Bismarck Tribune

By KAREN HERZOGBy KAREN HERZOG

Marie Mills' daughter's second word - after "mama" - was "cookie."

And why not? Jim and Marie Mills' north Bismarck house is filled with the delectable fragrances of baking - a buttery, caramel, cinnamon bouquet. There's always a lot of baking going on there, as Marie Mills, doing business as Marie Ann's Gourmet Kitchen, rolls out treats for her customers.

Mills had previously worked as a certified nursing assistant and with her mother in an eBay business, she said. The baking business started out as a sideline when Jim Mills' cousin, Shelly Pegors, got Marie Mills involved selling baked goods together in the fall of 2003. Though Pegors died later that year, Mills has continued the home business they started together.

Mills likes it because it's something that she can do and still be at home with her small children, son Dawson, 4½, and daughter Makenzie, almost 2. People seem to be eating it up.

Mills has developed business and personal customers, from making treats for dental offices to baking for senior citizens who ask her to make their holiday treats. Her busy time starts around Easter and really picks up from September until Christmas, she said.

Her grandmother, Irene Blotsky, operates a ceramics booth at Gateway Mall's frequent craft sales, so Mills began piggybacking on that, selling her homemade treats and goodies at her grandmother's booth in front of Mills' parents' business, Hansen's Menswear.

For her Gateway sales, she makes a collection of peanut butter cups, toffee, breads, and cookies and bars.

Her classics are Colossal Caramel Crispy Bars, Rice Krispie bars with a layer of caramel, Special K bars from her mother's recipe, and Cookie Monster cookies, affectionately named for her children, she said. The cookies are monsters, 4 ounces of dough dropped onto baking sheets with an ice cream scoop. She also makes molasses cookies dipped in white chocolate from her great-grandmother's recipe.

"Everything is large and portable," she said.

For each sale, she makes about 15 to 25 loaves of quick breads, she said, 75 to 100 individual bars and 60 to 90 individual monster and molasses cookies.

Mills always sells out, she said: "No leftovers."

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Mills uses a combination of family recipes and creations of her own, but the following are a variety of similar bars and cookies to try:

Nutty Chocolate-Pretzel Bars

2 cups mixed nuts (coarsely chop Brazil nuts, if included)

1 roll refrigerated sugar cookies

1 cup toffee bits

1½ cups milk chocolate chips

1/3 cup butterscotch chips

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup coarsely chopped salted pretzels

1 ounce vanilla-flavored candy coating (almond bark), chopped, or 2 tablespoons while vanilla baking chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 9-by-13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. In bottom of pan, spread nuts. Cut cookie dough into ½-inch slices; place over nuts in pan. With floured fingers, press dough evenly to form crust. Sprinkle toffee bits over crust; press in lightly.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 30 minutes.

In large microwaveable bowl, place chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Microwave on high 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Stir in peanut butter until well blended. Fold in pretzels. Spread mixture evenly over baked crust.

In small microwaveable bowl, microwave candy coating uncovered on high 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth. Drizzle over bars. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. For bars, cut in 6 rows by 6 rows.

Nutrition information per 1 bar: 210 calories, 13 g total fat (4.5 g saturated fat, 0.5 g trans fat), 10 mg cholesterol, 130 mg sodium, 90 mg potassium, 21 g carbohydrate (14 g sugars), 3 g protein.

- Pillsbury Foods

Thyme is a perfect flavor, light and mint-like, to go with the foods of spring. Here it's added, as an unexpected perk, to a lemon bar.

Lemon Thyme Bars

Crust:

2 cups flour

2/3 cup confectioner's sugar

2½ teaspoons thyme leaves

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into pieces

Filling:

1¼ cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons flour

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup lemon juice

3 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, mix flour, confectioner's sugar, thyme and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/3 of crumb mixture (about 1 cup). Pat remaining crumb mixture evenly into greased, foil-lined 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven.

For the filling, mix granulated sugar, flour, ginger and baking powder in large bowl. Add lemon juice, eggs and lemon peel; whisk until blended. Pour lemon filling over warm baked crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until filling is set and golden. Cool in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar or drizzle with Lemon Glaze (recipe follows), if desired. Cut into bars to serve.

Makes 24 servings.

Lemon Glaze:Stir ¾ cup confectioner's sugar and 3 to 4 teaspoons lemon juice in small bowl until smooth. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons water if needed for desired consistency. Drizzle over top of dessert. Let stand until glaze is set before cutting into bars.

Nutrition information per serving of 1 bar:172 calories, 8 g fat, 2 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 45 mg cholesterol, 123 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

- Courtesy of McCormick Foods

The following two recipes are from "America's Best Church Supper Recipes" (2006, Reiman Media Group).

This doesn't make as big a cookie as Mills', but a heaping tablespoon of dough makes it bigger than most. If making cookies bigger than that, adjust baking times to ensure doneness.

Grandma's Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups butter, softened

1½ cups packed brown sugar

½ cup sugar

4 eggs

7 cups quick-cooking oats

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 package (5.1 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix

2 teaspoons baking soda

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the oats, flour, pudding mix and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes 7 dozen.

- Donna Trumbauer, Coopersburg, Pa.

Chocolate-covered Crispies

4 Milky Way candy bars (2.05 ounces each), cut up

¾ cup butter, cubed, divided

3 cups crispy rice cereal

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

In a saucepan over low heat or in a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy bars and ½ cup butter; stir until blended. Stir in cereal. Pat into a greased 7-by-11-inch pan.

In another saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and remaining butter; stir until smooth. Spread over cereal mixture. Refrigerate until firm.

Yields 2 to 2 ½ dozen.

- Patricia Carmichael, Gibsons, British Columbia

(Reach Karen Herzog at 250-8267 or karen.herzog @;bismarcktribune.com. For more information about Marie Ann's Gourmet Kitchen, call 250-7953.)