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A Bakery is Born
Stephanie Solakian Goldstein • November 1, 2020
How it All Started
I have been baking for as long as I can remember. Those memories began when I followed my mother around our family kitchen. What always struck me is that Mom sure knew what she was doing. It wasn't that she was "fussy" and overly-complicated with what she baked or cooked. However, everything she did was with incredible thought, planning, confidence, precision, and much more than a pinch of love.
Birthdays were always important in our family, and the centerpiece of every birthday was a scratch-made birthday cake. To me, that was an expression of love. Oh the struggle of getting the frosting just right! The imperfection was perfect, because the perfect cake from the fancy bakery was the easy way out!
When my two sons were born, I was determined to challenge myself to create birthday cakes that matched the birthday party theme. Each year I wanted to "top" what I had done the year prior. Confession: there were years when I purchased the cake. For example, my first-born son's first birthday cake was made by the baker who made our wedding cake (I'm a sentimental fool); my second son developed a penchant for ice cream cake (I can't argue with that; he's got good taste and I'm not in the ice cream cake business).
What was so rewarding to me about making homemade birthday cakes is the delight and smiles they bring to the birthday boy or girl. It was my Mom who always would tell me I should open a bakery. And then it was my friends who, thanks to social media, would see posts of the creations I shared. Then they would ask me if I was going to open a bakery. Well, here I am, thanks to all of you (and you know who you are).
For the years I have been making birthday cakes, I've learned a lot along the way, and have incorporated what I've learned into the Bittersweet Baking Co. We're starting small and local and love and appreciate the enthusiasm and support we've received during these early days.
Introducing Bittersweet Baking Co. by Coco & Chloe ! Our dogs are barking with joy and are pawsitively delighted that their hoomans are now in the biscuit-making business. Finally, our canines can enjoy celebrations with their families with their own special treats made in small batches and with the same amount of care and love that go into Bittersweet Baking Co.'s cookies and cakes. Each batch is carefully supervised by Coco & Chloe who know your furry friends are sure to enjoy these special treats! Coco, pictured on the left (above), is our most discerning taste-tester, and she gives our biscuits four paws up! Chloe, pictured on the right (above), looks to her older sister for guidance. Actually, when it comes to food, that's not true. She will eat anything. Shop our biscuits , which come in packages of six unfrosted bone-shaped biscuits. We also offer a Celebration Bundle which includes six frosted biscuits: 2 bone-shaped; 2 balloon-shaped; 2 party hat-shaped.
In a November blog post , I introduced Bittersweet Baking Co. merchandise available to order, with a portion of proceeds to be donated to the Katherine A. Gallagher Integrative Therapies Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center . Say that ten times fast! If you're not familiar with it, the Program offers cancer patients access to wellness services including acupuncture, massage, yoga, and music therapy. I am passionate about this program because I saw first-hand what a positive impact it made on my mom's quality of life and well-being during cancer treatment. It gave her purpose and focus, and minimized side effects. Before the holidays, I delivered some aprons to the wonderful professionals who provided beneficial acupuncture and massage to my mother, to let them know how much of an impact they made, and that they were an inspiration. There is no doubt in my mind that these therapies are a critical partner to traditional cancer treatment. When I started selling the aprons and raglan tee shirt s, one of my sons suggested that I "go dark with the merch" for a while, and then have a "big drop with new merch". I thought "drops" were reserved for sneakers and albums, or in my case, watching a freshly-baked batch of cookies slide off of a cooling rack and drop onto the floor. Don't even get me started on that.... So here we are, a few months later. I'm dropping new merch, still with some of the proceeds being donated to the Program. These hand-knit and embroidered winter hats will keep you toasty! Choose between the naughty "fck cancer" embroidery OR the G-rated "believe" hat. One might say the former one is inappropriate, and I won't dispute that. But cancer is more inappropriate than the f-word. To me, "fck cancer" means lots of things. A mindset of the patient. An emotion felt by loved ones watching a patient going through treatment -- you get the idea. And "believe" speaks to the idea that miracles can and do happen (I thought about putting that on the hat, but my little hands got too tired). The word "believe" is about the blessings that can come from an unexpected and unwelcome diagnosis. Believe that good can come from bad. Believe that there will be blessings and silver linings along the way. Believe in the good around you. Sometimes it's hard to find, but trust me; it's there. As always, thank you for checking out our "merch" and for all of your support! If you are interested in a hand-knit, custom embroidered winter hat in other colors, please visit our sister shop, PlaidPrince to place orders there. XO, Stephanie
As we're all doing our best to keep each others and ourselves healthy and safe, we're all looking for some fun projects, both big and small, to pass the time -- particularly for our children and even teens and adults who are looking for a creative outlet. It's fair to say (hopefully) that brighter days are ahead. For now, we're hunkering down as the weather outside becomes much more frightful! And nothing says cozy indoor activity more than cookie decorating, right? Our Cookie Decorating Kits are a fun little activity! Over the holidays, we're offering Christmas (Christmas tree and ornament cookies with red and green icing); Chanukah (dreidel and Star of David cookies with blue and white icing); and Winter (snowflake and snowman cookies with blue and white icing) cookie kits. Our seasonal cookie decorating kits include six of our famous scratch-baked sugar cookies, two piping bags of royal icing, and three different types of decorating sprinkles. Just knead the icing to create an even consistency, flatten the tip of the piping bag (so the seam is on top) and make a small cut, and start decorating! You can always make the cut bigger if the icing isn't flowing fast enough for you. Put finished cookie masterpieces on a cookie rack until the frosting hardens and enjoy. And just remember, there are only happy mistakes. Stay tuned as new holidays and seasons are upon us as our kits will change (we promise we won't promote our Halloween cookie kits in August). We are not currently shipping these kits, but are only delivering in the Boston area. Please contact us to be sure we can accommodate your request. We typically need seven days advance notice to create fresh cookie kits. Finally, we wish to thank all of you who purchased Bittersweet Baking Co. aprons and raglan tee shirts . We will be making our first of what we hope will be many contributions to the Katherine A. Gallagher Integrated Therapies Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center at the end of the year, thanks to your support. This effort will be an ongoing one as it is our belief that integrated therapies should be a critical component of cancer treatment. Be safe and be healthy, and let's take good care of each other! XO, Stephanie
We are pleased to offer Bittersweet Baking Co. merchandise. Eighteen percent of all apron and raglan tee shirt sales will be donated to The Katherine A. Gallagher Integrative Therapies Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center . The Program offers cancer patients access to wellness services including acupuncture, massage, yoga, and music therapy. When my mother was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer, a good friend (an angel, actually) quickly directed our family to the outstanding professionals at the Katherine A. Gallagher Integrative Therapies Program. On a weekly basis, my mother looked forward to her appointments for acupuncture and massage which made all the difference in the world as far as how she tolerated her cancer treatments (beautifully, in case you were wondering). Prior to cancer, my mother had never had a massage in her life. Nor had she tried acupuncture. Those appointment days were the ones she looked forward to the most. They gave her focus and purpose and connected her with some of the most wonderful people she had ever met in her entire life. My mother always described her 20-month long stint with cancer as a blessing. Without it, she would say, she would never have met so many wonderful, kind and caring people. We always wondered what would have happened if my mother didn't have her acupuncture or massage appointments. Unfortunately, we found out, once COVID-19 entered the picture. At that point, my mother was no longer able to go to her acupuncture and massage appointments as those were not considered essential in the same way as a chemotherapy treatment. Whether by coincidence, a result of my mother losing those wellness services, or the nature of my mother's disease, her health took a turn pretty quickly. My mother passed away in June 2020. We will never know scientifically how much of a role the integrative therapies played in keeping my mother unbelievably strong and upbeat for so many months, but there is zero doubt that in addition to the wonderful medical care my mother received, the complementary wellness services made all the difference. At Bittersweet Baking Co., we want to give back and help raise awareness about the importance about the great partnership between medial and alternative therapies. Thank you for joining us in this mission with your purchase .