I second Earth Balance. While it isn't butter (nothing is, alas) it does have a nice consistency and tastes pretty good.

As for sugar, you may have to alter what you use depending on the recipe. For instance, using maple syrup might taste good in wintry quick bread, but not so great in a delicate white cake. Here's a nice table of some alternatives: http://www.vegetarianorganiclife.com/sugartable.htm

If I were you (which I am not, but you asked) I would get a nice crusty bread from Boulangerie Nantaise...while they are in Belltown, luckily you can find their wares at Madison Market in Capitol Hill!

OR - you can find Columbia City Bakery Bread at the Sunday Cap. Hill Farmer's market...

OR - oh man, would the savory biscuits from North Hill Bakery pair nicely with chili.

Just saying.

People get pretty passionate about this, and most recently I feel that leaf lard has been the darling of the pie crust world. (what is it? Find out here: http://www.seattlemag.com/0p135a1575/key-ingredient-leaf-lard/)

Personally? My favorite (and granted, this is the one I grew up with my mom making, so keep in mind that nostalgia plays into it) combo is half butter, half shortening (but no egg in ours). In my opinion, this combo gives it a sturdy, not-too-shattery texture that still has a good flavor. Plus, in my kitchen these ingredients are far more likely to just be around anyway.

You know what I'd do? I'd make a Peach Upside-Down cake. Just use a pineapple upside down cake recipe but substitute peaches. That's what I'd do all right, and I'd serve it with ice cream on the side.

You can invite me over when you make it, I promise not to be a weird third wheel.

I echo Rhienn's tip to use salted butter. I love salt, though, so keep that in mind. I actually have become hooked with topping my shortbread with a sprinkle of the fancy flavored salts by Secret Stash Sea Salts. As the French would say, Le Yum.

I think that for me, the key has always been to keep it simple with shortbread. I say use good ingredients, since there are so few of them in shortbread! And I am a cheapskate, so hopefully this means something.

Follow the recipe and don't overmix, especially after you've added the flour. I like to turn off the oven when the top of the cookies have turned matte, and let them continue to heat for a few minutes in the residual oven heat so they get lightly golden on the bottom but remain soft on top.

Another tip that always seems to wow people is that I like to bake my shortbread in a circular pan and then cut it into wedges, which I perceive as being Scottish-style. For some reason, when people are served shortbread in a triangle form, their pinkies can't help but pop out. But you're adding chocolate and/or espresso, so you probably already have the pinkies-out aspect covered.

If you've been using a typical American buttercream (confectioners' sugar, butter, and maybe a little milk / vanilla), I have a few suggestions.

First (maybe duh?), cream cheese frosting. It's basically like buttercream but with cream cheese too, and has a delightful little tang that works beautifully, in my opinion especially with slightly contrasting flavors, for instance the mellow sweetness of banana cake or the subtle cocoa flavor of Red Velvet.

And if you want to go one better, try CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM. Did that need to be in caps lock? YES. http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/04/my-favorite-chocolate-cream-cheese.html

Along the lines of "same method, different flavor", why not try browned butter frosting? It doesn't require much more work but oh, the flavor benefits are incredible when you work the butter a bit first to bring out its full, rich flavor: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,196,152179-245202,00.html

If you want to try a different METHOD, I recently tried this cooked buttercream and honestly could not stop eating it: http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2010/6/23/america-the-sweet-united-cakes-of-america-and-hartford-elect.html

Feeling very adventurous? This one is not for everyone, but avocado buttercream has a certain something that I love. I like to use butter WITH the avocado for extra flavor and decadence. http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/07/vegan-chocolate-avocado-cake/

I will confess that I have not tried the recipe myself, but at a recent brunch that I attended I was impressed by some Belgian waffles that one of the hosts had made, and they said that they had used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Liege-Belgian-Waffles-with-Pearl-Sugar/Detail.aspx -- now, the recipe intro says that these are a little sweeter than the traditional ones, and I don't have a ton of experience with waffles, but I thought I would pass it on.

I think that cake pops suit different purposes. They're a great party snack because they're cute to display and easy to serve--and because everyone loves food on a stick (as has been mentioned previously!). They've also gained a lot of popularity because they're a great medium for all sorts of creative decoration--Bakerella, as you mentioned, is the queen of this and in my humble opinion does a great job of making coo-worthy confections. This makes the cake pops appealing not only to bakers but to crafters, too.

There are also some other reasons why they're appealing: they're a great way to use up slightly stale cake, they keep for far longer than cake (up to 2 weeks or so if stored properly), and they're full of fat, and as a saying I love goes, "fat brings 'em back".

Of course, all this having been said, my flavor preference is probably for a delicious slab of frosted birthday cake, but I think there's room at the cake table for these pops too!

This one is 9 inches, but I trust the Cuisinart brand. http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Classic-9-Inch-Nonstick-Deep-Dish/dp/B0000D8CAQ

Although a quick search on the Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma sites didn't result in any, this doesn't mean it's not worth stopping by or calling and asking!