We here at ShoppingGirl.Com are always thrilled to discover amazing new businesses run by amazing women. And we’re even more enthused when that discovery involves great food! Today we’d like to share with you our discovery of The Cottage Bakeshop.

 

 

 

 

Christaine of The Cottage Bakeshop (@thecottagebakeshop) is at the apex of her baking game. She gets it about the classics we all love and crave, treats like chocolate chip cookies, vanilla cupcakes and pecan tartlettes. Unlike many chefs lately, who believe that any and every recipe must be wrangled to maximize adherence to faddish concepts and ingredients, she has achieved perfection in creating traditional delights. Her recipes and execution of traditional favorites demonstrate why they became classics in the first place.

 

 

Here is Christaine’s story:

I started really baking in 2011 when I moved to New York City with aspirations of becoming a food writer. While living there I interned at a very busy Upper East Side bakery and fell in love with baking. Upon returning to Florida I realized I had an inability to find that little neighborhood bakery ‘you know the one’ with freshly baked from scratch goods that take you back to your childhood. I continued to hone my skills/recipes and in 2015 I started The Cottage Bakeshop. The Cottage Bakeshop is a nostalgic local home bakery in Port Charlotte that makes artisanal teacakes, cookies, cupcakes and other baked goods. All of our products are hand-crafted in small batches to insure the best taste and quality.

 

 

Many of us come from homes where our parents didn’t bake, and we may never have learned the art ourselves. We may have grown up eating nothing but cakes and cupcakes made from box mixes frosted with mass-marketed glop in tubs from the supermarket. It’s probable that many people have never had the experience of eating something as simple as a truly home-made, excellent oatmeal cookie.

But never fear, because Christaine is here. The Cottage Bakeshop focuses on the classics that everyone adores, and she does them with such finesse that you will immediately concede to her the win even over your gifted grandma’s home baked goods.

Christaine’s stylish eye for design results in absolutely perfect, abundant but not absurd, proportions of ingredients, treat sizes, and embellishments. In other words: They are Just Right. Her tasteful product packaging focuses on the charms of the baked goods, is appealing, and makes these treats instantly giftable (not that you will be able to part with them).

You can place custom orders, but meanwhile enjoy a satisfying range of goodies. Home-made fruit and nut granola is a fan favorite you can have to get your day started right. Or have some oatmeal and blueberry (rather than raisins, which many people dislike) cookies on a break. Share teacakes, banana nut bread, or espresso chocolate chip shortbread with some friends over tea. After dinner, spoil yourself with a richly frosted, tender and flavorful cupcake, perhaps with Oreo cream frosting or strawberry?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the request of  ShoppingGirl.Com founder, Tom, who is diabetic, Christaine has been experimenting with making delightful lower carb options using coconut sugar in some of her recipes. Having had the privilege of trying one of her coconut sugar oatmeal cookies, I can happily attest that it is one of the best cookies of any type I have ever enjoyed. Tasting truly authentic, there was no hint of weirdness that is so common with sugar alternative treats. This woman is talented!

I cannot possibly squeeze into this post all of the photos I’d like to of the fantastic treats on offer at The Cottage Bakeshop. So visit The Cottage Bakeshop Facebook Page to check it out for yourself. Besides more mouth-watering photos, you’ll find a calendar of upcoming events where you can score these delicious treats, a menu with pricing information, as well as some more information about Christaine and how to contact her.

 

 

 

Thank you, Christiane, for giving us the honor to post about The Cottage Bakeshop!

 

[Photo Credits: All of these gorgeous photos were taken by Christiane.]