Desserts, Desserts, Desserts...CookiePies were no "accident!"
Growing up in a very large Italian family meant that around the holidays, and all year round for that matter, there were just as many desserts as there were pasta dishes.
My fondest childhood memories are of going over to grandma's house, who by the way is turning 100 this year, and watching closely as she prepared all the traditional Italian cookies, pastries, pies, and of course the cheesecake. One of the many things she always insisted on was using only the finest and freshest ingredients available.
Looking back, I didn't quite understand what she meant about being able to taste every ingredient that went into those desserts, but now I certainly do.
As the years went on, my older sisters started taking on the dessert traditions, and as the 'baby' of six children, I became the official 'little helper'. And yes, that did mean licking more then just the bowl and spoons!
My middle sister stuck to making more of the traditional holiday cookies, as well as coming up with just as many of her new, cool traditions. My oldest sister became the queen of the chocolate chip, adding many modern twists to the original.
By the time I had turned 16, I was determined to come up with my own cookie creation, and start some new traditions to pass on.
The funniest "oops" during my adventures was a cannoli recipe that called for "chopped" chocolate pieces. So being the smarty-pants that I was, I decided to give the newly invented "La Machine" a whirl, and in went the chocolate. And to my surprise, the traditional white filling suddenly turned chocolate brown. Yikes, I thought...but alas! The chocolate-filled cannoli is finally here! This was the point where my new collection of cookbooks were tossed aside, and my imagination took over.
Throughout the years that followed, making interesting creations had become my tradition, while the traditional always maintained their place within the family. Putting my Italian favorites aside, there was always one treat that I could not live without.
The oatmeal raisin cookie. Soft and chewy on the inside, somewhat crunchy on the outside. Pretty yummy, until COOKIEPIE was born!
So, having to recuperate in the house for months following an automobile accident, I found myself starting to play around with my favorite oatmeal raisin recipe. My niece had requested that the cookies have no raisins, but chocolate chips in their place. My sister and I began coming up with interesting ingredients to add to the dough, which became a work in progress. I thought to myself, "I want to combine together the two American classics: apple pie and oatmeal raisin cookies. Bingo.the best CookiePie ever!
I managed to take my homemade apple pie filling and "stuff" my newly created oatmeal raisin cookie. WOW, what a combo! After many trial and errors, the perfect match had come to fruition. As I let my family and friends become the "guinea pigs," it was clear that I was on to something exciting! Can you imagine just biting into the most amazing, soft, chewy, moist, yet crunchy cookie and getting a burst of fresh, homemade apple pie right in the center?
In Spring of 2008, I met my biggest cookie fan. With conversations occurring about my "little 6' X 8' cookie factory" in my apartment, my entrepreneur cookie fan came up with the perfect business proposal. Within a week, everything moved so fast. My old friend was now my new business partner, and the two of us were ready to tackle the world with our CookiePie.
We began shipping the new creation to friends and family afar, while continuing to come up with other interesting "stuffings," such as fresh European raspberries and white chocolate and brownies topped with M&M's. The variety of flavor combinations has now grown to over twenty different delights.
We decided to put the cookies out to the public, and opened our first seasonal shop on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey. What a hit! In a matter of weeks, we had developed such a huge following that on a daily basis we were selling out of cookies. Now, as we have opened a year round shop in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and launched the website, CookiePies are being enjoyed both locally and across the country.
It's so excellent that each and every time Grandma eats one of our CookiePies, she can taste EVERY ingredient in EVERY bite. Nothing makes us more proud than this. As we continue to grow, our main goal is, and always will be to NEVER sacrifice the finest, freshest, quality ingredients, and the integrity of our new tradition: The CookiePie.
So please, enjoy your CookiePie, cause "life tastes just that good."
~The CookiePie Guys