Cookie Walk
The goal is 20 dozen cookies from every member of the church, Lori Pinkerton said about the 29th annual Cookie Walk at Highlands Church, but not everyone will want to bake. There are other ways to contribute to the church’s big fundraiser.
The whole church is involved, she said, and some people start far in advance. A small group makes dozens of bags out of Christmas-themed fabric. The bags cover large plastic coffee cans which have been cleaned out for reuse. A church member, Mary Pumphrey, designed the bags which close with a drawstring. She still makes many of them each year.
Other members are making crafts which are sold the day of Cookie Walk in a mini-church bazaar, Pinkerton said. There’s also a candy shop open in the church that day and homemade candy, decorated for Christmas, is available. Some of it is too cute to eat, she said.
This year, homemade soup will be available, packaged in Gladware containers, as well as the traditional coffee and cinnamon rolls. The church choir will be roaming the premises singing Christmas carols, and many of the shoppers will join in.
“Even if you don’t want cookies, you should stop by and enjoy the atmosphere,” Pinkerton said. “It’s a great way to kick off the Christmas season.”
But the cookies, hundreds of cookies in all sorts of varieties, are the stars of the show.
Volunteer Barb Zillman said the cookies come in every
variety you can imagine. “Bonbons, peanut blossoms, Russian tea cookies.” Some members bake 20 dozen of the same cookie, others will use two or three different recipes. She remembers one man who comes every year and only wants oatmeal raisin cookies.
You can bake 20 dozen cookies in one day, Pinkerton said, if you focus. Also, it helps to have two ovens.
Some of the volunteers meet at the church to decorate cookies, but they learned the hard way to do the baking at home. The church ovens are temperamental, Pinkerton said.
The doors open at 8 on Saturday morning. As people enter the building, they receive a number and are invited to shop in the craft shop, candy shop or coffee shop. When their number is called, they chose a bag and then make the rounds in the fellowship hall, choosing enough cookies to fill their coffee can. At $12 a can, it’s a bargain Zillman said.
The decorated cookies go first, Jane Rowland said. She’s one of the two cochairs.
The Cookie Walk is a fundraiser and the funds go to local missions, Rowland said. None of the money goes to the church.