It all started with cookies.

Everyone should have their go-to cookie recipe. The recipe to end all recipes. The recipe that people say "You HAVE to make those cookies again for *insert event here*", and when people ask you for said recipe, you smile and say it's your secret.

I spent years trying to find that recipe. And along the way, I found secret recipes for cakes, and cupcakes, and truffles. I became so enamored of this search that I started needing stomachs for all these baked goods. I'd give them to family, friends, bring them to work, to places I used to work, even to my boyfriend's work. When people mused that I should start a business, I laughed. I already have a business! I'd say. And I have a toddler! Who has time for operating a baked goods enterprise!

But then I started to think of my family. My aunt, who makes the best cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, and traditional Portuguese sweets you could ever imagine. My grandmothers, creating the most delicious Massa Sovada, and Boule, and Malasadas. They baked trays of these items because they loved the happiness it brought everyone around them. How excited people got when they lifted the towel covering the HUGE bowls of rising dough, some going so far as to sneak pinches of it raw.

This love of baking, of sharing that pleasure with others, is what made me start The Cookie Jar. Whether you like chocolate or vanilla, pumpkin or strawberry, cookies or tarts, you'll find something on the menu that you can't resist.

Have an idea for an item that isn't featured? Send me an email and we'll make that dream a reality.

I may not be able to beat my grandmother's malasadas, but I can make a mean lemon cake that even SHE loves!

Welcome to The Cookie Jar! Check back in soon to see what's cookin'.