Modern Baking is the top trade magazine for bakers of every type, reaching more than 85,000 bakeries across the U.S. Each year it hands out awards to a handful of “bakeries that excel” — and for 2011, it honored Lola’s for an approach to marketing that’s every bit as genuine and hand-made as our baked goods. It’s nice to be held up as an example for every other bakery to follow!

For its June issue, The Washingtonian came to town and selected the “Best of Leesburg.” We’re delighted to report that Lola’s made the list: The mag featured a pretty photo of our chocolate-vanilla cupcakes and praised our “impressive lineup of sweets,” including the ginger chocolate cookie (which they’ve liked before) and the congo bar.

“Heaven in a Bite,” proclaims the cover line on the spring issue of Loudoun Magazine, and no wonder: The accompanying photo is a beauty shot of Lola’s cupcakes. There are lots more photos inside, plus praise of our “cover-worthy cupcakes, as precisely decorated as wedding cakes — but better, because you know they’re going to taste as good as they look.”

Our goodies seem to be inspiring a new lexicon: “Lo-licious,” trumpets the Piedmont Virginian, after partaking in our “sweet indulgence.” (You may remember that Northern Virginia magazine previously called our lemon cupcake “tartacular.”) Words of praise as fresh as our treats: Next stop, Merriam Webster!

The winter issue of Flavor magazine, which champions artisanal food and wine from Virginia, praises Lola’s dedication to all-scratch baking in its “Local Grazings” section, noting that we use no preservatives or artificial flavors. The mag throws a holiday spotlight on our pumpkin and gingerbread cupcakes — plus our nationwide gift shipping, of course.

The dessert-themed December issue of Northern Virginia magazine featured a big photo of our Luscious Lemon cupcake, which it praised as “tartacular.” A new word, coined just for Lola: We’re honored! “We dig the rotating cupcake selection,” said the mag, singling out the “ravishing ganache” of our chocolate cupcake.

“Cookies don’t get any better,” said The Washingtonian in its December issue. And since DC’s top magazine has been naming the region’s best for decades, who are we to argue? The mag’s critics were wowed by our ginger chocolate cookies, but they hastened to add that “the rest of the lineup … is just as wonderful.”

Every day on her Emmy-winning, nationally syndicated talk show, Rachael Ray highlights a “Snack of the Day” — a hand-selected goodie that she distributes to her entire studio audience. On the show that aired on October 17, she featured Lola’s delicious congo bars; they were declared “a huge hit” by Rachael’s staff.

» Watch the video on YouTube

Our little bakery is officially a tourist attraction! Lola’s was among a handful of businesses selected by the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association to be highlighted in an Emmy-winning series of videos to promote the area.

» Watch the video on YouTube

For Valentine’s Day, the Boston Globe featured Lola’s heart-shaped tin as a great gift idea. Lorraine’s first bakery job was in a cookie shop near Boston — the Globe likes it when a local girl makes good.

FOX 5 TV personality Holly Morris attracted a crowd when she reported live from our bakery for the FOX 5 Morning News. Holly did a couple of segments — first as Lorraine made scones, then as a gang of kids helped to make her famous ginger chocolate cookies.

» Watch a segment on MeFeedia

For the ‘Two Days Away’ travel feature in its Christmas issue, Southern Lady magazine visited our home town of Leesburg. It didn’t take them long to find our “assortment of tempting treats.”

MonkeySee is a new Web site that films experts as they demonstrate everything from milking a cow to solving a Rubik’s cube. When they were looking for experts on holiday baking, the producers naturally came to Lola’s. Lorraine shot two sets of videos about holiday treats, showing how to make both her peppermint bark and her award-winning caramel pecan bars.

» Watch the videos on MonkeySee