In the charming Northwoods of Marengo, Wisconsin, tucked within Ashland County not too far from the south shore of Lake Superior, is a delectable small business that’ll put your sweet tooth in the driver’s seat. And after seeing these absolutely incredibly designed cookies, you’ll be more than happy that your sweet tooth is taking the controls!
This sweet establishment is none other than Cookies in the Valley, brought to delicious life by talented baker and hardworking homemaker Jackie Eliason, with the support of her Husband, close ones, and a community who loves homemade, decorated to-the-nines cookies.
Let’s be honest: who wouldn’t want to order themselves a dozen of Jackie’s cookies more often than we’d like to admit? These are showstoppers with icing! The detail, precision, and creativity that’s sprinkled into each and every cookie, from order to order, event to event, deserves a standing ovation from cookie lovers everywhere.
If your curiosity is as big as your sweet tooth, you’ll love to hear more from the fabulous baker herself and how Cookies in the Valley got its sweet beginning. We’ll also get into how you can support by shopping small and what a big impact it has.
Chatting With Jackie of Cookies in the Valley
It’s always special to know more about the origin and the talent behind such a marvelous establishment, and it was an absolute treat to have the opportunity to chat with Jackie! The baker, decorator, and visionary for Cookies in the Valley. Read along and discover the inspiration and beginnings of this sweet-treat dream!
Taste and smell are often associated with memory. Can you recall a time when baking began to call to you? Did someone special to you introduce you to baking, or did you happen upon it on your own?
I have always enjoyed baking, I can’t remember one specific memory that started it all but since I was a young girl I loved being in the kitchen and reading cookbooks and trying different recipes 😊
Cookies in the Valley is such a sweet name; how did you come about landing on that one? Were there any other contenders?
Cookies in the Valley came to me for a possible idea when I was trying to come up with a name and I wanted to incorporate “me” into the name; the Marengo Valley is important to me because it’s where my husband and I started our life as husband and wife and where we’ve brought our children home to and where we continue to raise them.
I have a lot of memories in my childhood of visiting my great grandparents in Marengo with my grandma and it’s always been a place I’ve loved so it was important to incorporate it into the name of my cookie business.
There weren’t any other contenders because nothing else felt “me” and once I came up with Cookies in the Valley, I knew nothing would compare to it or be more “me” of a name 😊
On Cookies in the Valley’s Facebook Page, you’ve mentioned your lovely family; do your kiddos ever help you with the inspiration for your cookie designs or get to help you with making the cookies?
My kids definitely help with inspiration for cookie designs and flavors (my oldest son has some flavor requests for me to try so we will see if they make it to the official list of flavors or not).
My kids don’t help make the cookies, mostly for sanitary reasons but also because it’s my quiet time in the midst of raising young children- when I am in my cookie room, it’s a way for me to relax and be creative.
Did you face some challenges in the early stages of learning how to decorate cookies? What’s a piece of advice you would give an aspiring cookie decorator?
Early on (and still to this day) I struggled with thinking my cookies were worth anything or that anyone would really want to buy them. There’s so many other talented bakers out there that it took quite a bit of convincing from others that my cookies had any sort of value.
One piece of advice I would give an aspiring cookie decorator would be to practice, practice, practice and then practice some more. Work on developing your own recipes and menu and find your own niche within this huge community of cookie decorators, some bakers may excel in some areas and you may excel where they struggle and that’s perfectly okay.
To me, I think recipe development is the utmost important part of getting started; oftentimes when people think of decorated cookies they think they will be hard and crunchy but not all cookies are created the same- a thick soft cookie is an absolute must for me so I’ll only add a flavor to my menu if it meets my standards.
When you’re in your baking and decorating mode, do you listen to music or a podcast? What’s your baking station like?
My baking and decorating days are mostly spent in silence; almost always you can find my decorating or baking during naptime or when my kids are in bed for the evening and adding in any sort of noise clutters my brain and makes it not as relaxing so I prefer the quiet. If I do turn on anything to listen to while decorating it is a Gordon Ramsey show of some sorts or 90s/early 2000s country.
If someone wanted to place an order, how should they go about doing that?
I take all my orders thru messages on my Facebook page, I’m currently booked thru September (2024) for custom orders but I will have a back-to-school presale opening up mid August (2024) so people can keep an eye out on my Facebook page for that😊
How to Shop Small with Cookies in the Valley
After hearing from the talented and down-to-earth baker herself, doesn’t it make you want to put in your cookie order to Cookies in the Valley via Jackie’s Facebook page and be a part of this lovely community? I know my hand is raised!
There are multiple reasons why shopping small has a big impact: not only are you pouring money into shops and businesses that are directly linked to your community, but you’re also supporting someone who started small and is growing their way up and up. You’re supporting a dream, a family, a team of hardworking people who believe in what they’re providing for you and the community.
Being a part of that is special; it makes you feel connected to your community even more when you decide to order cookies from Cookies in the Valley rather than buying a pack of cookies from a big chain store or stopping in a local coffee shop rather than driving through a Starbucks. You are becoming a part of the living and breathing story of that establishment just by supporting them!
If you’re pondering when you can support Cookies in the Valley by placing your own order but are running low on ideas, let us be your inspiration! Here are some broad ideas to get your wheels turning for perfect events and reasons for placing your own cookie order.
- Surprise someone you love (Just because!)
- Anniversary Gift
- Birthday Party
- Birthday Gift
- Teacher’s Appreciation Gift
- Retirement Party
- Office Party
- Client Appreciation Gift
- Community Event
- Thanksgiving Treat
- Halloween Party
- Christmas/Holiday Party
- Valentine’s Day Treat/Gift
- Easter Treat
- St. Patrick’s Day Party
- Summer Bash get-together
- Bridesmaid Gift
- Groomsmen Gift
- Wedding Favors
- Gender Reveal Party
- Baby Shower
- Mother’s Day
- Father’s Day
- Sports Team Gifts
- Theme Party Cookies
There really is an endless supply of potential parties, events, and just-because reasons to place a sweet order with Cookies in the Valley! I’ve never known anyone to regret ordering cookies or receiving them, especially ones with such beautiful and intricate designs as Jackie delivers with her Cookies in the Valley.
If you’d like to place your own order, perhaps enjoying your cookies while on Lake Superior, you can do so by following Cookies in the Valley on Facebook to take a peek at Jackie’s cookie schedule and then shoot her a message via her Facebook page to talk about your order!
From all of us here On Lake Superior, we hope you got some inspiration for future cookie orders and how much it means to your community when you choose to support and shop small.
Be sure to follow Cookies in the Valley and On Lake Superior on Facebook to stay connected with this Great Lake-loving community. Thanks for stopping by!
