I am so honored and tickled to be here :). I am excited to be a part of this wonderful community. Thank you, Jennifer, your generosity and openness to share your talents and skills are so very appreciated. I have had a pickle of a time still waiting on my cottage license approval due to requested revisions. However, I am using this time to further my skills, with your guidance. I have learned so much from you and can't wait to continue the Bakers Insider 101.

I really am just like y’all. I doubt myself too. I can build something, feel really good about it, and then that little voice creeps in… Is this actually helpful? Are people going to get what I’m trying to do here? Am I giving them what they actually need? I think when you care about what you're creating, there's always going to be a little bit of that. And then I woke up to this. ❤️ Bakers Insider hasn’t even been open four full days yet, and seeing someone say that what I’ve built is “well worth getting from someone who has been there, done that” genuinely meant a lot to me. Because THAT is what I’m trying to build here. Not a place where I pretend to know everything. A place where I can take what I've learned from actually doing this—the things that worked, the things that absolutely did not 😂, the ideas, recipes, systems, marketing, and lessons—and make the road a little easier for the baker coming behind me. So thank you, Lori. You gave me a pretty great reminder this morning that maybe I should tell that little voice in my head to hush. 😂❤️ And since we’re only a few days in, I want to hear from you too. What have you found inside Bakers Insider so far that made you think, “Okay, THAT was worth joining for”? It can be something tiny. A recipe, an idea, something you learned, something you immediately put into action—I want to know.

Everybody expects pumpkin to own fall. But the data is telling a slightly different story. Right now, apple, caramel, cinnamon, brown sugar and maple are showing some seriously strong fall momentum. Here’s what caught my attention: • DoorDash reports caramel, apple and cinnamon as its three most-ordered fall flavors—ahead of pumpkin. • Brown sugar orders are up 58% year over year. • Yelp searches for maple latte are up 65%, while searches for salted maple latte jumped 591%. • Google Trends shows “caramel apple iced coffee” reaching an all-time high. And brands are responding. McDonald’s introduced Caramel Apple Pie as its seasonal coffee flavor this year instead of its longtime pumpkin spice. Trader Joe’s is leaning into Maple Butterscotch Blondies, Apple Pie and Apple Cider Donuts. ALDI is rolling out Apple Pie, Cinnamon Coffee Cake and Apple Cider Coffee Cake flavors. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR A HOME BAKER? It does not mean you need to abandon pumpkin. It means there may be a much bigger opportunity than simply putting pumpkin spice into everything. If I were developing products right now, I'd be looking at combinations like: 🍎 Caramel Apple Crumb Cake 🍁 Salted Maple Apple Cookies 🤎 Brown Sugar Apple Butter Loaf 🍁 Maple Butterscotch Blondies 🍎 Apple Cider Streusel Muffins 🤎 Brown Sugar Maple Pecan Cookies The Insider takeaway: Watch the flavor family, not just the individual trend. Apple + caramel + maple + brown sugar + warm spice gives you dozens of ways to create something that feels unmistakably fall without looking exactly like everyone else's pumpkin menu. That's the opportunity I'd be paying attention to right now. Keep your eyes on the Recipe Index - I'll be adding something soon!