The Genesis

So it's only 3 days until the 'official' Grand Opening of Glitter City Sweets and I have been working non-stop to get all my products not just ready, but fabulous. I can't justify selling just mediocre stuff, it has to be outstanding. So what started off with just decorated cookies has expanded.

See, lots of people do decorated cookies. I think mine are cuter and have more detail and originality than a lot of my competitors. But i still have competition in that market so I felt like I needed a product or tow that was unique, different, completely mine (at least until someone copies me.) So I decided to do decorated lollipops and marshmallow favors as well.

Hard candy is pretty simple to make. Boil a sugar syrup until it reaches hard crack stage, add flavor and color and pour into molds. What makes my lollies unique is the mold. I make my own hard candy molds instead of using commercially made molds. I did this because I knew what I wanted and it needed to be special. So I made my own, a process that involves coming up with an idea, sketching it, sculpting a 3-D model then casting it into a food grade silicone mold. Since I'm not much of a sculptor, that was the step that took the most time. But in the end I think it's worth the trouble to have something that I can sell with pride.

Now I also decided to carry a marshmallow favor line, again because it was something no one else was doing. Of course the idea came from my love of all things marshmallow. Like Peeps®. I love them. Easter time is one of my favorites because I can get my Peeps® on. Sugar covered marshmallows, how can you go wrong? And I love just eating marshmallows. I prefer the handmade kind, like you buy for eight bucks at Whole Foods, but I can also eat the ones from the grocery store even if they aren't quite as good. So I wanted to make favors that were shaped and sugar coated like a Peep® and then I would decorate them. I decided that since I had to learn how to make marshmallow anyway, I would also sell gourmet marshmallows like the fancy stores, only mine would be a lot cheaper (and they are, mine retail for three dollars less than almost all the other 'gourmet marshmallows' and I give you more mallows.)

Now marshmallows seem as easy as hard candy when you get to the recipe. Sugar syrup beaten into gelatin, how hard could that be? Well, my first few batches were okay. They were very much like the jet puffed ones you buy at the store. A little chewy but they definitely were marshmallows. But I would never have sold them. They weren't exceptional. So I kept working. I made batch after batch, adjusting ingredients, adding more of this, less of that. And they were good, but I still wasn't happy. So I threw away pan after pan (since my mother pointed out that recipe development was just a cost of business and that I shouldn't eat all of the product - I think she didn't want my butt to get any bigger!) And I kept working. Now I can't give away my secret formulation but I can tell you that I had a 'eureka' moment which led to my marshmallow breakthrough. And now I can say, with pride, I have the best marshmallows I have ever eaten (and I have eaten many, many marshmallows my friend!) I would gladly put my marshmallows up against any ones, and I mean anyone. My marshmallows are light and pillowy soft. They practically melt in your mouth but they still have that delightful marshmallow chew. And my flavors? Out of this world. I like the lemon meringue the best but only by a teeny tiny bit (they taste like lemon clouds and I could literally eat pounds of them.) The peanut butter swirl taste like a fluffernutter sandwich. And the toasted coconut? Well, I don't even like coconut and these are phenomenally good.

So I knew my cookies were beyond fabulous. And my cakes and cupcakes, well, they are to quote more than one person, better than s-e-x. My lollipops are unique and delicious. And now I have the absolute best marshmallows around. So I'm ready. The site is ready. All I need are more customers. And so I need your help, Loyal Readers. Can you help me spread the word? Post my site on blogs, tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers. Stop random strangers on the street. Post me on social networking sites. Tweet me. And if they put "FNNYGRL" in the special instructions of the checkout page, I'll throw in a half order of the best marshmallows in the world for free. And for you who blog, tweet, Facebook, LinkedIn, whatever for Glitter City Sweets, well, you never know when a surprise will show up at your door!

Thank you, Loyal Readers, for following me on this amazing experience. You have helped me, pushed me, comforted me and encouraged me and I couldn't have done it without you. I am truly blessed.

Monday, Monday, Monday, the grand Opening of Glitter City Sweets. See you then!