This blog entry was inspired by an article I came across on OneForTheTable.com written by Marilyn Naron.  Naron’s comment and main point was that “there are as many oatmeal secrets in America as there are splattered recipe cards.” And this got me wondering: what sort of  incredibly tasty oatmeal cookie secrets do my family and friends have? I have always enjoyed my oatmeal cookie with raisins and lots of cinnamon and nutmeg, but I have decided to take a personal poll (the results of which are still pending) to see what flavor combinations I might be missing out on!

Pacific Cookie Company's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

In the meantime, here are Naron’s 25 ways to make a better oatmeal cookie.

1. Add extra cinnamon and chocolate chunks
2. Add dried cherries, crystallized ginger and a dash of powdered ginger
3. Add chopped dried pineapple and toasted coconut
4. Add finely chopped granny smith apple
5. Add dried currants plumped in orange juice, and the zest of one orange
6. Add chopped toffee bits and toasted almond slices
7. Add dried wild blueberries and nutmeg
8. Add chocolate chips and pecan halves
9. Add white chocolate chips and toasted walnuts
10. Add a few handfuls of any Trader Joe’s trail mix
11. Add a tablespoon of powdered espresso and cocoa nibs
12. Add chopped dried pears and white chocolate chunks
13. Add chopped candied orange peel
14. Add dried cranberries and pumpkin pie spice
15. Add chocolate chunks and salted peanuts
16. Add grated raw carrot and toasted walnuts
17. Add chopped dates and toasted coconut
18. Add chocolate chips, chopped walnuts & mini-marshmallows
19. Add about a cup of Rice Krispies cereal
20. Chocolate-Dipped: Bake jumbo cookies and allow to cool. Cut cookies into quarters and dip each pointed end in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Allow chocolate to set, and serve.
21. Oatmeal Black and Whites: bake large oatmeal cookies and cool. Make chocolate and white icings (try these icing recipes). Frost one half of each cookie with dark icing, and the other half with white.
22. Oatmeal Faux Macarons: make small, puffy oatmeal cookies and sandwich two with chocolate ganache. Allow ganache to set, and serve.
23. Orange-Glazed Oatmeal Cookies: make a light glaze by mixing 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice, and pinch of grated orange zest. Drizzle over cookies and allow to dry.
24. Oatmeal Cookie Dip: Bake mini oatmeal cookies, and make chocolate yogurt dip: whisk one cup vanilla yogurt with one tablespoon of cocoa powder and one tablespoon brown sugar. Chill for an hour, then serve with cookies and fresh strawberries.
25. Brandied Cherry Oatmeal Ice Cream Sandwiches: soak dried cherries in brandy and drain. Add to oatmeal dough; bake jumbo cookies and cool. Sandwich with good-quality cherry ice cream and freeze.

Happy Baking!

I have always loved the outdoors. And since my husband and I have moved to Santa Cruz (a little more than a year now), I am proud to say we have been to a few different state parks in the area:  Año Nuevo on a wonderful docent led tour, camping among the redwoods of Big Basin and Henry Cowell, and tidepooling at Natural Bridges just to name a few. In fact, some of our fondest memories of Santa Cruz have been made at these parks and beaches. So it makes me happy to say that Pacific Cookie Company has partnered with Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks to feature our newest item, “That’s My Park Pack,” in which we will be donating 20% of your gift box purchases to Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks to help keep our state parks and beaches open!

Need another reason to support Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks? Just ask my dog, Oliver, and he’ll tell you how much fun he has when we go out!

We came across Rebecca’s Blog, “The Cherry On Top” and just HAD to share her post about the Skillet Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie, a recipe she got from Martha Stewart Living. But we didn’t stop there – curiosity got the better of us, and we decided to test it out. Our VP, Cara Pearson, tested out the recipe for her husband’s birthday…read below for her story!

I know this may sound funny but even though I am surrounded by baking all day long, I still LOVE to bake at home. The joy of baking was not something that was handed down to me from my mom or grandmother, it began when I had my first little girl. As a toddler, Lily became very interested in the kitchen and the process of cooking. When we baked cookies together for the first time, I loved watching her smile as she moved her hands through the flour, giggle as we cracked eggs together, oooh and awww as it became a ball of gooey cookie dough and then sit directly in front of the oven until the timer went off. Till this day I am not sure if it is the process of making the desserts, licking the spoon or anxiously awaiting the final product that she loves the most, but I know for sure that she LOVES to bake too. Now that there are three of us (including her little sister Mila) it has become quite cozy in our kitchen as they wiggle around while standing on chairs trying to get in the best position for their turn to measure. I like to tell people that baking with kids is good parenting because they learn how to count, it is a great lesson in patience, and it takes team work; but the fact is, having fresh baked goods in the house ROCKS.

This is why when Emily posted about the Skillet Cookie on our Facebook page the other day, I just could not resist. A cookie cake baked in a skillet? The girls would love that. Better yet their Daddy’s, James’, birthday was coming up and we were planning a fun family night at home for the occasion. We put on our aprons, they climbed up on the chairs and we got to baking. The dough came together in no time but the best part was squishing the dough down into the skillet with our hands. We put it in to bake when we sat down to dinner and once we were finished it was cookie time! The skillet kept the cookie warm as we cut up a slice and paired it with plain ol’ vanilla ice cream. It was thick and gooey, perfect.

Here are a few tips when following the below recipe:

1. You can add peanut butter cups chopped up for an extra layer of flavor.
2. Don’t let the dough in the skillet sit out of the fridge for too long before baking
3. Watch the baking time – our skillet was done in 32 minutes and could have probably come out before (since we like the gooey middle part).
4. Enjoy!!

Skillet-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie

What You Need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (about 9 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (or a mix of milk chocolate and semi sweet chips)

What You Need to Do:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until well incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.  Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix to distribute.

Transfer the dough to a 10-inch ovenproof (e.g. cast-iron) skillet, and press to flatten in an even layer on the bottom of the pan.  Bake until the edges of the cookie are brown and the top is golden, about 40-45 minutes.  Don’t overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. If using a smaller or larger skillet, adjust cooking time accordingly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

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Emily’s day is the fifth in our series A Perfect Day in Santa Cruz.

The smell of breakfast sausage from El Salchichero carries on the waves of the summer sunlight that warms the side of my face as I continue to slip in and out of sleep. It drifts in from the kitchen where an English breakfast of traditional breakfast sausage and fried tomatoes are being prepared to perfection by my loving husband, Tucker. In my sleepy haze, I vaguely hear the subtle popping of the eggs he’s cooking in the sausage fat, then a quick mechanical “click” indicating the toast is done telling me breakfast is almost ready. I turn over, tempted out of bed by the anticipation of a deliciously scrumptious feast that has me salivating uncontrollably, and it’s at that moment I see Tucker bringing me breakfast in bed, a glass of orange juice on the side to wash away my hunger.

As I outstretch my arms to push my back up against the headboard and sit up, I hear a faint groan that sounds strangely like Tucker’s “I’m still asleep…is it really time to get up already?” groan. I wipe the sleep from my eyes with a balled up right fist, and I realize I’d been dreaming! Tucker really WAS still asleep, and really DID let out his “I’m still asleep…is it really time to get up?” groan. The rustling of the sheets wakes Oliver, our 1 year old King Spaniel Terrier, who then proceeds to lick us to death, or until one of us finally slides into our slippers to take care of his morning business…so romantic.

Oh well, it’s coming up on Valentine’s Day so honey, if you’re reading this, take that as a not so subtle hint of how you could make my day extra special! :)

Realistically, I suppose my perfect day would start with a fresh raspberry Danish from  Verve to be washed down with one of their hot mocha lattes. Living in downtown Santa Cruz  makes this short 10 minute jaunt a nice bit of early morning exercise (my English heritage shows through here I suppose with morning strolls and dreams of traditional English breakfasts), and as we walk back towards the boardwalk with our hot coffees in hand, Tucker explains to me the reason behind the morning’s beautiful pink streaked sunrise.

Along the way, Oliver works frantically to sniff at every passing tree, bush, lamppost, etc. before we pull him along again. Our destination is typically Its Beach on the Westside where Oliver loves to socialize with all the other doggies, but today we decide to loop back around and head home, grab a few snacks (yes, those snacks include our favorite Pacific Cookie Company cookies – Almond Joe, and Dr. Midnight), and take a drive north on Highway 1 towards Davenport, where we stop at a beach alongside the road to go tide-pooling.

Oliver leads the way to the sand, tugging his leash taunt as we cross the Highway, begging us to let him free. Not a second after we concede to his wishes does he take advantage of the opportunity to bolt away. With outstretched legs he carries himself as fast as he can to the shoreline where the water wets his feet and he comes frolicking back to us. The look on his face is pure happiness for me. We continue this way for an hour or two, as he follows us into the whitewater then onto the rocks and out into the seagrass. His curiosity gets the better of him and he misjudges the depth of a hole in the sand. But victory is his, as he doggie paddles for a moment to regain his footing, and he makes it out! We continue on in this fashion for sometime more before the afternoon winds begin to breeze through, making us realize we have all but missed lunch!

We head towards home, and stop for a late “to-go” lunch at Zoccoli’s for delicious “make-your-own” sandwiches. At home, we bathe Oliver and spend some time just the two of us at Bookshop Santa Cruz where Tucker and I buy each other a book to read. Romantically cliché, yes, But it gets better. From there we finish the night at Vino Prima on the Santa Cruz Wharf, our hands down favorite-of-all-time wine bar, and enjoy a couple glasses of local wines in good company (if you’ve never been, tell Larry, Stacey, or Craig I sent you!). The sunset there is the best in town – stunningly captivating – and dinner at Olitas is catered to you…what more could you ask for?

If you’ve never visited Santa Cruz before, I suggest putting it on the bucket list – especially if you’re a foodie. Downtown is a good place to start – just make sure to stop by our retail store (1203 Pacific Ave.) and grab a cookie for dessert!

Well – Christmas is certainly here! And if you’ve ever visited our wholesale location for a good deal on day-old cookies, you might have seen a few employees hard at work with their festive hats! This morning, Judy (our Sales Manager, and newest employee) gave me a red and white striped hat to wear. Little did she know that Felipe, our Production Manager who has been here for MANY years, always dons his festive hats for each holiday, whether it’s Christmas, or St. Patrick’s Day, or Thanksgiving – yes Thanksgiving…he had a turkey hat!

So when Judy offered me the red and white striped hat, I had to challenge him to a hat duel. Well, he won – because after I showed off my new hat to him, he came back with ANOTHER hat…a reindeer hat in place of his usual elf hat with ears. I smell the likes of a continuous challenge between him and I, and I can’t wait to see what we come up with next!

A few of our Christmas Elves - Samuel, Emily (myself), and Felipe

Although the summer season is my favorite time of year, nothing tops that holiday feeling. There is something magical about the days just before Thanksgiving that has me anxiously waiting in anticipation for Christmas. Whether it is the crisp fall air, or the store fronts painted with bright orange pumpkins and pilgrim turkeys that are quickly washed away and repainted with abnormally large snowflakes, red and gold ornaments, and snow dusted pine trees, I begin to remember the joys of the holiday season.

Of course it all starts with Thanksgiving, which growing up was a HUGE ordeal between the cousins and aunt and uncles and grandparents from both sides of my family. I specifically remember the horrid smell of boiling chicken bones the day before Thanksgiving when my mom would make an enormous pot of chicken stock (seriously enormous – she would make enough to last her into next year, then freeze it) just to make the gravy everyone raved about. It was not until I had my first taste of canned gravy that I came to appreciate how deliciously wonderful it was!

In an attempt to escape the smell I would play outside all day, trying not to get too annoyed with how “static-y” my hair became from the crisp, dry fall air. And when I did finally get annoyed with how “static-y” my hair became, I resorted to hanging out in the garage with my dad, helping to fix up the blue and white Valvoline go-cart “race car” that he brought out for all the kids (and grownups) to drive on special occasions.

As for food….I remember it all:  My Aunt Laura’s addicting 7-layer bean dip that tended to fill me up before the feasting even began, my Auntie Ann’s infamous baked sweet potatoes drizzled with butter and brown sugar that simply fell apart in my mouth (and do not forget her freshly homemade cranberry sauce!), my mother’s English trifle that I later came to understand was a huge hit with the adults (she put extra Sherry in for them), etc…but the best part was getting to see the whole family – a slightly dysfunctional family, but one that loved each other regardless.

I think the toughest part about Thanksgiving for me this year will be missing my family since I will be spending it with my husband’s side. But this got me thinking about something someone very close once told me: “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” In reflecting on the things this year has brought upon me whilst keeping in mind that which I have to be thankful for, I realized I have nothing to gripe about. Although I will not be spending Thanksgiving with my family, I am fortunate to have wonderful in-laws with whom I get along with fantastically!! I am definitely blessed to have such fun-loving people in my life.

In fact, I am excited to start our own traditions: be it a family touch football game in the backyard to get our appetites going, or a rowdy game inside watching the San Francisco 49ers versus the Baltimore Ravens; or, replicating my Auntie Yvonne’s pumpkin pie, or coming up with my own recipe; there is no telling what this Thanksgiving will bring!

This holiday season, we hope you enjoy that extra time with family and friends as well. And when it is all said and done…after Mom’s famous holiday ham, Aunt Edna’s delicious green bean and almond salad, or the deep friend turkey your Papa Joe decided to cook with his new deep fryer…we hope you take some time for yourself with a cookie (or two) to reflect on all that this year has brought and for everything you have to be thankful for.

Thank again for being loyal Pacific Cookie fans. We truly wish you the happiest holiday season!

Oh, and P.S. – I  got a new dog! I’m the proud Mama of Oliver, a 1-year old Terrier x King Spaniel.

I was watching Food Network the other day on my lunch break (torturous, I know…because while I was eating my tuna sandwich for the second day in a row, Paula Deen was baking crispy sweet potato fries with loads of butter, a beautiful side of asparagus and a deliciously tender steak with a soy sauce glaze), and it finally struck me that we are in the thick of the autumn season. I suppose what really hit it home, regardless of the crisp morning air that turns my nose pink and that particularly comforting crunching sound of leaves under foot, was the sequential Paula Deen segment on “TV Dinner Cupcakes” (what can I say, I love Paula Deen!) – dessert made to look like chicken drumsticks, vegetables, and mashed potatoes and gravy.  How adorable are these?!

So I came to the realization that it wasn’t even Halloween yet, and I was excited for Thanksgiving…ooh the food! It’s nice to see family too of course, but the food! J And in this daydream of blissful, self-indulging gluttony, I came to the realization that my family would expect I bring cookies for dessert (one of the perks for working at Pacific Cookie Company)!

What better way to ring in the holiday season than with our Ginger Spice and Mint cookies?! Mmmm….

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The latest statistic according to BreastCancer.org states that “about 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime…”

My first day at Pacific Cookie Company was just about one year ago and about the same time that Norma was in the thick of her chemotherapy sessions. Norma and I had only met briefly a few times in the first couple months of my working here because she was in and out of chemo, but everyone only ever had good things to say about her. All agreed she was always upbeat, outgoing, full of life, and a genuine delight to be around. Sharon McCourt, manager at Pacific Cookie smiled as she remembered “Norma would come to work everyday looking like a million bucks, and was ALWAYS dressed to the nines!”

Norma was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and a great friend to many people. Larry Pearson, owner of Pacific Cookie, remembers Norma as one of our strongest employees:

“She was our fastest and most efficient employee and could do more than anyone in the plant, man or woman. Norma would work really hard on a long day, go home to take care of her family, and arrive back at work the next morning with dishes of food for all to share. She was a talented cook, and made many dishes that I have never seen, and flavors I’d never tasted. She certainly made me understand that the Mexican food I had come to know did not really exist in her culture! She spoke almost no English, and I speak practically no Spanish, but she touched my heart as few have ever. Her courage, strength, boundless dedication to her beautiful children, the pride in her job, the depth of her friendships…all these things have inspired me – she really does still live in my heart.”

Although I never fully got the chance to get to know her, her dynamic presence is greatly missed by all of us at Pacific Cookie Company. So in her memory, and in an effort to raise awareness of this terribly prominent cancer, we created our Norma Gift Box to help a cause that hits close to home: we will donate $10.00 of every Norma Gift Box sold in the month of October WomenCare, a local Santa Cruz, CA organization that provides FREE cancer advocacy, resources, education, and support to women with all types of cancer. They also advocate for research into the CAUSES of cancer and strive towards providing a healthy environment for women affected by cancer first or secondhand.

We hope that you will join in our effort to raise funding for this organization.

Norma Gift Box - $19.95

On my commute to work every morning, there is a 50/50 chance that I see the firefighters of Downtown Santa Cruz Fire Station No. 1. Whether the garage doors are rolled up and they have a firetruck pulled out for maintenance with cup of coffee in hand, or the firetrucks are already out of the station for the morning, I always tend to drive past with this overwhelming urge to thank them in some way for protecting and supporting our community.

This feeling was, in part, the inspiration for one of our newest gift items: our “Cookies to the Rescue” Gift Box. (If you’ve yet to see our two new boxes, you can check them out by going to the homepage of our website which features both the “Cookies to the Rescue” Gift Box and “The Flight of the Butterflies Cookie Gift Box”).

Cookies to the Rescue Gift Box

Flight of the Butterflies Cookie Gift Box

Sitting at work one afternoon I decided – wouldn’t it be fun to showcase the release of the “Cookies to the Rescue” Gift Box with a little background on the Firefighters of Station No. 1? What a great way to connect the community – through cookies! Well, let me tell you. It wasn’t quite as easy as I thought to get a hold of these guys! Every afternoon for a week during my lunch break I tried to drop off a dozen cookies, but they were either out and about, or the doors were down. My thinking then was, well – I’ll drop them off in the morning since they always seem to be there during that time.

So before work one morning, I caught two of them working on the firetruck. After  introducing myself and asking if they would be interested in “sampling” a few Pacific Cookie Company cookies, I told them I would stop by again the next morning with a few other flavors – to which they were more then appreciative, and excited. But alas, they were already off for the morning when I got there the next day. Just as I was about to give up and head to work, the Station Chief pulled up – and was very supportive of my idea. So I dropped the second dozen of cookies off with him, and awaited a phone call for the “meet-and-greet” time/place.

When I received that call from Ryan, I was so excited that they would be coming to our wholesale location to try some cookies! Later that morning, they stopped by and introduced themselves and I got to chit-chat a bit with some of the guys. What a great group of people! There was this constant sense of lightheartedness and brotherhood amongst them that was simply contagious. And there nicknames were memorable as well. So you’re wondering, which cookies are their favorites? Snickerdoodle was the winner by far!

Left to Right: Ryan (aka T. Man), Robert the Governor, David, FF Landievar, "Tiny", Josh, Marc the Moneymaker

Grant (Deputy Fire Marshall) – Snickerdoodle

Firefighter Landievar – Snickerdoodle

David Graff – Ginger Spice

Ryan (I nicknamed him T-man, because he prefers to drink tea…a man after my own English heart) – couldn’t make up his mind, then decided he liked Mint Condition

“Tiny” (Barbecue Master) – Snickerdoodle

Josh – Snickerdoodle and Chocolate Chip

Robert, the Governor – Cahootz!

Marc the Moneymaker – Snickerdoodle and Mint Condition

With over 74,000 calls per year between three stations in Santa Cruz County, this group of men are part of the county’s busiest fire department. I was very impressed by the variety of activities each of these individuals partook in outside of their firefighting careers:  Hazmat Techs, Paramedics, Rescue Swimmers, and a Best Buddy Bike Club member. Oh, and I was also told that Marc the Moneymaker is such an avid Sharks hockey fan, that they have a “Sharks Dedication Day” for him every season *laughs* Now whether this is true or not – that’s hard to say. But one thing is certain, they all loved our cookies, and couldn’t wait until the NEXT time we invited them to taste a few more! :)

Thanks for the visit SCFD!  You are forever welcome at Pacific Cookie Company – stay safe, and we’ll see you ’round.

Happy Birthday, August Babies!

Here at Pacific Cookie Company, we like to celebrate birthdays in the month of August (maybe the heat of summer gets us thinking about a nice cool ice cream cake). So we thought we’d take these last few days before the end of August to continue the celebrations with a few birthday sale items. You can view those items either by viewing the birthday section of our website, or the sale section.

Of course you have all seen our one-of-a-kind “embarrass the birthday kid” velvety birthday hat with the candles on top (if you haven’t, check it out on our website by clicking HERE). We believe that celebrating your birthday without the birthday hat would be like eating a cookie without a glass of milk! You just can’t have one without the other. In fact, one of our employees, Ashley, has a family tradition of passing the birthday hat from Aunt to nephew to brother to Grandma, etc. depending on who’s birthday they are celebrating.

Back in April, Mila and Lily, the two daughters of Cara Pearson,  celebrated yet another year of fun-filled childhood surrounded by their loving friends and family. Michelle Riddle, of Michelle Riddle Photography, was kind enough to take photos of the event that we have been waiting all year to share with you – and might we take a moment to compliment Michelle’s great work – “Fantastic shots, Michelle! They came out perfect!” Needless to say, all the kids there had a blast between the pinata, easter egg hunt, and classic cookies cakes. Cookie cakes, you ask? Well yes, but not the store bought kind.

The Pearson Family reinvented the cookie cake – And we thought we’d share the secret with you since they’re so simple to make, and a definite party pleaser!

Cookie Cake Recipe

Need:

- Pacific Cookie Company cookies (most popular flavors = Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Snickerdoodle, and Dr. Midnight)

- awesomely long candles (we bought ours at Outside-In Kids, in Aptos)

Directions:

1. Stack cookies about 6 high on a large plate

2. Place candle in center of first cookie on each stack

3. Light the candles

4. Enjoy!

**And if you really want to top it off (no pun intended), check out Lily’s Birthday Topper on our website for a fun addition to any birthday, young or not so young! Here’s a great review from one of our customers: “Hi all, Just wanted you to know how much my uncle loved not only the cookies I sent for his 70th birthday, but the plush birthday hat they came with. He had a big party and wore the hat the whole night, even when he started getting hot — he never took it off. It was the hit of the party and his special day. Thanks for offering such a fun gift! – Frances”