Interview with Chloe Stinetorf of Chloe Doughy (Delivering fresh and new cookie dough so anyone can feel like a high class baker.)

You know I love participating in the #NYCBakeSale and I have to say that #NYCBakeSale also has some of the best contributors and supporters in the nation. This year Chloe Stinetorf was kind enough to offer up a one month sample of her doughs at Chloe Doughy as one of the raffle prizes. I entered and surprisingly won! (I rarely win things.)

I was psyched to sign up for and receive the May doughs which included lavender lemon (and the chocolate chip staple that subscribers get every month along with the new flavor). Imagine my delight when I made the chocolate chip and got a chocolatey sweet slightly salty cookie all in one! And being that my computer broke down soon after making these cookies it served as a nice therapeutic solution while I was on hold with tech support.

The following week I made the lavender lemon and once again was balled over by the subtlety of the flavors but how well they worked and the lovely crisp shortbread nature of this cookie. After this sampling I--and my co-workers whom I shared these cookies with--know that Chloe Doughy is the real deal and a new New York gem.

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A lot of people I've spoken to, and even for myself, say that baking started as a family endeavor, a kind of bonding time. This seems to be the case when it comes to you and the creation of Chloe Doughy in having baked with your grandmother in your youth. What is it about cookie dough that you think really strikes people or encourages these kind of memories and positive associations?

A freshly baked cookie right out of the oven tastes and smells delicious, and for many people that triggers happy memories of baking with family. I always think about my grandmother when I'm baking because she has taught me so many recipes and techniques over the years.  

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Why deliver cookie dough? Why not deliver the finished product? Is it that you want to bring unique flavors to people in a way that is “less scary” to those that don't often cook/bake from scratch or a way to enhance the taste factor so that people can enjoy them fresh or are there other factors?

Baking makes me very happy, and my goal with Chloe Doughy is to share that joy with other people. Cookie dough delivery allows people to experience the delight of home baking without the hassle. At Chloe Doughy we say, "Skip to the fun part!" We also love inventing and sharing our unique cookie dough flavors of the month--the variety is exciting for our customers, and we deliver a product unlike anything they can find in stores.

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It seems that your cookie dough flavors are somewhat seasonally based. For instance, the lavender lemon dough (which my co-workers adored, by the way) feels very summery with the citrus and lavender fragrance. You’ve previously offered orchard crumble and maple snowball dough in the past during cooler months. So what may be in store as we head into a warmer summer and then into fall?

We're excited to announce our July flavor of the month, the Strawberry Liege! The recipe is based on our obsession with the traditional Liege Belgian waffle. Our Strawberry Liege recipe incorporates crunchy Belgian pearl sugar, a crumble topping and sweet fragrant strawberries. We often incorporate seasonal produce and ingredients in our special monthly doughs, and right now strawberries are in season! Our August cookie dough flavor hasn't been announced yet, but we'll give you a hint, it's a tribute to our favorite August holiday . . . Shark Week!

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Does inspiration hit you out of nowhere or is there a solid something that tethers you to an idea you want to pursue? What inspires you each month for your flavor(s) and how far in advance do you plan your cookie doughs?

I'm often interested in working with a specific ingredient first, and I start there and work my way out, developing a dough that complements that ingredient. For instance, our Maple Snowball cookie for January was inspired by my love of pure Vermont maple syrup and I knew I wanted it to be crunchy and incorporate powdered sugar, and our Glazed Earl Grey came about because I wanted to develop an orange flavored cookie that would pair well with breakfast tea. I'm usually working on 4-5 recipes at once, it takes a long time to get the flavor, consistency, and texture just right. Experimenting with recipes in the kitchen is my favorite part!

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Chocolate chip is considered the ‘base’ of cookies, I think. It’s simple but quite effective especially when done right. And I have to say of all the store bought, bakery fresh, and homemade chocolate chip cookies I have tasted Chloe Doughy’s is the best. What do you think helps to make a “basic” cookie stand out without too much accessorizing?

Thank you, it's nice to hear that because I've been working on our Classic Chocolate Chip recipe for years! Chocolate chip cookies come in all varieties: crispy, chewy, thick, thin. The list goes on forever! I think the best chocolate chip cookies have something special and memorable to them, for instance I love Tate's cookies because they're so buttery and crispy; there's no other crispy cookie quite like them. For our recipe, I wanted a cookie that was soft and full in the middle and crispy at the edges and bottom. I love having different types of bites in the same cookie! The qualities that make our Classic Chocolate Chip cookie special are also enhanced by the immediacy of eating them fresh out of the oven, which is an important part of the Chloe Doughy experience.

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What is the end goal for Chloe Doughy? To expand in terms of the amount of doughs or to be able to reach a larger community outside of NYC? Hosting more classes? Or does the hope for the Chloe Doughy brand go beyond that?

First, I want to grow our local NYC business so that we're able to deliver to all five boroughs! I'd also love to sell our cookie doughs at local markets and grocers. We're also working on a shipping option for overnight delivery out of state (stay tuned!) and we're expanding our baking class schedule as well. Our cookie doughs make people happy, so I'm excited to expand and reach more customers.

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I really like that you have baking classes catered to children of various ages. Many bakeries tend to go after the older sect, but you offer cookie dough classes for both groups. What was the decision for that and, also, what do you aim to help students with in these classes?

My mother is a first grade teacher and I've taught in her classroom a lot over the years--everything from baking to art, even some math! I love the early elementary school age range--they're so full of energy. Baking with young children is a lot of fun, and they love measuring ingredients, whisking, and rolling out dough. I remember baking from a very early age with my family, so it gives me joy to teach other young bakers. I want children who take my classes to become adventurous and bake at home with their families, I also want them to appreciate the care that goes into baking and how special it is to have something homemade.

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Beyond Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest are there other places online or even at local food fairs or stores where people can find Chloe Doughy products?

Join our mailing list to stay in touch! We always announce when we're going to be selling cookies or dough at local fairs and special events.

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Chloe is also, very generously, offering a $15 discount to readers for your first month of cookie dough when you sign up for Chloe Doughy. The code is: JENNIFERBAKER

Yup, I'm a code! Thanks so much again, Chloe!

#PiePartyGE: 2014 Edition

It seems eons ago since the last Pie Party. In truth, it was a year and a half ago and sadly Hurricane Sandy ripped through NYC days after that event. But with a renewed city and on an actual spring day Jackie Gordon and Ken Leung organized another fantastic event at GE Monogram Design Center on midtown's east side.

The GE Monogram Center is basically the dream kitchen of anyone who likes to cook and for those in the food blogger/media community it is Shangri-La. The anticipation for this event was building and with the Parade of Pies list on Ken's site lips were smacking staring at the compendium of what would be available.

Weeks leading up to Pie Party, attendees got emails from sponsors being overly generous in offering items to help us bake our pies. Butter and/or cheeses from Kerrygold. Utensils from OXO. Tupperware to pack leftover pies for later consumption from Snapware and that's in addition to the goodies provided from sponsors Anolon, Harvard Common Press, Dub Pies, Jarlsberg USA, Wüsthof (as well as OXO, Snapware, and Kerrygold). THANK YOU ALL for your kindness.

Upon entering the GE Monogram Center the staff was readily recognizable and decked out all in black ready to help. Need something heated? Done. Need extra serving materials? Done. Need your stuff put away? Arms out to take it for you. They were ready to help at a notice and even cleared away plates to wash/rinse off for you to take home. It was amazing how generous and professional everyone was.

There was a nice backdrop for anyone and everyone to take a picture of your pie. As Jackie said she wanted this year's Pie Party to be like the Oscars of Pie Parties!

Like last year savory pies were set along the window facing 58th Street and the sweets had a much larger display (needed) in the center of the establishment. Sponsors Anolon, Dub Pies, Wusthof, and Kerrygold set up shop inside where we could view (or really drool) over their presentation of goods and in the case of Jarlsberg, Kerrygold, and DUB Pies we got our pie pre-game on by eating cheese and crackers, fruit platters, mini DUB Pies (my fave beef and cheese was in attendance) while hors d'oeurves were also available from roaming GE Monogram staff. But don't fill up on snacks! There are PIES here! Savory was bumped up. A good deal available. I added to the savory mix again with a Tortilla Pie a la Martha Stewart since most of my materials were packed and I needed something easy and hearty to make. (Next year I'm thinking empanadas, if time permits.)

The sweets table steadily filled up with space being made every minute to accommodate the expanding array of desserts.

Chef Tageré gave a demonstration and praised Kerrygold butter as the butter to use for crusts. (As bloggers we couldn't agree more.) Then she revealed a fantastically delectable looking savory chicken pie with some cheese on top and we were antsy for that and other pies. And then...it was officially pie time! The masses ran or sauntered (some with a game plan already). I had my eye on the sweets from the minute I walked in but then Margaret had to bring a short rib pie and Sekita had to do crab cake pies so I quickly tasted those and then delved back to the sweet side. No regrets, friends.

First things first was getting those portable pies. Angela of Mind Over Batter's strawberry-cheese hand pies were like a homemade Pop-tart but ten times better because her crust was thick, sweet, flaky, buttery and perfect! Ken made a sweet and a savory pie and I got into that gorgeous tart before it was gone. His crust was also fantastic. There were gluten-free pies and cream pies and many, many more tarts. Colleen of Souffle Bombay and her daughter Samantha both made sweet tarts and I have to say I was lucky to taste Samantha's confection of a Blueberry Lemon Tart.

Susan of Girl in the Little Red Kitchen did a cookie pie with caramel with duck fat. Jennifer of Bake or Break brought a scrumptious nutty, brown sugar pie. Rhonda Kave of Roni-Sue's Chocolates in downtown Manhattan paid tribute to her daughter Allison's debut cookbook First Prize Pies by making her buttercrunch pie that was still warm from the oven and a gooey masterpiece! There was...So. Much. Pie. And you couldn't eat it all but it was gorgeous to look at and phenomenal to actually eat.

The crowd was happy, cheerful, and supportive everyone delving in. The savory side was practically demolished from Eryn's picnic pie to the large mac n' cheese pie with bacon topping to the guacamole pie and a nice quiche.

There was a vast amount of fruity tarts/pies especially Autumn's gluten-free plum pockets and Jackie's lemon bruleed gluten-free pie. And surprisingly not as much chocolate. Perhaps because spring was in the air, and it was humid, inspiration was more for summery/spring-like flavors.

To top it all off there were also the generous gift bags that newcomers to Pie Party were astounded by, more jaw drops. And there were temp tattoos from OXO (still have mine) and lots of giveaways for tweeting/instagram (using hashtags of course), and just all-around fun and appreciation to be surrounded by fantastic food and wonderful people in a lovely space.

I am already looking forward to the next Pie Party and am more than enthused about this one. I just had my leftover pies last night and regret that I couldn't have another piece of pie to indulge in. But there's always next time and it's Saturday, which means NYC Bake Sale is happening, now, so you KNOW there'll be sweets there.

I leave you with smiling faces...

#NYCBakeSale 2014: Back at Brooklyn Flea

This counts as the one month (or specifically the 29 day) mark before the NYC Bake Sale strikes again! In previous posts from 2013 and 2012 I have volunteered and baked desserts. While I may not be baking this time around I will definitely be behind the scenes helping and this blog post is just one way of advertising. The NYC Bake Sale, and other bake sales around the nation, make sure all proceeds go to No Kid Hungry's campaign to end child hunger in America. Last year NYC's bake sale raised over $4,500 for this mission and we hope to raise that much more in 2014.

Food bloggers and culinary professionals are donating freshly baked goods that will include gluten-free and vegan items as well as lactose-filled deliciousness. The spread will be amazing and remember all monies raised go to a great cause.

You can visit the NYC Bake Sale's Tumblr site for updates on raffle prizes (win Le Creuset cookware or cookbooks from King Arthur flour!) and on who will be donating goodies. The bake sale will run from 10am to 5pm on May 3rd or whenever we sell out.

If you want to be part of the Twitter discussion and further publicize the event please use the hashtag #NYCBakeSale. You can also get updates and show support by attending via the Facebook event page.

Hope to see you there in May!

#NYCBakeSale in Pictures

On Saturday, May 4th the NYC Bake Sale kicked off again at Brooklyn Flea. Here's a summary of the event in pictures. We're still taking donations online to help the NYC Bake Sale surpass this year's goal of $3,000. Thanks to all who helped us get there and big THANKS (and many bows) to organizers Lillian & Ken for doing a great job of getting this together and supporting a wonderful cause.

NYC Bake Sale 2012 (The Great American Bake Sale)

On a sunny, yet chilly Saturday in Brooklyn, NY the Great American Bake Sale took place, part of Share Our Strength's mission of ending childhood hunger (No Kid Hungry) by 2015. Bloggers Without Borders joined in to make a call across the nation for food bloggers to organize and join in! The NYC chapter's bake sale was at Brooklyn Flea in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Even though the bake sale ended this past Saturday you can still donate to a great cause via the donation page on the NYC chapter's site.

Bakers, entrepreneurs, and all-around awesome people Lillian Huang and Ken Leung were this year's organizers and they did an amazing job! Seriously, organizing so much food, people, advertising, and such was really a show in great organization. It was smoothly run and the volunteers were super helpful and all on the same page in terms of raising money for a great cause.

There were numerous donations from local bakers and food bloggers that had us in a sweets wonderland! Chocolate double deckers from Abby Dodge, Baked's sweet & salty brownie, and Michelle Jaffe's (Sweet & Simple) brownies were huge sellers as were many sweet and salty items including Ken's chocolate peanut butter pretzel krispies and Jackie's salted chocolate caramel nut bars (both gluten filled and gluten free) that were ooey gooey messes of goodness. Tasting a sample one customer said "I want to buy what I just had in my mouth!" Liddabit Sweet's bourbon pecan cookie with caramel filling was a fast seller upon tasting. One vendor tasted it, ran back and said "What did I just eat? I must buy it!" All in all there was a cornucopia of amazing goods. There were vegan items, gluten-free, different shortbreads and macarons (both American and French), variations on rice krispy treats, pie, scones, almond croissants from Runner & Stone. We had steady sales throughout the day and got a huge surge of customers once 2 or 3 o'clock rolled around for a post-lunch treat!

Brooklyn Flea was a great venue. The staff incredibly helpful and other vendors supportive, the crowd amazing and generous! Being one of the few vendors selling boku sweets and in such extensiveness we got a lot of customers. With Smorgasburg being the site of mainly food vendors it was a good balance to be around those selling mainly savory items, as well as jewelry, patchwork, offering bike tune ups, selling furniture and art and tea and coffee (great compliments to scones and other sweets).

And it was great to see Ken, Lillian, and Jackie (a great saleswoman), as well as Angela (Mind Over Batter) and meet Meghan (Buttercream Blondi) and Emily & Karen (Mainly Gluten Free in NYC), and Elizabeth (Brooklyn Supper), Betty Ann (Asian in America) as well as many other foodies/food bloggers eager to help the cause and perhaps participate next year.

All in all via online donations and what was made at the bake sale we raised about $3,400 to surpass our $2,000 goal! Thanks a bunch to our sponsors Brooklyn Flea for providing us a booth for free, Joe's Crab Shack for the awesome t-shirts, Whole Foods Union Square for the bags, and Fondu for the banner and business cards! Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by the booth and purchased, who tasted, who volunteered, and who donated (especially all the great bakeries for contributing delicious goods) and spread the word! Please keep it up and help us raise more money! You can make online donations here. And when making a donation you can get in on one of many awesome raffles, which means more sweets! How can you resist?