What a Mess!

So, yesterday we were so pleased with our little pupcakes. They were beautiful. Remember? (See yesterday's post.) Well, today we put them into an airtight, plastic container so that they wouldn't get stale. We went to Portland for the day, and this is what we found when we got home.

We're not really sure WHY the frosting that was dry and a little crispy this morning is now moist and melting off the pupcakes. It may be that the sun was shining through the window and made the container like a little sauna. Maybe the moisture from the muffins was absorbed by the frosting. We're really not sure. We do know that Maia won't be selling this batch and we'll have to be careful how we package these in the future. More experimenting to come!

Most people spend Easter Sunday hunting for eggs, eating ham, and sorting through goodies in grass-filled baskets. We spent the day in the kitchen trying out new recipes for The Pupcakery. It was a typical, rainy Spring day here on the coast, and what better way to pass the time than by working on developing the next great product for Maia's business?

Ainsley wanted to do some baking early in the day, so we decided to try out a recipe for peanut butter biscuits. This is our easiest recipe so far, with only four ingredients: peanut butter, whole wheat flour, skim milk, and baking powder. We rolled and cut some with cookie cutters and also rolled some of the dough into balls and pressed with a fork like peanut butter cookies. This recipe bakes for 20 minutes (also our shortest cooking recipe), but the finished product was less than exciting. The biscuits were dull and cracked. Cato and Darius didn't seem to mind the less than appealing appearance, but we decided to adjust the recipe and try again.

The second batch came out much better. We were careful to roll the dough evenly and smooth out any cracks before cutting. We also brushed the biscuits with egg before baking. This batch came out shiny and smooth. Don't they look delicious?


They smelled wonderful, and of course Ainsley had to have a little taste. Apparently they smell better than they taste...unless you have four legs! Here are the ones made to look like peanut butter cookies. Could you be fooled?

Finally, we made a batch of pumpkin pupcakes. These little treats are baked in a mini muffin tin and frosted with a yogurt icing (made from a mix we ordered from Everything -Dog-Treats). The girls were very pleased with the final product....much better than their first attempt at pupcakes.

Maia made enough from her initial sales this week to send another product to the lab for testing, and is only about $10 shy of being able to send the third product as well. She also has another product in development. Stay tuned for the introduction of "lollipups."

We Have Liftoff

Maia sent off her first batch of Happy Howlers for lab analysis this week. We boxed up 1/2 pound of biscuits along with a letter letting the lab know what information we needed in regards to our biscuits.

We mailed the box to Omaha, Nebraska on Monday, and by today (Friday) we were able to access our data online through the lab's website. This is big news because Maia is now able to legally sell her first line of biscuits. Tim and I told her we would pay for the first lab analysis to get her business on its feet.

Her goal now is to sell enough Happy Howlers to generate enough funds to pay for the lab analysis on her other two products before the market opens in June. She figures if she sells 12-15 bags of biscuits, she will have enough. She has already lined up about 10 potential customers, and the ladies in the front office at school are spreading the word as well. I don't think she'll have any problems meeting her goal ahead of schedule. When she goes to the market in June she'll have three great products for her customers to choose from. Pretty wise business-woman, wouldn't you say? Congratulations, Maia. You're an entrepreneur!

Pupcakes...Take 1

The Pupcakery is all about providing gourmet treats for dogs, and what is a bakery without cupcakes (or PUPcakes in the dog world)? Well, we have searched high and low for a good recipe for delicious pupcakes. The first Pupcake recipe we tried looked and smelled delicious.

Ainsley could hardly wait to taste these yummy treats. She didn't even wait for the frosting!

Once they were frosted, they looked even better. Cato and Darius each got to test the first pupcakes, but they had to take them outside since we didn't want to have cream cheese frosting all over the kitchen floor. They were a big hit!

Darius even licked the deck clean!

Well, the final product was beautiful and the critics approved. Maia took a sample to her first meeting for the Young Entrepreneur's Club. By the time the meeting was over, the cream cheese frosting was melting and and had smeared all over the inside of the container she had it in. The multi-colored sprinkles were melting into the frosting, and we quickly realized that we would not have a way to keep the cream cheese frosting chilled at the market.

The pupcakes looked beautiful, but this is not the recipe we'll be taking to the market. The search continues...

Introducing....Happy Howlers

We have our first product: the Happy Howlers, a chicken-flavored biscuit that dogs love!

The girls first tested these biscuits with our own dogs, Darius and Cato. They gobbled them up and begged for more, but our dogs aren't really all that picky. Ainsley thought they smelled good, so she tried them too. She wasn't too impressed with the chicken flavor, but said she thought most dogs would enjoy them.

We took some to our four-legged friend Roxy. Here is what she had to say:

Four paws up to your delicious new dog cookies! I've already gobbled up my gift pack. I just can't get enough of the wonderful treats. My owner has been trying to make them last, but my new big-dog teeth are coming in and I love chewing sooooooo much. Your dog biscuits are just a perfect size, smell great and are nice and chewy for us pups.

Thank you, Roxy for your great review! We look forward to sending more treats your way, and we hope you spread the word to all your friends about our tasty treats.