S'more Birthday Fun!

I'm going to get right down to business before I get into the fun in the sun action. After several iterations and help from friends, I have developed a very short, 10-question survey for each of you to fill out. It takes all of 5 minutes to do, and it is going to help me offer you the best products. I'm hoping that your input will provide me with some strategic insights so that I can begin baking in September! So please take a few moments and head on over to Survey Monkey!

Okay, okay, I'm ready to talk about the goods! This weekend was a festive one, filled with baking and birthday parties and sunshine! I was lucky enough to be able to bake for a wonderful friend's birthday party. Her only parameter: PEANUT BUTTER. My immediate reaction was to pair it with chocolate. But I held myself back and really thought this one through. After asking around on my Facebook page, I realized quickly that my options could be endless. People suggested Nutter Butters, blueberry jam, Nutella, bananas, and the list goes on and on. And believe me, those ideas will be used in many future recipes, but I had to narrow it down somehow. To really keep with the sunshine, summer and barbecue theme, I went with a play on everybody's favorite campfire food: S'MORES!

So in honor of the mild, perfect weather we've had all summer, I bring you... a peanut butter s'mores cupcake! The cupcakes themselves were crispy on the top and fluffy on the inside, giving them the perfect likeness to a graham cracker, without losing that light and airy cupcake charm.

And of course I filled it with something wonderful. What's that you ask? Any guesses??

If you said Nutella, you'd be spot on. I decided to bring out a more sophisticated flavor than just a simple chocolate ganache filling. Thus, I opted to bring out the nuttiness by using this perfect, chocolate hazelnut spread. The options with Nutella are endless, but the beauty of a s'more is the simplicity of the ingredients, so I just stuffed that bad boy with Nutella straight up!

And what a magical pairing it was.

I topped it with a pillowy, peanut butter marshmallow frosting and a mini Reece's peanut butter cup for good measure. And in all of the peanut buttery excitement, I added a little too much of it to the frosting, causing the oils to sweat out a little bit. Thankfully, they tasted delicious regardless. Next time, I'll be sure to stay calm and keep the ratios on point.

Speaking of ratios, anybody know the ratio of size and likability? If it were based on my friend alone, I'd say that it's inversely proportional, because I have a huge amount of love for someone so little and adorable! Only this southern belle could look this cute after sliding down a giant slip-n-slide while we all sang her Happy Birthday. Her reward/present for being such a trooper? A cupcake, of course!

My First Gig!

Today's post isn't going to be full of tasty pictures because I was so caught up and nervous about getting everything done in time!  One of Justin's co-workers asked me to bake for her boyfriend's surprise 40th birthday party, and I just could not refuse. A chance to see what "catering" is like? 50+ people seeing what I can do? It was the perfect opportunity to test the waters and I could not have been more excited. We decided on about 70 cookie sandwiches - 35 lemon/lemon, and 35 chocolate/peanut butter.

Friday afternoon, I took out all of my ingredients and placed them on the counter. I grabbed all of my whisks, spoons, measuring cups, and knives and I thumbed through my little, pink recipe book until I got to the right page. And then I walked over to the couch and sat down. Turns out, I was more nervous than I thought. This was my first attempt at sharing my baked goods with complete strangers. Were they going to like it? Was I going to be up until 2 a.m. baking cookies?? And then suddenly my nerves turned into excitement and I couldn't wait to get started!!

So I turned on the stove. And then I started creaming the butter and the sugar, and zesting the lemons, and sifting the cocoa powder. I started measuring the flour, and combining the dry ingredients. And then before I knew it, Justin was home and I had already baked over 70 cookies!

And thankfully, I have an incredible support system of friends and family who were cheering me on and helping me get everything together. Justin and some of our wonderful friends, Mike and Mary, came over to help me package the cookie sandwiches and put stickers on flyers with my contact information that I had made to hand out at the party. I was finished and the kitchen was clean as a whistle by 11 p.m.

Final product, all packaged up!

This is me around 10:45pm. Clean up crew!

The actual event flew by in the blink of an eye. I showed up, met some great people, made a few connections, and watched everyone enjoy my cookie sandwiches! It was really fun, and I'm looking forward to being able to do this more often!

If you haven't noticed, Littlest Love has gone into full swing! I've got a Facebook page, a new e-mail address, and there's more REALLY exciting news on the way! Stay tuned for the next post to hear all about it!

Whole30 Craving Post: Peanut...Peanut Butter & Chocolate!

homemade peanut butter cups