‘Sweeter side of life’ with HiddenCrumb
A Canterbury cookie maker is aiming to take people back to their grandma’s house where home-made biscuits were par for the course along with boiled lollies and doilies.
The “smallest pleasures” can sometimes bring the most satisfaction, HiddenCrumb baker Frances Stermi says.
Her HiddenCrumb New York-style chunky cookies are baked daily in her Rolleston home kitchen to feed market goers and online orders from people keen to bite into the “thick, crispy outside” that’s “gooey in the middle”.
The mouth-watering biscuits use quality local ingredients such as Whittaker’s Chocolate and Pic’s Peanut Butter, and come in several flavours, including red velvet, chocolate M&M, caramel, choc peanut butter, Kinder Bueno, Biscoff, and chocolate walnut.
Limited-edition flavours rolled out for Easter included mini eggs and a crème egg cookie, while one new release pays tribute to Kiwi Jelly Tip ice cream.
Growing up with two older sisters in Dorchester, UK, Stermi said cooking used to be her speciality – making gravy and a full roast dinner – but with a big sister who liked to bake, she gradually followed in her footsteps.
“She brought me on to the sweeter side of life.”
After having children of her own, Stermi realised she would rather be with them rather than return to work – and a trip to a café to de-stress gave her the inspiration she needed.
She got a snack and a drink and realised, “oh my gosh, this is what I need to do,” she said.
“I chose cookies for the simple fact I ... grew up with grandma’s cookies.”
Biscuits featured heavily in visits to her gran’s, where the sisters would line up to get a home-made shortbread biscuit and a mint.
What followed her eureka moment was many more trips to cafés to sample a variety of biscuits – flat, chewy, crispy.
“I decided I wanted something that’s a bit different – that’s how I got on to the chunky, thick cookie.”
Plenty of YouTube cookie tutorials were watched during Stermi’s research and development stage, and she took her biscuits to the public for feedback; finally landing on the perfect recipe.
The best way to enjoy them was to put them in the microwave for 25 seconds and finish them off with a dollop of ice cream, she said.
“They’re absolutely amazing.” Attending markets including the Arts Centre Market and baking for online orders is her happy place.
“I’ve always wanted to live life on my own terms and be able to fully embrace being happy and living.”
And being able to share her joy of baking and “seeing someone eat it and smile”, she’s living the dream, she said.