Alayna here. We’re back for volume 2 of the sweetest email in your inbox.
Today we’re chatting about what I’m bringing to the craft show tomorrow, a scary good cookie, and how to bring Francine’s Sweets to your business!
Let’s sweet talk.
This past week has been alllll about craft show prep for the St. Mark Lutheran Church craft show TOMORROW. I’ve baked a whopping 266 cookies and 3 cakes. I’m so excited to see old friends and meet new ones! Come say hi and get a cookie or a slice of cake! I’ll have chocolate chip, sugar, monster, chocolate surprise, and s’mores cookies available. I’ll also have individual slices of chocolate cake and funfetti cake available for purchase too! Not to mention FREE SAMPLES. Yep, you heard right. See you there!
I love craft shows because I grew up going to them with my mom and grandma. Once my grandma got me a necklace that had my name written on a piece of rice. Some kids might get excited about the latest Barbie or a new set of Legos. Me? Rice. I have always been easy to please. How in the world could anyone write small enough to fit “Alayna” on a piece of rice??? To this day, I still think it might have been some sort of Houdini magic.
Going to those craft shows always inspired me to pull out my craft supplies, glue, and glitter and create for hours. I loved crafting some kind of project from random supplies from around the house like empty milk cartons and oatmeal containers. (Anyone else make a guitar out of an old Kleenex box and a paper towel tube? Just me? Cool.) As we get older and busier, the less we use our imaginations and the less we create. Why are those fun, creative outlets in our life like drawing and playing outside the first hobbies to leave us as we get older? Instead, when we get home from work, we are so exhausted that all we want to do is turn on Netflix or pull up TikTok because we don’t have the energy for anything else. I’d argue that the act of putting your phone down and creating something with your hands and brain will do more for your mentals than the doom-scrolling we’re all accustomed to.
That’s why I love baking. It’s where I get to play with flavors, textures and colors. I can physically FEEL the ingredients on my fingertips in a way that touching an iPhone screen doesn’t allow. I get to take ingredients that, on their own, are not edible, but put together, make a delicious dessert that brings joy and happiness to others. It’s a time when I put my phone down and enjoy the measuring of ingredients and stirring of cookie dough. So I’ll be in my kitchen for the foreseeable future, maybe with some flour on my face and sprinkles in my hair, but happily creating the tastiest treats for your celebrations!
Cookie of the Week: Monster Cookies
This week’s feature is the monster cookie. It has peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips and M&Ms aka the cookie of your dreams. When you bite into one of these, you taste the chewiness of the brown sugar and butter along with the creamy peanut butter and crunch of the M&Ms. It’s a textural delight.
Why in the world are they called monster cookies? No clue, but you might turn into a monster if you don’t get your little hands on them ASAP. They’re also scary good. Not to mention it takes a lot of mon-STIR-ing to make them. I’ll see myself out.
Hosting a Halloween bash? A dozen or two of these would be the perfect way to kick off a spoooooky evening! I’ll even throw in some edible eye balls to make them even scarier.
Bring Francine’s Sweets to Your Business!
Do you or someone you know own a local small business? I’m looking for interested businesses in the Grand Rapids area who would like to host a Francine’s Sweets pop-up! This is a great opportunity to give your customers the chance purchase some cookies or cake slices from Francine’s Sweets. The only thing I need is a little bit of space (we’re talking 6 feet) in your store, and I bring everything else! Imagine the joy and delight on your customers’ faces when they see fresh-baked cookies just waiting to be eaten. Send me an email if you're interested!
Thanks for reading!
Comments