Lola Cookies and Treats

Who doesn't love cupcakes? They're one of my favorite desserts to make, and they're my new go-to at birthday time, especially for kids. Everything is so neat and contained. Plus, I'm a terrible cake cutter, so making cupcakes allows me to avoid getting made fun of for my poor knife skills.

Lola's Cookies and Treats in Downtown Leesburg is a place I've been meaning to try for ages. I didn't know much about them except for the fact that they make cookies and cute cupcakes. But really, what more do you need?

I stopped in this week with the aim of getting a taste of what they have to offer. I have to say, I was surprised by how tiny the shop is. You walk in and there's basically the counter, and then a small area in which they do all of the baking and decorating. It's not too hard to prove that everything there is freshly prepared.

The other benefit (or danger, depending on your perspective) of having such a tiny shop is that all you can see is sweets. Cupcakes are being decorated, cookies are cooling on racks - you automatically want to ask for one of everything.

I wanted to get a good representation of what Lola's has to offer, so I asked for recommendations. They're known for their chocolate ginger cookies, so I asked for one of those.

It would obviously be ridiculous if I were to leave without sampling one of the delicious-looking cupcakes, so in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I chose the Chocolate Guinness Cupcake.

I'm going to cut right to the chase here: they were both unbelievably delicious. I've made chocolate ginger cookies before, so I thought I knew what to expect. However, Lola's puts chocolate chips in theirs, which makes it that much better.

The cupcake though is what really blew me away. My problem with most "fancy cupcakes" is the icing. It often is stiff and globby. This cupcake was different: the icing was light in both texture and flavor, but didn't overtake the cake.

Another thing that you usually run into with cupcakes like this is that the cake basically serves as a vehicle for whatever is on top. This chocolate Guinness cake was an exception: I could actually taste the Guinness, which surprised me. It definitely stood on its own.

While Lola's is a bit on the pricey side (individual cupcakes are over $3, and a dozen is $35), I still highly recommend them for special occasions, or when you just need a special treat.

Lola Cookies and Treats is located at 109 S. King St in Leesburg, and is open from 10-5:30, Monday - Saturday.