Doobie...or Not Doobie...

I have a little friend who ran away to Oregon to become a hippie organic farmer and jump out of airplanes. Before she left she was all worked up about hemp. I have known of hemp's amazing qualities as far as rope and clothing are concerned, but had never looked into the food aspect. Well...as it turns out...hemp is packed full of essential fatty acids, protein, fiber and antioxidants and its amino acid profile is close to 'complete'. Now I know what you might be thinking..."Hemp? Isn't that a respectable word for marijuana...pot...WEED?!" Not really. The hemp I'm talking about is a different strain. It contains a very minute amount of THC...so little that one would need to ingest a rainforest of the stuff to get a buzz.

As I researched hemp I came across chia seeds...
because the kind of people that eat hemp seed...
that would be ridiculously healthy people...quite often partake in the chia. It turns out chia seeds are really good for you too.

Yup...the very same chia you put on a pet.

Before she skipped town I told my little hippie friend that I would develop a cookie recipe for her that included hemp. I have decided to add chia....mostly because it makes me smile.

It wasn't long before word got out that I was making hemp cookies. Early one morning one of my co-workers sidled up to me...eyes darting furtively to make sure the coast was clear...and then whispered, "Hey...you know those cookies you're making?"
I could only guess..."The Doobie or Not Doobies?"
"Yeah...I...I want some."
"Sure! You know they're not...right?"
"They're NOT?!"
"No. They're healthy...really good for you...legal even. You can't get high...even if you ate them all."
"Eh...forget it then."

So it is with great pride that we introduce the Doobie or Not Doobie Cookie. They're not.

Made with hulled hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds and a whole host of yummy, good-for-you ingredients! Gluten free...soy free...egg free...dairy free...a true vegan delight. Your choice of nuts, nutless and/or add chocolate chips. Available by special order through our Facebook page...The Sweet Treatery. By the way..."like" our Facebook page and be a follower of this blog to be entered into our monthly giveaway of sweet treats!

The Cookie

So far, Mary and I have kept our day jobs and those day jobs happen to be at the same place. One day I was in the office of The Big Cheese and he mentioned an upcoming company anniversary party. Seizing the opportunity I asked him if he needed cookies or treats for the party because "Mary and I make really really good cookies. We can make anything you want...even cookies in the shape of the company logo". Yup. I didn't just think it...I said it out loud. I'm not exactly sure how the conversation got to where it did after that, but by the end of it we were talking about cookies for the party...selling cookies in our lobby area...cookies hanging from the rafters...cookies everywhere.

I could hardly wait to find Mary.

"Mary! Help me out here. I told him we could make cookies in the shape of a bird of paradise."
Now Mary is pretty smart...smart enough to have married a man that can do anything. She knew Big T could make that cookie cutter for us...and he did...BAM!...first try and the thing was perfect. We were practically dancing with excitement. All we had to do now was make some samples, show off our custom cookies and waltz away with a huge order. Easy.

The cookies came out great...the icing was beautiful...we patted ourselves on the back and left to find something to eat that didn't contain sugar. When we went back to marvel at our cookies we noticed something strange was happening to one of the colors in the icing. I don't even know how to describe it but it wasn't good. After that we couldn't do anything right. Under cooked cookies...over baked cookies...cookies that spread too much...cookies that stuck together...running colors...broken cookies...eating the perfect cookie instead of one with character...it's funny...now.
But from the midst of all that chaos emerged The Cookie.

Mary took The Cookie home for safe keeping and sent me a text later that night...
"Remind me to bring The Cookie in the morning." The next morning I sent...
"An armored truck with police escort will be at your house around 7:00 for transport of The Cookie."
"I kinda feel like I should carry it with white gloves."

Somehow Mary managed to get The Cookie into the office of The Big Cheese without any mishaps. It took us a full five minutes to get the exact placement on his desk and then we looked at each other...
"Did you get a photo?"  "No. Did you?"

Food styling and photography is quite an art but we just didn't have the time (or skill). We looked around, grabbed a rolled up poster from the corner, flipped it over to use as a backdrop and snapped a few shots with my phone camera. We lovingly rearranged The Cookie back on his desk and hightailed it out of there. We were both diligently at work when he arrived and by the time we saw him he had The Cookie crumbs on the front of his shirt...

He liked it...loved it...it was fabulous! However...he needed to contact The Mothership to make sure everything was above board with the entire arrangement. We still haven't heard back. I think he forgot...or maybe he is trying to figure out a way to snag another free snack. Either way...we'll keep you posted.

A Peek at Our Banker

We have an amazing banker.

I first met our banker years ago when he helped me open either an account for one of the kids or a business account or whatever...the point is...I have know him for quite a while. Long enough for him to become a family friend. Long enough for him to have been invited to (and actually attend) a family wedding. He's not really a banker. Sure...that's his day job, but what he really wants to be when he grows up is a photographer.

The day we went to open our business bank account was a day that we had a lot of research and development scheduled. We got there pretty much right when it opened. The plan was to be in and out of there like a couple of ninjas...quick and painless...and then back to the ovens.

We were all chatting it up as he was doing his bank things...he asked us what we would be doing...we answered "desserts and baked goods"...that always gets a really good response. He said he loved chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles. Oh! how he loved snickerdoodles...and then he said...

"I like the name of your business...it reminds me of the Revolutionary War. You know...a guy standing there with a gun." By this time he was making the arm motions of someone holding a rifle across his chest. Maybe he was guarding his snickerdoodles. I really don't know because personally I had never make that particular connection. We just smiled and nodded and acted like we knew what he was talking about.

Well...after all the forms were filled in and printed up he handed a pen to Mary indicating where she was to sign...and then she said...

"That's not the name of our company." All the forms said THE SWEET TREATY. We just smiled and nodded because now we knew what he had been talking about. "Hey Colonel...that's a pretty SWEET TREATY we got the British to sign!" Right about then our banker could have used a sweet little treat...some would even argue that he needed a sweet treaty and A HUGE CUP O' COFFEE.

Anyway...we got it all sorted out.

Snickerdoodles were not on our list of things to do that day but we sidetracked ourselves...as usual...and our amazing banker had his very own stash to guard by end of banking hours.

I took this with my phone because our
amazing photographer was busy!

First Peek

How did we get here and why are we here?

Before I get too far, you should know that by "we", I mean Mary and Lorelei...two people whose lives kept crisscrossing until we finally became friends years later. By "I", I mean Lorelei...because Mary shuns most things computery*...she prefers to feed people...and her dog...you should see her dog.

We have both been avid bakers and treat makers for as long as we can remember. Finally...at the urging of family and friends (all treat eaters...everyone...) we decided to "do what we love"...and ta da!...

The Sweet Treatery became a reality.

So here is where you will find sweet peeks. Peeks into The Treatery and peeks into our lives...but probably not any peeks into our souls.

Enjoy.


*Facebook and YouTube get a flour covered thumbs up.