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Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 46F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 29F. Winds light and variable.

Editor's note: This is the first story in a series to highlight the delectable baked goods on offer at bakeries around Vermont.

When Tobin Porter and his wife were busy selling fresh produce in Hardwick, they were often forced to work on their laptops in the front seat of their car. Cramped and uncomfortable, they talked about how great it would be if there was a cozy place in town where they could get coffee and a pastry and sit in comfort for a while. So when a space went up for rent at the intersection of routes 15 and 14 in Hardwick they turned their dream into a reality.

Now, two years later, Front Seat Bakery is a welcome oasis of fine baked goods and expertly-crafted coffee drinks on the crossroads to points east and north.

The bakery feels like a warm and cozy loft with old wooden floors, wooden tables made by local carpenters, colorful prints on the walls and a snug seating area of upholstered chairs. Large windows fill the space with daylight. The glass-fronted bakery display is the main attraction, pulling visitors from the front door like a tractor beam of buttery goodness.

Everything the bakery makes is fantastic. We really liked the handmade croissants and the kouign-amann. The croissants are flakey, perfectly brown and rich with the taste of Vermont butter. Kouign-amann is originally from Brittany. Its name is a portmanteau of the French words for butter and cake and pronounced koon-a-mann. Like an extra-buttery croissant with a delicate sugar crust, its mouth feel is nearly as good as its taste. Once you crunch through its sweet outer shell, you reach its soft and cool doughy interior.

Amazingly, Porter taught himself how to bake with the help of a baker he hired to get him started. “You do something enough times,” he says, laughing, “you figure it out.”

He admits to plenty of failures, but once they hit on what they were good at they kept going and perfected it.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Or, in this case, behind the glass on the counter. Pick any item and you’re in for a treat.

Accompany your sweet with an espresso drink or specialty tea. The coffee is brewed from locally-roasted Carrier beans in Northfield and the Front Seat baristas know their way around a frother. We recommend one of the comfy window seats from which you can watch the world pass by for a few sweet moments.

Neil Dunlop, of Marshfield, has visited bakeries in countries all over the world, a fact of which he’s proud and a little embarrassed.

Hours: Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Prices: Drip coffee is $2.50 with $1 refills; espresso drinks start at $2.50. Croissants are $3.75; cinnamon buns $4.00; kouign-amann, $4.50; donut holes $1.75; and cookies $2.75.

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