Name and Family and all you want to share.

Gail Junion-Metz, retired librarian and long-time baker. I live in the bungalow-of-my-dreams with my two kitties – Scootie and Grace.

Your Favorite Sweetie-licious Pie and/or Baked Goods and Why

I really love our Molasses cookies warm out to the oven when the yummy glaze is still gooey. I also love just about every cream pie and any pie with rhubarb in it. (It’s really hard to choose just one favorite when so many of the things we bake are the best I’ve ever tasted!) 

Your Favorite Sweetie-licious Memory

I love it when Thanksgiving rolls around and it starts getting really busy at the shop. I love seeing how fast our order book fills up, the extra pie crust rolling sessions, and of course the fun and chaos involved in baking (and storing) over 650 pies in such a short period of time. Thanksgiving is not only a day when I eat turkey, watch football, and fall asleep on the couch. It’s also day when I give thanks for all the good folks in my life –  and especially my “family” at Sweeties. What a blessing they are! 

Your Favorite Cooking and Baking Memory

When I was a kid my family ate pie, lots of pie! Not only were both grandmas amazing pie makers, but also my mom. I remember my mom making pies a couple of times a week and I remember how fast they disappeared! (One of my dad’s favorite evening snacks was a piece of pie and an ice-cold glass of milk.) The whole family loved pie for breakfast! I remember having my own small rolling pin and helping mom roll crust. (Actually I got the left-over scraps of crust that I would line my small pie pans with or using a cookie cutter cut out “pie crust cookies” and top them with cinnamon and sugar.) My creations would go in the oven right along with my moms and be enjoyed by the whole family. One of my favorite kid pictures is of me wearing one of my mom’s aprons and rolling out pie crust (see below) – I must have been around 2 years old. Working at Sweeties has been a wonderful way to honor my family’s long tradition of pie baking. 

Your Favorite Family Recipe to Share, History of Recipe 

Aunt Louise’s Oatmeal Cookies

My aunt Louise was a very special member of my mom’s family. Louise was unofficially adopted by my grandmother when she was very young because her parents (my grandma’s next door neighbors) both died of influenza. Louise’s oatmeal cookies were always the highlight of every family celebration. I hope that they’ll become a special treat for your family as well!

• ½ C. butter
• ½ C. margarine
• 1 C. white sugar
• 1 C. brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 C. quick oats
• 1 C. finely chopped walnuts

Cream together butter/margarine and sugars. Add the vanilla and eggs. Mix. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and add to wet mixture. Mix. Gradually add the oatmeal and nuts. 

Using your hands, form into 2” diameter “logs”, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator overnight. (Don’t be tempted to bake them after refrigerating them just a couple of hours – they really need to sit in the fridge till the next day!) The next day, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take one “cookie log” out of the fridge at a time (they slice best when as cold as possible) and using a serrated knife, cut 1/4” thick cookie slices. Put them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper – give them room – the cookies will spread. Bake till just slightly brown around the edges (7-10 minutes). Let them cool slightly before you remove them from the cookie sheet. Store in a container – it keeps them soft and chewy! Makes around 8 dozen cookies.