season!

Well hello there October...

September came quickly, flew by, and left in a hurry.....

Now on to October...which means PUMPKINS!!!!!! I can't even begin to explain my excitement for pumpkin baked goods! I love how moist everything comes out when you bake with it.

So no real post for now, but just a heads up there has been pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin whoopie pies already made...more to come on that!

Happy October Everyone!!! And Happy Tuesday! =)

Where did September go?

Another September has come and gone. It seemed to go by so slowly and yet it flew by. This year it was filled with pulling boats out of the water, our annual family NASCAR trip, my sister's beloved birthday carrot cake, school starting, GNO starting, leaves turning, pumpkins ripening, and so much more.

Let's start with my sister's beloved carrot cake. Every year we do a family trip to NASCAR. We meet up with our friends and it turns into a "6 motor-homes, drink sipping, story telling, laughing till your belling hurts, eating too much food, taking too many but never enough photos, and reluctant goodbye hugs on Monday". This is by far one my utmost favorite weekends of the entire year. We have such wonderful friends to share it with and each year brings new and amazing memories...How does the cake come in? Well, my sister's birthday has fallen on NASCAR weekend for a couple years now, and I think she thinks it's a sign or something. I'm not really sure, but it gives us another excuse to party and eat cake. She loves carrot cake, and last year I surprised her by making my first carrot cake in my dorm at college and showing up with it. She loved it! So, this year the tradition continued with carrot cupcakes. A huge hit, and much easier than a cake when you're camping. Happy Birthday Kate!! <3




And, let's just say it's fall baking time!!! I've already whipped out the pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies for our first Girl's Night of the season. DELICIOUS!! And I've have a little network of friends I am sharing my baked goods with. I love it because I like baking, I have someone to share it with, and I get really good feedback for when the bakery opens! So no fear, much more baking to come. I hope everyone has enjoyed their first day of October.

THIS is what I call a Palooza!...

I mentioned a while back...a WAY while back...that I wanted to have a "Whoopie Pie Palooza"...Well I think it has officially started. Last week I had a fantastic week. Just an overall good week. And once Friday hit...I started to feel a hiccup in my happiness, so I decided to bake. I headed for my sister's kitchen and started to bake. And bake. And bake. And bake. I ended up baking 2 batches of classic whoopie pies using a recipe I found online (one of the many I've filed away for days like this). And I also baked 2 batches of Martha's Peanut Butter whoopie pies.

Let's just say...there were a LOT of whoopie pies...and I was like the whoopie pie fairy driving through town and dropping them off at various locations. And then some even managed to make it to the lake this weekend. Boy was my family happy!!

They turned out really great and I've gotten some useful feedback. If you got any from these batched...PLEASE let me know what you think. I'm on the hunt for the 'Perfect Whoopie Pie' and I can use all the feedback I can get. I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend...and welcome to September!!! =)

A 40th Luau

This post is about a week and a half late...but better late than never.

**The best way to start this is by saying...HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY DEANNA!!!!!!!!**

I was asked a while back to make a 40th Birthday cake for a really good friend of mine. She's one of the fabulous girls in our GNO crew, and I watch her kids...actually her and her whole family are more like family than friends. And I like it like that.

Anyway the short of it, I got to be as creative as I wanted to be...I just needed to be able to feed approximately 100 people. So I decided to make a two tier cake, chocolate on the bottom (12inch) and vanilla on top (9inch). Then I added some coconut cupcakes with chocolate creamcheese frosting on top...YUM! (and also one of her favorites)...It went over really well and everyone loved it! By the end of the night we had skipped cutting the cake and using plates...we all grabbed forks and went at it. A really fun and great night for a dear friend who deserved every minute of it! Happy Birthday Deanna! <3

Inspiration...

A couple of days ago, I ventured into Sam's Club to get a couple things. Venture is an understatement, because it was me and the store...all by myself. This doesn't happen very often. I never go there by myself, and for good reason. I was like a 5 year old let loose in a candy store wandering the aisles. I stood next to the shelves and looked up to what seemed to reach the 20ft ceilings. I walked and wandered each aisle wondering "could I use that??" As a baker, it was hard to resist the giant bags of chocolate chips...that I KNOW I could bake endless cookies with! But, I was doing a good job using self control. I did really well, but when I saw the 2lbs of fresh strawberries for $3.98...I couldn't resist! So I bought them. All the way home from Sam's I kept glancing at the 2lbs of strawberries that sat on my passenger seat next to me. All the possibilities of baked sweetness were streaming through my baker's brain. Then I realized the absolute best way to use the strawberries was in a birthday cake for my momma!

So yesterday, on the beauteous day of birth of my fabulous mother, I surprised her by baking her a cake. I made a 3-layer, 8-inch white almond cake. Between each layer were an abundance of sliced strawberries accompanied by a thin layer of whipped cream frosting. It was delectable! And as I laid in my bed last night, about to close my eyes, I heard a knock on my door. My mom peeped her head in and said "Thanks for my birthday cake."...it made it all worth it! Happy Birthday Mom!! I love you, and thank you for everything you have done, given, and said to me in my life. I feel so blessed to have you as my mom.

Oh, and I didn't use all the strawberries....hmmm so I think more baking may be in order!