Sweet Talk with Francine's Sweets: Episode 20
- Alayna Kendall
- Jun 19
- 4 min read
Alayna here. We’re back with volume 20 of the sweetest email in your inbox.
I’m talking about how you can avoid food waste, a pop-up recap, and highlighting the hottest cookie of the summer!
Let’s sweet talk.
Baking Bites: Tips for the Every Day Baker
Label Your Leftovers!
You know those times when you’re baking, and you have some ingredients left over? In your head you think, I will DEFINITELY remember that I made this hot fudge/cookie dough/chocolate bark on June 8th. You then start to think of the significant events that happened that day to convince yourself you won’t forget because in fact, on this day, it was 110 degrees and a hurricane blew your roof off. I am telling you that even if those 2 things DID happen, you still wouldn’t remember that your cookie dough got put into the fridge that day. And then, 2 days later, you’ll look at that container in your fridge and suddenly won’t remember if it’s been in there for 3 days or 3 months. You’ll end up throwing the stuff away because you’re not sure if you’ll get scurvy from consuming it. How can we stop this madness??
Turns out there’s a reallll simple fix. Ever heard of tape and a marker? That’s all you need.
I prep for orders and pop-up days in advance so that all my tasks don’t fall on the same day. This means that I take full advantage of my fridge and freezer. Think about how many thoughts and ideas you have rattling around in your noggin. There is absolutely no way you will remember that the egg whites you put in the fridge were from June 18th. You can barely remember what you had for dinner last night or your child’s first name. So here’s my tip. Pull out some masking or painters tape (this is easier to remove than Scotch tape), affix it to the container or bag in question, and write the product and date on it. It’s so easy and simple, and your brain will thank you in the future.
I used this tip this week in fact! One of my cookie recipes calls for 2 eggs, and 2 egg yolks. I hate throwing food away, so I put those leftover egg whites into a container to be used in a different recipe (I’m thinking of whipping them up and throwing them in some waffles for max fluffiness). I will not for the life of me be able to remember that I put them in the fridge on June 18th, so I wrote the name of the item and the date on a piece of masking tape, and threw it in the fridge. Now, when I go to use the egg whites, I have a quick way to see if they’re still good to use. And masking tape is easy to remove, so when I clean the container, I simply have to pull the tape off, and I’m all set!
Now if you’ve watched The Bear, you know that Carmy hates when the tape is not cut exactly straight, but since I’m not running a Michelin star restaurant, I let the jagged edges slide. But you do you, boo boo.
This is such a good way to cut down on kitchen food waste, and can apply to any food items you store, from leftover spaghetti to cookie dough to grated parmesan cheese. Happy labeling!
That’s A Whole Lotta Cookies!
Last week’s pop-up at barre3 Grand Rapids was such a blast! This was my biggest pop-up yet, and I brought almost 200 cookies plus about 100 more for pre-orders! I sold out of all of them but 12! I still am blown away by all the people who showed up that weren’t even taking a class, and just wanted cookies! If you pre-ordered, or came to the pop-up, I cannot thank you enough. Francine’s Sweets wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for YOU and your own love of cookies. THANK YOU!
At the pop-up I offered an exclusive Peanut Butter Oreo cookie that was stuffed with a whole Oreo. The feedback I got was astounding. Apparently you all love the peanut butter + Oreo combo as much as me! I think I’m going to have to bring it back to the menu at some point, so keep your eyes peeled…👀
And if you want the inside scoop about what goes into preparing this many cookies, click the pic below to watch my Day In The Life recap video of this pop-up!
The Founding Fathers Loved S’mores Cookies (not confirmed)
This cookie continues to be our most popular from the Summer Cookie Collection! Its chewy cookie base is filled with homemade graham crackers, chopped Hershey’s bar pieces, and chocolate chips. Each cookie is stuffed with a marshmallow that gets freshly toasted after being pulled out of the oven. It’s topped with flaky sea salt, and is truly the cookie of the summer.
If you haven’t tried this flavor yet, now’s the time! It won’t be around forever!
Had Francine’s Sweets been around in 1776, I like to think that ‘ol Benny Franklin would have been a loyal customer and probably would have shared some smores cookies with his pals, like George Washington and Thomas Paine.
If you need cookies for your 4th of July activities, I’ve got you covered! Cookies are the perfect treat to bring to any BBQ, picnic, parade or fireworks show. Note that pick-up for the 4th weekend is only available on July 3rd and July 5th. No availability July 4th, or July 6th-July 7th. Place an order now to reserve your spot!
Thanks for reading!
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