Bg's Bakery 

When you walk through the doors, your eyesight isn't a necessary sense to give away where you are, the sweet and comforting scent and the warmth of the air will already tell you, you have entered into Bg's bakery. And luckily for you, this is no place that disappoints. Bg's bakery has been open for decades, which has been providing homemade baked goods to families all over town since 1979. They are located in Minersville, Pennsylvania, and have been known to be a neighborhood favorite!

chocolate chip cookies
with cocoa chunks & M&M's

As you walk into this bakery, the familiar aromas that meet your nose easily trigger flashbacks of getting a treat when you were a little kid. I have been going here ever since I was a teetering toddler, and the thought of visiting on weekends when I am home from school excites me more than learning of a snow day as a child. Once you enter this business, many things grab on to your attention at the same time. You cant help but notice your reflection off of the shining, cold, and clean glass cases that are full from top to bottom of different treats and candies. Maybe you'll pick up an order sheet and request the "usual", or maybe look through the monthly advertisement to try something new and fun. Not only is the customer's view of this place great, but behind closed doors is even more interesting. 

Entering the kitchen you don't know what to expect. Once you go to the back you immediately notice the four enormous ovens, definitely not ones you're used to seeing in your home kitchen. The warmth radiating off of them is tremendous, but the smells seeping out of their doors is even better. The walls are lined with vintage looking photos of cupcakes, and pies, almost as if they came right from a local 1950's diner. No one can help but notice the fun atmosphere, not only do the kitchen walls have bakery paintings, but each employee has a name tag above a metal hook that holds their color coordinated aprons and fluffy oven mittens. It's almost as if each employee is a character from candy land, with their colorful uniforms, smiling faces, and the pride in their work that shows so clearly. 

pumpkin chocolate chip cookie batter 

I was able to sit and watch a recipe being made, and I sure am glad I did! I sat in on the process for making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. The way all of the ingredients combine together to make something so fun to eat was really cool. It's amazing how mixing a few things together can result in such a beautiful masterpiece. "Whats your secret for making these cookies so perfect?", I asked Rachel, the employee. "Well, basically, dry ingredients first, then wet, and take them out 3 minutes before they're actually done because most people don't know that cookies bake for 3 minutes even after being removed from the oven! Tell your friends," Rachel responded with a laugh. 

Not only do these employees give off the impression that they work hard, but they can also hit you with some facts! Chrissy is the manager's name that speaks on behalf of everyone at the bakery and she provides some things you wouldn't know just by looking at their bakery. Baked daily, is thirty-five trays of bread, along with two homemade items by each employee who is scheduled for the day. So many of their items are homemade they go though an averaged 100 lbs. of sugar a week, occupied as well by 250 lbs. of sugar! With receiving over 25 personalized customer orders a week, there no surprise that these ingredients are used up quickly. Their menu is all made from scratch, and everyone has their favorites! They offer everything from cookies, cakes, pies, scones, brownies, churros, donuts, cheesecakes, pudding cups, and almost anything else you could think of! 

Along with their daily baking and orders, the holidays are even more hectic! They offer an immense amount of specials, coupons, and party arrangements during every holiday. "So Chrissy, you mentioned that holidays are busy, whats your most popular item? Or do you offer any holiday specials?", I question. She replies, "Yes they are extremely busy. Our most popular items I guess you can say range from holiday to holiday. Valentines day its definitely cheesecake cups, and chocolate covered strawberries. Memorial day is our red, white, and blue cupcake trays. Thanksgiving and Easter is our paska bread. And Christmas has got to be cookie trays of course! Every month we offer an advertisement flier, with our months special items, and coupons. We do try to do at least one different item each month that we then make limited edition, it definitely spices things up and customers love to know what each months will be, its always a different surprise!" 

sunday's belgian brunch waffles 

One thing most find particularly different than other bakeries is that Bg's offers a Sunday brunch special! It includes a platter that is your choice of 3 baked goods offered out of the 5 with a cup of coffee or juice. They offer your choice of 3 homemade cinnamon rolls, 2 warm belgian waffles, 2 fresh bagels with your choice of spread and fruit, 3 homemade donuts of your choice, or french toast dippers. You know you would definitely enjoy stuffing your face with 3 of those options, who doesn't love a good brunch?! 

gooey and soft cinnamon rolls 

After seeing, smelling, and learning about all of their homemade goodies, there is no doubt you are not leaving without a purchase. Fortunately for me, I had many samples! I tried brownie batter filled cookies, and their cream cheese roll ups. Let me say, the brownie filled cookies were not only delicious, but some may say, life changing! Immediately after sinking my teeth into one of these, my mouth was on vacation. The warmth of the cookie, and the gooey batter exploding into my mouth after the cookie crumbled on my tongue was truly amazing. Just because these were extraordinary didn't make the roll ups any less important! After taking just one bite, I could feel the crunch of cinnamon and sugar in between my teeth and lips, while savoring the sweet cream cheese and vanilla filling. 

This bakery has not only been a favorite of many for a long time, but just people knowing and seeing everything these employees do to make sure a family's after dinner dessert is wonderfully prepared, really makes it more comforting when ordering from them, and provides this business with a reliable customer base!