With the holiday season already underway, some may find there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. From shopping and decorating to visiting family and cooking big meals, sometimes the sweetest part is forgotten.
Cookies are a holiday classic, so instead of stressing over the time-consuming task of baking dozens, take advantage of these local bakeries to pick up classic and innovative cookie flavors.
Schneider’s Bakery
6 S. State St., Westerville
Over 63 years in business, this Westerville bakery has seen three new owners, but the traditional German recipes and the customer loyalty have not wavered.
Since April, Westerville native and retired professional basketball player Shaun Stonerook has held the keys to the shop, and he’s now ready for the holiday season with help from Schneider’s manager of four years, Elaine Clarke.
“Literally, the phone starts ringing first of December, end of November, and they ask, ‘When will the holiday cookies be ready?’” Clarke says. “Our cookies are handmade … and we have artisan methods for how these cookies are made every year. People just wait for them.”
The shop makes 15 varieties of holiday cookies. Springerles, its most popular, feature intricate holiday stamp designs, have strong licorice flavor and are crisp in texture. Clarke says people who are German, or have been to Germany, say these rich cookies are extremely authentic.
Others flock to this small bakery during December to purchase cookie trays, which feature a collection of holidays cookies such as brown sugar, fudge-filled thumbprints, black walnut strips and pecan shortbread cookies.
“Schneider’s is all about tradition,” Clarke says. “People come in and buy them by the dozens and give them to their friends. It’s gift-giving as well as eating, and the cookies are very well known.”
Kittie’s Cakes
495 S. Third St.
When Mollie Fankhauser and her wife, Kelly, played professional golf, they always made time off the golf course to enjoy local eateries wherever they traveled.
When it was time to retire, the two returned to Columbus, Mollie’s hometown, and pursued their dream of owning a bakery.
Today, snuggled amidst the brick buildings of German Village, the bakery features many family recipes; accordingly, the shop is named after Mollie’s mother. Kittie’s cookies are quite notable for their size.
Dubbed Face Cookies for their imposing circumference, they come in three varieties daily: peanut butter with peanut brittle, chocolate chip with sea salt and snickerdoodle with
cinnamon sugar cereal on top.
“We believe that there’s a kid in everyone, no matter your age,” Mollie says. “What could possibly be better than a cookie the size of your face?”
Kittie’s also bakes up cookie sandwiches such as the Micky-O, two oatmeal cookies with fluffy frosting in-between – an original icing recipe by Mollie’s grandmother.
Mollie says the bakery likes to have fun with its creations, but still serve high-quality baked goods to share with friends and family.
Capital City Cakes
4009 Broadway, Grove City
When Sue Baisden started baking desserts out of her home more than 35 years ago, she knew she wanted to be a business owner one day.
Now the founder and operator of Capital City Cakes, Baisden is living out her aspirations, and creating cookies big enough for a party.
Case in point: the cookie cakes. Large and thin like pizzas, they’re different from the typical cookie cake. Each is made from scratch, can be fully decorated with fondant and frosting, and is available in any of Capital City Cakes’ 10 cookie flavors, such as mint chocolate chip and peanut butter.
“We can do anything with (cookie cakes) that we can with a traditional cake,” Baisden says. “And they’re made like Grandma’s cookies.”
The bakery is ready for the holiday season with regular-sized seasonal cookies such as raspberry linzer, peanut butter blossom and cutout cookies shaped like ugly Christmas sweaters. Baisden says she wants busy families to still enjoy the cookies many households and bakeries only make in December.
Mrs. Goodman’s Baking Co.
901 N. High St., Worthington
Though Mrs. Goodman’s has seen different owners over its existence, Lee and Rachel Alderman – owner and head decorator, respectively – are still baking the 30-year-old recipes and selling 14 cookie varieties a day.
Made-from-scratch cookies such as brown pumpkin spice, sugar walnut, oatmeal and butterscotch are on the menu. And if a cookie flavor runs out mid-day, the bakery staff will roll up their sleeves and make more.
“We put the cookies out there and they’re gone,” Lee says. “We’ve survived because of those especially delicious recipes. People just can’t stop eating them.”
For the holiday season, cookies such as Mexican wedding cake; raspberry-, lemon- or cream cheese-filled thumbprint cookies; and Chanukah- or Christmas-inspired shortbread cutouts with their traditional buttercream icing can be made upon request.
The most rewarding part for the Aldermans is the customers. Lee says seeing pleased customers and knowing their cookies help create enjoyable memories is the best.
“Being able to be a part of family’s … happy events and happy times in their lives … is pretty rewarding,” he says.
Lydia Freudenberg is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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