51+ COOKIE STORIES
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Below, you're about to read 51+ occasions where I made (and delivered) cookies to folks of all walks of life. Whether I was working for corporate companies in my 20s, or folks who worked in medical offices, dentist offices, restaurants, auto repair shops, hair salons, mail stores, drug store, apartment complex offices, seriously, you name it. I've made A LOT of cookies in these past 35+ years and do I have some stories to tell you. Check this out ...
COOKIE STORY #1
Bart's Cookies Break Up A Bar Fight
"I broke up a bar fight at 2:15 A.M. in the back parking lot of a country western bar in Thousand Oaks, CA with just 2 chocolate chip cookies!"
One of the greatest stories I've ever told that displays the "power" of the cookie or the "influential impact" of the cookie go something like this ... It was Halloween night (2018), and I was at a country western bar in Thousand Oaks, CA with a friend of mine who taught line dancing there. He and his wife were dressed up in these really amazing Industrial Revolution style costumes that ran them in the range of $300-$500; whereas I just went as a baker with (1) an apron, (2) an oven mitt and (3) a big mixing bowl filled freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Yes, that was my costume, a baker.
Well, we go to the bar, we have a great night, I'm passing out cookies to everyone with a beer in their hand. I'm getting well-known throughout the bar very quickly, and nobody even cares about my friend's expensive costume, which he was hoping to show off. Nope. No one cared at all. Poor guy. People came to our table instead asking, "Where's the cookie guy? Is this where I get a cookie? May I have a cookie?" Well, closing time came, and it was time for all of us to go home. So, we exited through the back door where the employees came and went because my friend was a line dancing instructor at the bar.
We walk through the back door and what do we see in the parking lot behind the bar is a potential fight. Two guys looking like they were about to duke it out with a small crowd of people watching them. What's more, a cop was parked in a parking space not too far away watching everything and the bouncer was also watching how things were going to play out. Here's how the whole scene looked that night. Check it out ...
Well, having personally had 5 to 10 piña coladas myself that night, and of course having circulated the entire bar with my cookies getting well-known by everyone, and having lethal confidence, while everyone was at a standstill not knowing what was going to happen next between these two guys, I confidently walked right up to them and said to them, "Boys, boys, before you duke it out, please each of you have a cookie, first.” I simply wanted to diffuse the tense situation with some chocolate / sugar, of course. Right? That seemed like the thing to do with everyone just standing around WATCHING and doing NOTHING! ;-)
As I began to hand out the cookies, one of the men said, “What's in this cookie. There better not be anything bad in it or I'm going to kick your a**.” I quickly assured him, “Don't worry. There's nothing like that in these cookies.” They both started to chew their cookie when one of them blurted out, “Oh, my God, this is good! I could kiss you!” I said, “No no no. Where is your car, over there? Okay, take 3 more cookies for the road and have a safe drive home tonight." I turned to the other guy and said, "You, sir, here are your cookies for the road home. Where is your car? Over there? Great, take your cookies home. I want you to drive home safely.”
The fight was broken up WITHIN 30 SECONDS because of my cookies. The cop drove by me and gave me a thumbs up. The bouncer asked if I wanted a job and my friend was pissed because nobody paid attention to his costume all night long as folks just wanted my cookies. Plus, now, he's double-pissed as I stole the spotlight again by shutting down a potential parking lot fight with (just) my cookies. "Get in the car, we're going home." Not, "Wow, great job, Bart. You put out that fight with your cookies." I think he was jealous. Well, at least his wife still loves him. Maybe, maybe not. Oh well, not my area to worry, of course. I saved the day, err, NIGHT, with my cookies and that's what counts.
My world famous chocolate chip cookies broke up a potential fight at a country bar at 2:15 A.M. and everyone went home well fed and safe that night. Go figure, eh? Again, the POWER OF THE COOKIE!
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COOKIE STORY #2
"Bart's cookies and FREE booze!!!"
"'Bart, bring cookies and we'll give you FREE BOOZE,' said the manager at my favorite all-u-can-eat sushi restaurant in Newport Beach, CA, back in 1998."
So, back in the late '90s I used to live on Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, CA. Well, every Friday night we'd walk down to this particular all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant called California Beach Rockin' Sushi right near the bridge that leads over to Lido island, which I and friends frequented for like a year (every Friday night). I went down there so many times (and always tipped the staff 100% of whatever the bill was, plus I bought beers for the sushi chefs, bussers, waiters and the manager on duty). That's just the kind of all-you-can-eat sushi kinda guy I am!
Well, they began to know who I was pretty fast and when I would call in to say, "Hey, this is SHARK. I'm on my way to you right now. Can I have my favorite spot ready at the sushi bar?" I went early enough that it was always easy to save my favorite spot. Well, sooner than later, they found out I make the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies. So, I brought some down and for several Fridays in a row. It was a surprise one day, when I called in to tell them I'm on my way, when the manager told me over the phone, and I quote, "Bart, bring cookies and we will give you FREE BOOZE!"
Well, I knew what was in store for me that night. So, I baked a quick batch before heading down for that night's sushi outing. I couldn't believe it. I was in heaven. All you can eat sushi and all the free booze I could drink all in exchange for the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie!!!
The chefs, the waiters, the bussers, the manager, the bartenders; I had the whole restaurant fed with my cookies; and, of course, those who sat next to me, they got a few cookies too. I mean, talk about taking over a packed sushi restaurant with just cookies! Who does that? Nobody I know of and especially not these folks who purport to make the best chocolate chip cookie. I bet their cookies never leave their kitchen let alone make it to an all-u-can-eat sushi restaurant in exchange for free booze! No. Never.”
By the way, while this Newport Beach, CA location is now closed, they do have a restaurant in Aiea, HI, which is about 20 minutes north/northwest of Honolulu, HI. You can check them out at their website, CaliforniaBeachRocknSushi.com. While I haven't been there, YET, I do plan on going sometime soon, and when I do, you can bet I'll bring cookies. Let's see if they remember me some 20+ years later! We'll see! I hope so!!! I'll keep you posted.
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COOKIE STORY #3
"Sharing 4 cookies paid my sushi bill!"
"Bart, there's no bill for your table,' said the all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant waiter. He said, "The table next to you, who you gave (4) cookies to, paid your bill." I was in SHOCK!!! Here's the story ..."
So, I'm at Neko Supremo All-You-Can-Eat Sushi in Las Vegas, NV, sometime in the Spring of 2024, enjoying my favorite sushi with a good friend of mine. Well, it was on this occasion I brought my "world famous" chocolate chip cookies to the restaurant staff (again) and a lot of them, cookies, that is! As I handed the tin foil container pan to our waitress, the people at my neighboring table saw the cookies and asked what they were. I proceeded to tell them, "I make the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie. Would you like to try them?" They said, "Sure! We'd love to!" I reached for an unused sushi plate on my table and placed four cookies on their plate and handed it to them.
Maybe 20-30 minutes later, I noticed my neighboring table had cleared and they were gone. Well, another 30 minutes later and it was time for us to pay our bill and head out. When I asked the waiter for our bill, he said, "THERE IS NO BILL! The gentleman sitting next to you paid your bill." I was like, "Are you kidding me? I just gave him four cookies and he paid our $50 sushi bill?" Honestly, I NEVER SAW THAT COMING!
Even the waiters were stunned at what happened. They'd never seen anything like it. Someone else paying a stranger's sushi bill all because they had a few cookies from a neighboring table? All I can say is my cookies must have amazing, influential powers to even get a neighboring table to pay your sushi bill! Yikes! Get a load of that! Eh?
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COOKIE STORY #4
"Are You The Cookie Man?"
"One (1) year later, as I walk into a Chick-Fil-A in Matthews, North Carolina ... "Are you the cookie man?"
So, I'm having lunch with my mom at a Chick-fil-A in Matthews, NC. The cashier gal asks me if I'd like to try one of THEIR chocolate chip cookies. I said, "No, thank you, I make the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie." She looked at me, smiled and laughed a little bit, "Sure, yeah, right." So I replied, "I just happen to have some in my car. Would you like to try some?" Of course, she said, "Yes."
After paying for my meal, I went to the car and brought a dozen or so cookies for her and a coworker friend to try. I wasn't going to isolate her in this moment alone, no. I wanted her to share in the (first-time) experience with a trusted friend at work. I told her, "Now, take these cookies into the back office or somewhere where you can be alone with my cookies. Turn down the lights, too, if you can. Then, slowly eat my cookies in silence with both of you in the room (don't say anything) so you can experience what you're going to experience together. I will be sitting over there (pointing 10 feet away from the counter). Come to me after you've had them."
Well, only 5-10 minutes later, I'm sitting at the table with my mom chowing down on my chicken nuggets, when these two girls come running from the back counter to my table to say, "OMG, you were right! These are the best chocolate chip cookies we've ever had." Well, you can imagine the look on their faces when I told them I'd bring them a whole batch (40 cookies) the next day for all their coworkers and the manager to share and enjoy.
For a few more weeks to follow, while still in Matthews, NC, I would bring more cookies in and make their day every time. Then? A few weeks later, I had to leave for California and I wouldn't return for a whole year. Well, that year flew by and I needed to return to Matthews, NC to pick up Mom and move her across the country to South Lake Tahoe, CA. A few days before leaving for that cross country trip, Mom and I wanted some Chick-fil-A. So, we headed over there, parked, got out and started to walk towards the Chick-fil-A building. Now, picture my mom and I walking towards the entrance door when it opens and who walks out, but the same manager and that very same cashier girl.
You should have seen the look on her face when she blurted out loud to me, "ARE YOU THE COOKIE MAN?!?!" I replied, "Yes I am, would you like some cookies?" She replied with joy, "YES, YES, YES!!!" I told her I would stop in before I left town with a whole batch again. Now, I haven't seen these people in like a YEAR!
So, can you imagine a year later being recognized for how you made people feel with what you bake (cookies)? "ARE YOU THE COOKIE MAN?!?!?" That's pretty cool, eh?
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COOKIE STORY #5
"Cookie hoarding under paper napkins!"
"People were sneaking piles of my cookies covered with paper napkins on dessert plates to hide their GUILT of hoarding more cookies than their allotted amount allowed per table!"
Back in 2010 or so, my nephew played on a State championship team in Eagle, Idaho his senior year. Well, at the end of the season, to celebrate their victory, we all attended an end-of-the-season celebration dinner in the high school cafeteria. The facilitators loved that I contributed roughly 200 cookies to help cater the dessert part of the event.
You can imagine, everyone seated at these small round cafeteria tables for the main course and then dessert. Different speakers would make short presentations about the season and talk about their performances all while they handed out awards.
Well, what was going on semi-unnoticed (until it was brought to my attention) was the fact that I (and those at my table) started witnessing people taking small dessert plates back to their tables PILED WITH MY COOKIES and 'COVERED WITH NAPKINS' so as to not let people see what (or HOW MANY COOKIES) they were bringing back to their tables in hoards. It would have been fine if I saw this once or twice. But, no! I saw this happening with a dozen people across the room and at different tables!!!
What was going on in their mind was probably they said to themselves, "Holy cow, these cookies are amazing. I better get some and pile them on a little plate before everybody else gets them and they're all gone." At least that's what I think they were thinking, right? HAHA You bet! It was my nephew's friend's father, who was sitting at the same table with me, who said, “Bart, look at what people are doing with your cookies? They're putting them on small dessert plates and covering them with a napkin so as to not show their GUILT OF THEFT of more than the allotted cookies they're allowed per guest.” We just laughed and said that was crazy.
What was also funny was his wife was in charge of the whole event. When I told her I made the best chocolate chip cookies, she chuckled and didn't think I was telling the truth. Well, once they started seeing my cookies disappear in the manner they were (on those plates and under napkins), she came to me and said, "Bart, I owe you an apology. My word, you were right. Your cookies are the HIT OF THE PARTY! Thank you so much for catering the event with your cookies. They stole the show.”
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COOKIE STORY #6
"Cookies and a D.U.I. sobriety checkpoint!"
"D.U.I. sobriety checkpoint in Newport Beach, CA and baking the world’s best chocolate chip cookies at 4:00 p.m.!!! ('I cannot tell a lie!')"
Have you ever gone through a DUI sobriety checkpoint, especially in Newport Beach, CA? You know they stop you, they ask you if you have been drinking, and for some, like me, they ask you to step out of the car so you can perform a series of sobriety tests. I knew I would pass, but you still have to go through the steps when asked.
Well, after I passed the physical tests, they proceeded to ask me a few questions. Such as, “How much sleep did you get last night,” and “What did you have to eat today?” Well, I had to tell them what they wanted to hear, especially regarding sleep because I DON’T SLEEP! Because I'm so wired and have so much energy, I only get (or need) like 3 to 5 hours of sleep per day. Again, that's not what they're going to want to hear. So, I told the officer I got the usual 6 to 8 hours per night. They liked that answer and proceeded to ask me the next question.
“Okay, what have you had to eat today?," asked the officer. To which I replied, “Well, like George Washington said, I cannot tell a lie. At 10:00 A.M. I had two green apples. Then, at 4:30 P.M., I started baking the world's greatest (pause) chocolate chip cookies.” You should have seen and heard the cop look up and say, “Cookies?” like a child in mom’s kitchen. The police officer overseeing my time there turned almost childlike when I mentioned chocolate chip cookies.
So, I finished the breathalyzer and passed that as well. They said I was free to go. Yippee!!! I then said, “Where is my car?” They said they drove it around the corner and parked it over in that parking lot of a nearby church. I said, “Well, can you bring it back?” They said they couldn't because they had to guard their post. Okay, understood, BUT, I was joking with them and they were joking with me because they knew I was a nice guy. I told them I had just come from a restaurant, where they valeted my car away when I arrived and they would bring it back when I was ready to leave. Well, I wanted the police to valet my car back to me. That was a long walk I was looking at and they had already taken up roughly 45 minutes of my time, causing me to be late to my next meeting that night.
Well, with a smile, the lady cop who was my sobriety checkpoint officer said, “Bart, I’ll walk you to your car.” We started walking to the car when she said, “Bart, I just want to thank you for being so cooperative and kind through this whole process. Unlike some of the other people that come through our checkpoints, you were a breath of fresh air.” So, I said right then and there, “Stop. Listen.” As I pointed to the sky. “Do you hear anything?” She said, “No, I don't hear anything.” I said, “THANK YOU, for keeping the PEACE and QUIET in our neighborhood.” I think she was ready to drop everything and deputize me right there Johnny on the spot and make me a cop; because she was the one who I mentioned cookies to.
Well, I hopped in my car and drove off to enjoy the rest of my night. A week later, I actually went back to see if they were at that same sobriety checkpoint location, because I wanted to get the name of the officer who spoke to me to see if I couldn't bring “COOKIES FOR COPS” to the local Newport Beach, CA police station some time. Well, they moved the checkpoint to another location, so I didn’t see them or follow through with my (cookie donation) idea, but that doesn't stop me from giving COOKIES FOR COPS in the future, which is going to happen one day. Anyhow, I thought that was a funny story, “... and at 4:30 P.M. I started baking the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookies,” so I said to the sobriety checkpoint officer.
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COOKIE STORY #7
"Cookies can make you WELL KNOWN in no time!"
"Restaurant staff gets to know me fast with my cookies having only lived in town (Eagle, ID) for 1 week compared to my friend's parents who lived their for 20+ years."
When I first moved to Eagle, Idaho, a friend of mine brought me to this really cool bar and grill restaurant she and her parents went to for years called Bardenay's Restaurant & Distillery. Well, the first week I lived there, we went to this bar about 3-4 times. I would bring cookies to meet/thank the staff.
A couple weeks later, having been in town for only 2 weeks, we're walking through the restaurant with her parents and all the staff is saying, "Hello Bart, hey Bart, hi Bart, hey Bart, nice seeing you Bart …” Her mom turns to my friend and says, "How long has Bart been living here?" She replied, "Only about 2 weeks." Her mom replied, "We've been coming to this restaurant for 15 years since it opened and the staff doesn't greet us like that when we walk in."
My friend said to her mom, "Mom you have to understand something, Bart is different. Bart brings cookies (everywhere he goes practically) and then everyone knows him like they've known him forever and, like, ... overnight!" My friend knows this to be true, about me bringing cookies, because she would attend networking events with me where I would bring my cookies and instantly get to know EVERYONE in the room in a matter of minutes (not hours or ever).
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COOKIE STORY #8
"Mom's FIRED and I'm HIRED ... forevermore!"
"Mom's fired (or, well, laid off indefinitely) and I'm the new chocolate chip cookie baker in the family forevermore ... at 18 years old!!!"
Not like I can remember my mom baking a lot of chocolate chip cookies when I was a kid, because I don't. I do remember her making a lot of Christmas cookies and sugar cookies and ginger bread cookies and those kinds of cookies, but not chocolate chip. So, it's not like I could say I had any kind of mentoring or someone older than me like a mother, aunt, grandma, etc. who made chocolate chip cookies. There was no one in our family doing that as far as I can remember.
So, I return home my freshman year of college for Christmas vacation (December 1988), and some other family members are all gathered in the kitchen at my mom's apartment and she makes this big announcement which I thought was kind of cool. She says to the crowd standing in the kitchen, "Everyone, I have an announcement to make. I have been fired. Bart has taken over the role of the chocolate chip cookie baker of the family. They are very good and he's going to make some right now." ... and so that's how that happened. Mom got fired and I got hired!
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COOKIE STORY #9
"Cookies get me backstage concert tickets!"
"My cookies upgraded my "standard" complimentary concert tickets to ★BACKSTAGE★ tickets to meet the SCORPIONS (rock band)!"
So, during the summer of 2010, a friend of mine who worked in the entertainment industry used to get me concert tickets to see all kinds of bands in exchange for my helping her with websites, book publishing, and other technical and business services. On this particular occasion, she put me in contact with Nick and the ticket management team who was issuing the tickets to go see the Scorpions and Cinderella at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, CA.
Well, I called Nick, my contact at the ticket management team, to verify my tickets would be at the gate when I arrived and should there be any other pick-up instructions, please tell me. After letting them know how thankful I was to receive these free tickets, I told them I was going to send them some of my world famous chocolate chip cookies just to say thank you. Before hanging up, I gave them my website (BartsCookies.com) to check out so they would know what was coming by the photos I had of my cookies on my site. They, too, kindly said, "Thank you, great, Bart," and we hung up the phone.
I then went to the patio where I was staying at my friend's house in Reno, Nevada, when I got a call no more than 15-20 minutes later from the ticket management company. I was curious why they had called me after everything was settled on the first call. I answered their call and said, "Hey, Nick, what's up?" In the most happiest tone of voice, Nice said to me, "Bart, we just looked at your website BartsCookies.com and now know what is coming our way in the form of your chocolate chip cookies. To say THANK YOU TO YOU, we have upgraded your standard complimentary tickets to VIP status tickets so you can go backstage and meet the SCORPIONS before they go on stage. Your backstage pass will be grouped along with your standard concert tickets."
Gee, wasn't that a surprise call to get within 20 minutes of hanging up? And, what did I owe those upgraded backstage tickets to? Not being nice, grateful, thankful and courteous, but COOKIES!!!! Now, truth be told I got too excited with the concert and the friends I was with that we didn't get a chance to maneuver backstage and meet the band due to its outdoor venue type and stuff like that but it was okay. It's the phone call that I got out of the blue that I didn't see coming and my concert ticket upgrades. Alas, the POWER of the COOKIE!!!
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COOKIE STORY #10
"Cookies and my Playboy radio interview!"
"A (3-hour) Playboy radio interview about my book, LAWS OF THE BEDROOM, and, 'Did you bring cookies, Bart?' Not, 'Hi, nice to meet you, ...'"
In 2004, I was staying at my mom's house in San Rafael, CA when I got an invitation to be interviewed on Playboy Radio with regards to one of my relationship books called Laws Of The Bedroom. Well, they requested I send them a copy of my book for their review and then we would conduct the interview live in-person in their Los Angeles studio a couple weeks later. Well, while I was on the phone with them nailing down all the details, I offered to send cookies, of course. They were so excited to receive my book PLUS COOKIES!!!! THAT never happened before with any previous author interviews, they told me.
When it was time to do the interview, a couple weeks later, I showed up to their studio, and when I walked into the studio room I was NOT greeted with, "Hi, hello, nice to finally meet you." No, it was, "DID YOU BRING COOKIES WITH YOU?" Of course, I said, "I sure did!" That interview went from your standard 45 minute interview to a 3-hour interview LIVE on Playboy Radio in their Los Angeles studio about my book, Laws Of The Bedroom, all while we sat and ate cookies the whole time. How cool is that?
It was nuts, too, because the producer in the control room told the ladies who interviewed me, "You gotta end the interview. We've got other people waiting to use the studio room for their needs. You gals have been interviewing him for like 3 hours. No one one has ever kept your attention like he has; I get it, but you gotta get him outta there! Wrap it up!" Crazy, huh? Hey, at least they got their cookies!
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COOKIE STORY #11
"You can smell my cookies through the postal boxes."
"Can you smell your cookies through the boxes you might ship them in? Anytime I had a stack of boxes in my car, while driving them to the post office, I could smell the richly baked chocolate aroma!!!"
Having shipped thousands of cookies over my lifetime, there's one thing that I always remember that's associated with every single box that goes to the post office, which is, the aroma of chocolate permeating through each box in my car as I drive them down to the post office. It’s so shockingly obvious that there is chocolate inside these boxes. What kind of chocolate? People don't know because it's boxed up and sealed. BUT, YOU KNOW there are chocolate chip cookies inside those boxes.
So, for me to tell you, … I'm driving down the road, I got my eyes on the road for safety, and what do I smell beside me, but chocolate chip cookies (boxed and sealed) in these post office boxes ready to be mailed to their intended recipient. Can you imagine going through life smelling that type of strong aroma permeating out of boxes because there's just that much chocolate in these cookies?
Most bakers don’t pack that much chocolate in their cookies, so would never smell them. They’re just dough with some chips. Oh, how boring. I wish you could be in that driver's seat to experience that sometime. Maybe one day you will. Maybe I'll be with you and we box up cookies together and you can experience the sensation of, “Bart, the cookies are boxed up and sealed with mailing tape, but I can still smell the chocolate. It's so obvious and overwhelming!!!”
I always joke that the drug sniffing dogs at the post office smell my boxes and say, “Ruff, ruff, can we look in these boxes? I know there are no drugs in them that you’ve trained me to sniff out, but can we just look? I want to know what's in there. I think there's something in there I want to eat.” And, of course, dogs shouldn’t have chocolate in the first place, do know that to be true.
Anyhow, funny stuff, eh? My chocolate chip cookies are so chock full of chocolate that they emit their dense chocolate aroma right through sealed boxes on their way to the post office.
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COOKIE STORY #12
"Free Chips & Margaritas For Cookies!"
"Cookies in exchange for free margaritas, chips and salsa at this super cool Mexican restaurant in South Lake Tahoe, CA."
“I once exchanged cookies for drinks and chips and salsa. They (the serving staff) loved loved loved the cookies at Azul's in South Lake Tahoe, CA.
The waitress later came to me to tell me, "Bart, all 40 cookies you gave us are gone, but my stash."
What's funny is that I showed up about 30 minutes to an hour late to this luncheon and they were really concerned I wouldn't show up on my promise from a week ago to deliver cookies to them.
So, when I walked in, bag in hand (of about 50 cookies), they could smell them as they were sitting there on the counter at the front desk where you check in to get seated with your party.
Anyhow, I sat there comfortably, and enjoyed my two margaritas, of which they only charged me for one margarita, and they normally charge for the chips as well.
So, in all, it was a wonderful day in the sun on the patio enjoying complimentary chips and drinks in exchange for my cookies.
Again, the power of the cookie!”
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COOKIE STORY #13
"Cookie Taste-Testing Contest I Won (18-3)"
"Corporate office 'best-tasting cookie' contest, which I won (18-3) at an eCommerce company in Barrie, Ontario back in 2006 ..."
Some time around the Spring of 2006, I was hired for a 30-day work project where I had to go to Barrie, Ontario (Canada) to work for this e-commerce company making their video tutorials for their software. Well, once a week one of their employees would take me to the grocery store for my groceries, because I didn't really need to rent a car. Their employees were so happy to drive me anywhere in town I wanted to go.
Well, I'm walking through the grocery store with the accountant this time and I told her, “I've got the hankering to make the world's best chocolate chip cookies.” She said, “Oh, really?” I said, “Yeah, I make the world’s best.” She said, “No you don’t. I do. My kids love my cookies.” I then said, “Wanna have a contest as to who bakes the world’s best chocolate chip cookie?” She replied, “You’re on and I’m going to win.” This was a mom with two kids I was going up against.
So, there we were pushing the shopping cart around the grocery store, happily grabbing our (individual) cookie baking ingredients. We then went to her house to bake; mixing our own ingredients and everything in our own bowls. One move she did that shocked me was she stuck both of her hands (no gloves) into the mixing bowl to mix everything with her bare hands. I shook my head at that, but oh well, different strokes, right?
When we were done baking, we wrapped our cookies up with tin foil on separate plates. She drove me home and we showed up the next day at the office with cookies to serve the staff of 30 or so employees.
That (next) morning, we went into the conference room, placed our cookies on the conference table, NO NAME ASSOCIATED with either plate, and put up a little sign on the whiteboard that allowed everyone to vote. Because my cookies contained milk and dark chocolate I was dubbed DARK on the whiteboard; while my cookie baking rival was dubbed LIGHT because her cookies contained white chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
We then made a big announcement to everyone in the office to come on down to the conference room all day long, grab a cookie and cast your vote as to which cookie you like the most. As votes were accumulated, we tallied them. Whoever has the most votes by the end of the day WINS!!!!
Do note, this was a BLIND taste-test. NO ONE knew who baked which cookie. Well, by the end of the day, the voting board read 18 to 3. I WON! The accountant got pretty upset as you can imagine. So, the next day, she brought in her famous cheesecake, and I said, “Hey, this is delicious! Just remember, though, who makes the world's best chocolate chip cookie.” We laughed and yep, I won that contest hands down, 18 to 3. Crazy, huh?
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COOKIE STORY #14
"6 Heart-♥-Shaped C-C-Cookies To The Rescue!"
"I sent 6 HEART-♥-SHAPED COOKIES to a friend of mine for Valentine's and 5 of her female friends who also didn't have valentine dates that year!"
It was around 2018 or so when a friend of mine living in Los Angeles, CA said to me she had no plans for Valentine's because she didn't have a Valentine. This gal was in her early 30s and I sensed she was kind of down about the whole matter. Wow, another Valentine's holiday and she's alone again without a Valentine. She said she was going to meet up with some girlfriends, who were also single.
So, I told her, "Look we have time. I'm going to bake six heart-shaped cookies tonight and I'm going to get them in the mail tomorrow so they'll be to you in time for Valentine's day. You can go out with your girlfriends Friday (as planned) and hand out a heart-♥-shaped cookie to each of your girlfriends. Let my heart-shaped cookie be their valentine."
She almost broke down and cried on the phone. She was so elated, so grateful. NO ONE ever thought to do something like that for her before. She told me, "Bart, you've got to be the sweetest man I know. What guy does that or anybody when they hear someone who's about to face a lonely Valentine's day and then go out with her friends to experience the same thing? Only for you to come to our rescue with what else? Heart-♥-shaped chocolate chip cookies!!! I could cry! Nobody does that in the entire world except you, Bart."
BART'S WORLD FAMOUS HEART-SHAPED
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
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COOKIE STORY #15
"Can I borrow your kitchen to make cookies?"
"I baked cookies in an apartment kitchen owned by the front desk clerk of this hotel I was staying at in Sacramento, CA for an event I was attending ..."
Back some years ago, I was in Sacramento, CA with a friend of mine who was giving a presentation at a weekend seminar training event. The event was about life/personal/business coaching and running your own coaching and consulting business. My friend was speaking and I was there to support her to give a top notch presentation.
Well, last minute, we decided we wanted to bring cookies to the event the day she spoke, which was on a Sunday morning. Problem was, we didn't have time to bake them before we left for the event. So, what did we do? We asked the front desk clerk of the hotel we were staying at if we could borrow his apartment kitchen to bake my world famous chocolate chip cookies. When we told him why we wanted to bake them, he was excited to oblige knowing he too was going to get some.
So, he told us where the grocery store was, we went and got cookie baking supplies, he had a couple of cookie sheets for our use and we arrived at his apartment (not too far from the hotel) to start baking. He was floored at how fast we whipped up those cookies and how good they were right out of the oven. He was so glad he made the decision to allow some unknown hotel guests to borrow his kitchen to bake the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies.
I’m sure he’ll never forget that we did that to this day. We then arrived at the event the next day with cookies, my friend spoke, gave a great presentation and my cookies were loved by all in the room, naturally, of course. It just goes to show you that I can bake my cookies anywhere, even in a stranger’s kitchen. I just need the ingredients, a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, a couple cookie sheets and an oven and I’m off to baking the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies. Wanna try one?
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COOKIE STORY #16
"500+ cookies is a lot of cookies to make ... in ONE day!"
"I personally made 500+ cookies (all by myself) to fulfill Valentine's Day orders many, many years ago!!!"
This is just a baking episode story that I'll never forget where my mom was in the hospital and she couldn't help be my right hand gal and help me bake and package and ship cookie orders like she normally did when we were together and we were able to do that type of collective baking activity. Well, in this particular situation, it was Valentine's Day and I had to bake 14 batches of cookies to fulfill all the orders all by myself. To tell you how many cookies that is for one person to make, it was about 560 cookies! Each batch yields around 40 cookies x 14 batches and you get 560 cookies. Now, it was probably more like 540 cookies that were eventually made because I remember eating a little bit of dough from every bowl I mixed. That's right, 14 bowls of cookie dough and I sampled a little dough from each bowl. I definitely went on a diet that week. But, I'll never forget that I made 500+ cookies myself in one day because I needed to get them all boxed up and shipped in time for Valentine's day. Hey, YOU go and bake 500+ cookies in one day by lonesome. We'll see how you're standing (or not) by the end of the day. HAHA I'll say this, to all the bakers out there, you better not have any TIME WASTING COOKIE-BAKING STEPS, such as, melting the butter, adding extra non-essential ingredients or worse refrigerating your dough for 4 hours before you bake it! Because my recipe is so tight and so quick to make, bake and cool, I was able to whip up 500+ cookies in a 24 hour day. Amazing huh? Who do you know that's made that many cookies in one day? Maybe a factory?
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COOKIE STORY #17
"800+ COOKIES is A LOT of cookies to bake in 24 hours!"
"I baked just over 800 cookies in a 24-hour period to fulfill Christmas orders back in the day when I used to take online orders near christmas time ..."
Another amazing baking session that I'll always remember, and is also one of the reasons why I stopped baking and selling cookies around Christmas time, was when my mom and I were baking cookies to fulfill Christmas orders and we made about 20 batches of cookies in 24 hours. (My mom was my cookie baking assistant and was very well appreciated during this time. I baked, she packed and I took the boxes to the post office for mailing.) Well, to let you know how many cookies that is, it's roughly 800 cookies made in a 24 hour period. I usually like to bake them all in one day or two and get them all out of the way so I can enjoy the rest of the week without baking/fulfilling any orders.
Well, this was back in the day when I was actually taking online orders and fulfilling orders around Christmas time. When those cookies were all baked, cooled and boxed up, I had to then take them to the post office. Well, as soon as I walked out the door who did I see? The postman! He was over at our mailboxes with his mail truck. I asked him, “Would you mind taking these (20 or so) boxes to the post office for me?” He said, “I would be glad to.” Boy, was I relieved. Now, I can go to sleep, because my mom and I had been baking for 24 hours WITHOUT any sleep.
That's nuts, but that's how dedicated I was to baking cookies and getting those people their cookies which they ordered before Christmas. I’m also glad I don't do that anymore. HAHA BUT, you go and bake 800 cookies in a single day and then you let me know if you're still alive and standing! I bet you’re not! Like I was (i.e., walking in my sleep when it was all said and done). YIKES!
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COOKIE STORY #18
"My nephew's boot camp buddies and COOKIE COMAS!"
"My cookies had my nephew's military boot camp buddies passed out on the floor in their own personal 'COOKIE COMAS!'"
Another quick “cookie / nephew" story that comes to mind is when my nephew was at boot camp for the National Guard in Fort Knox, Tennessee. My sister went to visit him on one of his breaks. She gave me the date she would be there so I can mail them cookies and they would arrive when she was there.
Well, she told me the boys had consumed the entire box of, approximately 150 cookies. They were all now lying on the floor passed out in their own cookie coma. That’s right, and those were her words, “COOKIE COMA!”
You can imagine if we ever had to fight a war with another country, all we'd have to do is just drop thousands of my cookies off in enemy territory. Then, after they consumed 5 to 10 cookies and stuffed themselves silly, they would just feel so sluggish and quite soon they wouldn't want to fight. That’s when we’d make our move and clean sweep them to victory. Ah, the power of the cookie to … WIN WARS, even!
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COOKIE STORY #19
"A cookie hairbrush for some very kind hair stylists!"
"I once made a chocolate chip cookie in the shape of a hair brush for some very nice ladies who worked at a hair salon in Los Angeles, CA."
So, here's a funny story. I once got my haircut by these really nice gals in Los Angeles, CA who did a fantastic job on my hair. Well, we go to talking and I told them about my "world famous" cookies and they asked, "Do you have any on you? We'd love to try them." Well, I lived only a few miles away at the time. So, I got home, whipped up a quick batch of cookies, and this time, instead of just delivering cookies to the salon gals, I actually made a cookie in the shape of a hairbrush. Check it out ...
Why not, eh? These were hair stylists, right? I thought they'd get a kick out of this lil' creative creation of mine. So, I made a cookie, flat like the base of the brush, and in the shape of a brush with a visible handle. Then, I inserted toothpicks into the cookie to act like the bristles of the brush. The girls flipped out when they saw my cookie brush I made for them. Have you ever seen anything like this?
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COOKIE STORY #20
"Cookies for an honest mechanic's opinion!"
"I have a (new) friend who is an auto mechanic who I gave cookies to while he worked my car. I paid him and from that point on, every opinion about any trouble I was having came from the heart and not the cash register!"
You know how hard it is to get an honest opinion from a mechanic or the idea of trying to explain what it is you need done to your car? It's like talking a foreign language, right? Well, I once needed some work done on my car.
So, I took it down to this repair shop and they said they'd need to look at the car over the next couple days in order for them to get me a report as to what needed to be done. Well, I told them I make the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies. Their ears and eyes perked up and opened wide and they said, “Really?”
So, I told them to keep my car and I'll be back the next day with cookies. I following up on my word, brought the cookies in and they were delighted. Think about it, WHO DOES THAT for them? Pays them AND FEEDS THEM? No body. I can only imagine as they worked on my car, they were working on it as if it was one of their's or a good friend's car.
When it was time to pick up my car, the price had changed and they said they did some extra work at no cost. What's more, they said, "If you ever want to bring in cookies again, we'd be glad to look at your car and tell you what we think." It's as if we transitioned from customer/service relationship to friends.
Crazy thing is, I did bring my car in for a look-see and they just said, "Pull it in. Let's take a look." There was no charge for that 30 minute analysis, unlike some other repair shops.
Ahh, the power of the cookie, which they got more of (cookies) to their surprise. It wasn't just a one-time baking occasion. For about a year, I would stop by with cookies just to say thank you for their help with my car. Now, whenever I walk into their garage, they smile (like children) and treat me differently than they would just some Joe regular customer. No, I'm the "Cookie Man" to them!
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COOKIE STORY #21
"Another auto mechanic / cookie story ..."
"On behalf of the entire team, we're very grateful for your cookies. Your car is ready for pick up and we did some extra work on it ... no charge."
So, in another auto repair story, my car needed work done on it so I could make the long drive from Las Vegas, NV to Boise, ID. Well, not knowing why it wouldn't start or why it would stop at times, I needed a mechanic who could really find out what was wrong and not charge me a lot of money.
Granted, auto repair costs can usually be out of the control of the repair team, yes. But, what is within their control is how long they spend working on your car and what they tell you is wrong with it.
Well, again, I thanked them for taking my car to look at it over the next 24-48 hours. I told them, as I handed them the car keys, that I make the world's best chocolate chip cookies. All three of them in the front office/desk area lit up like a Christmas tree. "Cookies?" I supposed they liked treats working in a hot repair garage all day, right? I told them, "I'll be back ... tomorrow ... with cookies!"
I returned the next day with cookies, and I returned again with cookies when the car was ready to be picked up. They needed it for about a week to do all the work they needed too. Well, when I returned to pick up my car, they were so overly happy to say how much they loved the cookies. Little did they know I brought MORE when I came to pick up my car. They didn't see the second round of cookies coming. They confessed and told me, "Bart, your cookies were enjoyed by everyone here. We took care of what your car needed and made sure your car was super ready for your long road trip. In prep, we did this and that (and whatever else they told me) ... You're all set to go."
I'll tell you this much, if I ever have car trouble again of any kind, guess where I'm going to bring my car or recommend my friends to take their car? To either of these two mechanics, that actually perform different auto repair services. Why? Because my cookies have built new and amazing relationships with these mechanics. Thank goody, for my cookies!
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COOKIE STORY #22
"Cookies, a divorce lawyer and his receptionist!"
"My cookies once helped smooth client/lawyer relations so I could help my friend get divorced for an amazingly affordable rate."
I once had a friend who was in a horrible marriage and wanted out. Problem was, she didn't know the steps to get out. So, I offered to help. I took to the Internet and quickly found a number of divorce attorneys in the area who would see her for a free 30-minute consultation.
Before calling this one attorney, I looked up this guy's website, which wasn't designed very well. I called him up, we spoke about my friend's divorce case a little bit, we talked about his website a lot (which he was quite embarrassed about), and then we talked about setting up a 30-minute appointment for her and another 30-minutes with me (while I was there) to talk about his website. He wanted to pick my brain about web design, I guess.
It was at that time, before hanging up, I also told him I write books and make the world's best chocolate chip cookies. His voice perked up, "Cookies?" I replied, "I'll bring some down for you and your staff. We'll talk about her divorce situation and your website, all while we chow down on some cookies. How's that sound?" He said, "Great, see you x-date at y-time."
I showed up to the lawyer's office with my friend (and 3 dozen cookies; an assortment of flavors) and guess what happened? Her (free) 30-minute consultation turned into a 3-hour consultation at no charge. What happened was, the cookies took over the office, he wasn't that busy at that time of day and so we mixed in a little bit of web talk and divorce talk throughout that 3-hour window that just seemed to go on and on without end. What's more, when it was all said and done, I got her divorced for about $300, not $3,000 (or more). I didn't do any web work for him, but I did consult with him enough to where he valued my time, in addition to the care and attention I gave his employees with my cookies.
In one instance, I remember calling into the office to ask the lawyer a question about the divorce paperwork. When the receptionist answered, she was quick with me, "I'm sorry, he's busy right now." I think she was short with me because I didn't immediately identify myself on the phone before I asked if the lawyer was available. So, I quickly remarked, "(RECEPTIONIST'S NAME), it's Bart, the COOKIE MAN!" In the most pleasant and apologetic voice you could ever hear, she replied, "Oh Bart, I'm sorry. I'll put you right through. I'm sure he'd love to speak with you. Oh, and your cookies are just so delicious!" Now, take note, I wasn't some lawyer colleague calling in or some high-paying client, no ... I was just ... the COOKIE MAN!
Ahhh, the power of the cookie. Turning a free 30-minute consultation into a free 3-hour consultation and calming stressed out receptionists and legal offices with not just your voice, status or money, but with the mention (and use) of cookies. Who does that when interacting with lawyers and their receptionists and to smooth out client/lawyer relationships? No one that I know of. What about you? Exactly. I don't think so.
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COOKIE STORY #23
"Bart, your cookies are better than ... SEX!"
"Seriously, I was in this restaurant, dining with a friend, when the waitress comes racing out of the kitchen to tell me (about my cookies) that they're better than ... SEX!"
While living in Matthews, North Carolina, I wasn't in town a month or two when my friend took me to this local restaurant again for dinner. It was one of those amazing, family style restaurants where the staff was very nice and pleasant. Nothing too fancy, just a great breakfast menu, delicious Italian dishes along with anything else you could possibly imagine on the menu.
Well, we had been there twice before, and this was my third time going. On one of the previous occasions, I had promised the staff some of my world famous chocolate chip cookies. So, it was on this third dining experience that I brought some.
Coincidentally, we had the same waitress from before on my previous visit to the restaurant. She excitedly remembered my promise to bring cookies. So, naturally, I gave them all to her to take back into the kitchen and share (the cookies) with the other staff members while my friend and I enjoyed our meals.
In the photo above, I actually sat in one of those very booths (with my back to the kitchen, which was to the left) when the waitress came running out to exclaim, "Bart these cookies are better than ... SEX!"
Now, listen, I did NOT expect anything more than your basic, "Thank you so much, these are wonderful. You're so kind, Bart, to bring us these cookies." That would be nice to hear and your typical response, right? No. That's NOT what happened. Picture this, my (Christian/religious) friend is sitting with me and we are peacefully enjoying our meals along with the other restaurant patrons. Everyone is calm, quiet and talking very low and peaceful like, as not to disturb others and their dining experience.
Approximately five to ten minutes later and OUT OF NOWHERE (with my back to the kitchen, mind you), our waitress runs out, makes kind of a scene doing so, smiles wide and ... BLURTS OUT ... "Wow, Bart, your cookies are BETTER THAN SEX!" With God and my friend as my witnesses, she said those exact words. Knowing her personal (relationship) situation a little, I might guess she hadn't had any (...) in some time, maybe, perhaps, who knows. Hence her enthusiastic response, right?
I looked around at the tables close to us and wondered if the other table guests heard her. Either way, I kind of didn't care. My cookies are were compared to and BETTER THAN ... SEX! Folks, WHAT does that say about the deeply orgasmic and pleasurable experiences my cookies bring to people's taste buds? Exactly! Wanna try one?
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COOKIE STORY #24
"Who STOLE my cookies?"
"Seriously, someone stole my cookies right off the potluck table at this martial arts studio dinner banquet. Here's how this went down ..."
Many years ago, I was invited to contribute my cookies to a potluck event celebrating the graduation of students belonging to a local martial arts school in Boise, ID. I knew the sensei (martial arts teacher) and some of the students were my friends. When they told me they were having a potluck event I gladly tossed in my cookies.
I was instructed to leave my cookies (in their presentation bowl) on the table with the other donated food items. We all then were told to go to the training room where the ceremony was being held, and which didn't last more than 30-45 minutes at the most. WHEN WE RETURNED to the banquet room ... MY COOKIES WERE GONE! STOLEN! KIDNAPPED! All the other donated meals and desserts remained on the table IN TACT and untouched, but my cookies??? No, they were G.O.N.E.
We never found out who stole them, but whoever did, you can bet they had a lot of delicious cookies to enjoy all by themselves or whoever else they might have shared ... MY STOLEN COOKIES with.
Going forward, I know now to keep a close eye on my cookies until the actual eating begins. No more TRUSTING others to NOT steal my cookies behind our backs! Right? Right!
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COOKIE STORY #25
"Send invoice WITH cookies!"
"When clients owed me money, I sent them an invoice, but I also sent them cookies! They'd feel so bad (about not paying me) that they'd paid me pronto! No threating lawyer calls or small claims court filings. Nope, just cookies."
I learned early on in my consulting career if a client ever owed me money, I wouldn't threaten them with small claims court or sending lawyers or collection agencies after them to help motivate them to pay me what they owed me. No, instead, I would send an invoice in the mail along with my world famous chocolate chip cookies.
Real quick, why would clients not pay me? In some cases, they were honest and just didn't have the money when their invoice was due. Of course, it's a kind gesture to give people time to pay you. But, what if they take longer than usual to pay you?
Sure, you could threaten them with taking them to small claims court or have a collection agency take over the billing, but what does that really do? It just causes the client to avoid paying you even more, right? I mean, if they're short on cash and have other bills, your bill just won't be a priority with them. Everyone's gotta eat, right?
So, I learned to approach delinquent clients in a new way. I'd send them their bill ... WITH COOKIES! Wow, the reaction I got was not only astounding, but the SAME with every past-due client. I'd get a phone from the client saying:
MY (PAST-DUE) CLIENT: "Bart, we got the cookies and your invoice. Thank you so much! The cookies are amazing. We feel so bad that we couldn't pay you for so long, but we worked out a way to get the money to get you paid. We've been short on cash for a while. I'm writing the check now, as I chow down on one of your cookies. I'll pop this check in the mail tonight. You'll probably get it in a few days. Thank you, again, for the cookies and giving us the time needed to catch up on (our other bills) and not being a jerk like some companies are when they money NOW! They pounce on you and they make you feel bad and they make threats. Not you, no, you just send cookies and we instantly pay you. THAT'S MAGICAL!”
Another lesson I learned and kind of live by when it comes to people owing you money (or you owing them) is that ... No matter how long they take to pay you back, you'll always need money → today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, ten years from now, etc. That being said, IF a client needed (several) months to pay me, I wouldn't mind, per se, as I know that money will come in handy → today, tomorrow, next week, next month, a year from now, etc. I hope that makes sense and as long as clients are up front and honest with you as to why they can't pay you, giving them the time THEY NEED to pay you almost always works wonders in the eyes and hearts of your clients.
I once had a client who owed me $1,000 for the work I did. I think it was a year later and I received a $1,000 payment via PayPal out of nowhere. It was the client who owed me from a year ago. That $1,000 came at a (better) time for me to use than if she had paid me back in the day when she owed it. So, just know, things work out in the long run if you'll just give everyone time and well, ... a few cookies doesn't hurt either!
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COOKIE STORY #26
"Come and get your spoonful of cookie dough!"
"I was at a birthday party some time ago in Novato, CA making cookies at the party when I thought to give everyone a sample 'spoonful of cookie dough' of my world famous chocolate chip cookie dough. Here's how that went ..."
Some time ago, I was at a birthday party (in Novato, CA) for my friend's son when the folks asked if I would whip up some of my "world famous" chocolate chip cookies. I said, "Sure, why not!" I ran to the store, got the needed ingredients (that my friend didn't already have on hand), came right back and started to whip up the cookie dough first.
BUT, before I started to add the chocolate chips, I thought to offer everyone (or whoever wanted to try) a sample spoonful of my "world famous" chocolate chip cookie dough. What was funny about it was there were a lot of people at that party, like about 20-30 people. Most of them office co-workers and their friends and spouses. Nonetheless, I had a chance here, so I yelled out to the crowd:
"Everybody come into the kitchen if you'd like to taste the cookie dough!"
So, what I did was I lined up like a dozen spoons on the kitchen counter all in a row that each had a scoop of cookie dough on them. No chips. Just dough. It was a funny spectacle.
Check out the photo and you can then imagine what that row of spoons looked like on the kitchen island counter. I can't really imagine other cookie baker doing this. Probably because their cookie dough is too wet, moist or runny and needs to be refrigerated overnight or some other reason.
That said, picture a dozen people or so gathering in the kitchen with "spoon in hand" eating the cookie dough and all of them just going, "YUMMMM, this is sooo goood. Hurry up and make those cookies, Bart, so we can eat 'em right out of the oven!"
So, yeah, that was a pretty cool little cookie dough tasting episode in my cookie baking life. I can still remember it to this day. I mean, who could forget 10+ spoons of cookie dough on the counter for everyone to grab? Would you believe, a lot of chocolate chip cookie bakers could not offer such a treat? Their cookie dough is too fluid, too liquid-like, too mushy, they'd have to refrigerate their dough for hours for it to be hard enough to survive on a spoon like mine. Nope. My cookie dough is ready to go on a spoon just like you see in the photo above within 10 minutes of combining my ingredients. LESS THAN 10 MINUTES and YOU'RE EATING COOKIE DOUGH! How's that for fun tasting cookie dough? Yeah, you bet!
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COOKIE STORY #27
"Bart, I should be sad, but your cookies make me smile!"
"A high school student, employed at the bakery where I was baking, showed up to work feeling down and depressed, but ... NOT FOR LONG! I gave her one of my milk+dark (combo) chocolate chip cookies (right out of the oven) and that brightened her day in NO TIME!!! Here's the story ..."
One day, a long time ago, I was baking my cookies at a professional bakery kitchen in Boise, ID. The bakery owner was sweet and she told me I could ask her employees to help me if I ever needed any assistance.
Well, one day, one of the girls, a high school student, came to work that day and I quickly noticed she had this long, sad look on her face. I asked what was wrong. She said to me that her ex-boyfriend (or something) made her and her friend feel really bad that day and she just was really sad.
Hmm, well, I knew exactly what to do to lift her spirits. So, I proceeded to tell her, "(NAME), you've never had my milk+dark (combo) chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven, have you?" She replied, "No, I never have." I said ...
"Look, I could really use your help, but I want you to take some time off before you do. Take this plate of hot milk+dark (combo) chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven and this carton of milk (or some other beverage I gave her), go over to that table far over there, sit there and just stare out the window until you're ready to come back to work. Okay? I mean that. Take your time. No rush. Just enjoy the cookies and some time off. Come back when you're feeling better." — BARTMAN
She must have been over there for 15 minutes or so, just relaxing, dining on my cookies and just staring out the window (like I instructed), until she came back to say to me, with an element of renewed enthusiasm, and I quote:
"Bart, I should be frowning right now, but I'm smiling all because of your cookies! I feel so happy when I was feeling so sad. I don't know what's in your cookies, but I'm ready to work! Thank you, Bart. I feel so much better." — H.S. Employee
Again, she had never had my milk+dark (combo) chocolate chip cookies out of the oven before. I tell folks all the time, if they've never had them, they're "guaranteed to melt your brain!" and it's the TRUTH!
Seeing how excited she was to have tried my cookies and experience the awesome affects they had on boosting her feelings like they did, making her smile and all, we decided to make a COUPLE BAGS FULL of my cookies for her to take to school the next day and share them with her friends. We baked both milk+dark combination and white chocolate chip cookies for her to take to school. She had the fun idea to write on the bags (as you can see in the photo), "White Chocolate (Cocaine)," and I forgot what she wrote on the other bag of milk+dark (combo) chocolate chip cookies, but you get the idea.
Well, as you can imagine, I was anxious to hear how the cookies went over with her friends. So, the next day, she comes to work to tell me, "Bart, your cookies were G.O.N.E. within two class periods!" "Wow, that's so cool," I responded. Pretty, cool, eh? She must have passed out about 40-60 cookies in total. So for them to "be gone" in two class periods, you know they were a BIG HIT with all her friends.
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COOKIE STORY #28
"Cookies help you meet everyone at networking events!
"I was invited to a networking event where I knew NO ONE, brought my cookies, and within 30-45 minutes, EVERYONE was coming over to meet me!"
Back in the summer of 2018, I met a lady who was a Chinese Matchmaker for American men and Chinese women. We met through a mutual friend of ours and talked about working together. She came to my house, we talked business and ways we could work together, and had a very nice conversation.
Well, she told me she had to go to a networking event that evening and would I like to go. The networking event was hosted by the Chamber of Commerce for Newport Beach, CA and was being held at the Water Grill near South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA. I said I will go, but only if I can bring my chocolate chip cookies. She said, "Cookies?" I said, "Yes!" So, we quickly got to baking and whipped up about 2 batches (or 80 cookies) or so. I knew there'd be about 50-100 people there and since not everyone likes sweets or sugary desserts, 80 cookies would do the job nicely. So, we boxed up our cookies and hit the road for the event, which was only about 20-30 minutes away in rush hour traffic from where I lived at the time.
Above is a photo of the room we were networking. I gradually stationed myself outside, near that white table in the far right of the photo. Behind that table was a bar they had set up to serve drinks. You can imagine, having stationed myself right by the bar, outside on the patio, at my own (tall) table, on a cool summer's night in Southern California, how much better could it get? I had my books and cookies all out for display and everyone was eventually hanging out with me while my friend navigated the room talking to a few people here and there. She came to me smiling to tell me she saw so many people with one of my cookies in their hands. HAHA That's too funny, because that's what happens when I bring my cookies to any networking event.
Well, within 30 to 45 minutes of being at this event, of which I KNEW NO ONE, before you know it, there were 20 people standing around my table looking at my books and chowing down on a cookie and telling me about their story.
I had people coming up to me saying, "Bart, we're having another networking event (at X-location) would you mind coming and bringing your cookies to that event? I mean when I go to a networking event and I bring cookies, I meet everybody and everybody meets me and I get to ask them all about them and I get to listen. I always learn a lot more by listening, than talking. I eat (a cookie) and listen. They eat (a cookie) and talk. I love it! Cookies and networking; they really do go hand in hand. Rock on ...
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COOKIE STORY #29
"Yikes, I gotta hide my dinner (cookies) or I'm in trouble!"
"I once made cookies for dinner while staying at a friend's house. She came home unexpectedly and almost caught me having cookies for dinner!"
Some time around 2017 or so, I was staying at a friend's house in Los Angeles, CA, who just happen to be on my case about eating foods that might put on weight or even be a bad influence on her own weight gain and all that stuff. Sadly, my cookies were not exempt from this rule! HAHA Mainly because she knows EXACTLY how ADDICTIVE my cookies are. Well, one night I knew she was going to be home late and so I thought to have COOKIES for DINNER! I mean, it's just me and I had a craving for my cookies! Thinking she would be home late, I whipped up a half batch around 4-5pm, placed about 20 cookies on a dinner plate and returned to my desk to work and HAVE COOKIES FOR DINNER! Again, I thought she would be home later that night and I wouldn't get CAUGHT. I THOUGHT I could eat my cookies in PEACE! First, here's what that dinner plate of cookies looked like that night:
I didn't even make it half-way through my dinner (err, plate of cookies) and what did I hear? I hear my friend coming home EARLY! Keys opening the door, the door opening, her calling out, "Hello, Bart, I'm home," and the door closing. I DID NOT WANT HER TO SEE OR KNOW I WAS HAVING COOKIES FOR DINNER! So, I quickly HID THE COOKIES on a shelf at the desk I was using. That quick maneuver looked like this:
I knew if I was caught with having cookies for dinner, I'd be in big trouble! HAHA Now, as soon as she said, "Hi, Bart, I'm home ...," she comes into the room where I'm at to ask me, "BART, HAVE YOU BEEN BAKING COOKIES?" I mean, you can't help but smell the aroma from my baking just an hour or so ago, but still. My response? I had to LIE to save my hide! "No, I think that's the candy bar wrappers in my trash can that you smell. There are a lot of them ..." I don't know if she believed me or not. Fortunately, she left the room, and actually, she said she was going back out for a while. Whew!!!! She left the house, I grabbed my plate of cookies, put them back on my desk and I finished having cookies for dinner with a HUGE SMILE ON MY FACE! Sheesh, I never felt so guilty hiding my own cookies before like that. HAHA
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COOKIE STORY #30
"With baking equipment in my car, I can travel anywhere and bake my cookies everywhere I roam!"
"I used to travel a lot in my car and live at friends' houses and at timeshares and would bring my cookie baking equipment anywhere I went in case I needed to → whip up my chocolate chip cookies right there on the spot!"
From 2016-2018 or so, I was homeless. Well, not like living on the streets or in my car, no, but staying with friends and at timeshares for months on end for a couple years. IT WAS GREAT! I had friends all over California and Nevada who would gladly let me stay with them for weeks and months on end. Some of them even had "adoption papers" drawn up so I wouldn't leave! I mean, I cook, I'm clean, I coach, I consult, I help you write books, I help you with your computer, ... what's not to love about having me as your live-in house guest for a while? Oh, and I bake cookies!
Well, because I was on the road for all those years, I'd bring any and all possessions (that would fit in my SUV), which I truly needed to make my stay at their places feel like home, such as, my favorite office chair, a folding table for work, computer cables/chords/adapters, audio/video recording equipment, my books for sale, workout equipment, and, of course, cookie baking equipment.
You see, my friends would have me stay at their home as a guest in one of their spare bedrooms for as long as I wanted. I paid no rent. Again, I cooked, I consulted, I coached, I helped them in lieu of paying any rent. My mom would say, "Don't you think you're overstaying your welcome?" I would tell her, "Mom, these people DON'T WANT ME TO LEAVE."
I traveled all throughout the West staying in different cities from South Lake Tahoe (CA) to Westlake Village (CA), Los Angeles (CA), Culver City (CA), West L.A. (CA), Oceanside (CA), Palm Springs (CA), and Reno (NV), among other cities, which I can't remember, as there were so many.
All I needed to bake cookies while on the road was my cookie baking equipment and baking ingredients and supplies purchased from any nearby grocery store. I typically had most of the dry ingredients in my car stored in their own banker's office box, and only picked up any needed perishable ingredients like butter and eggs when I needed to bake that day. It was simple and so awesome.
Because I traveled with all the baking equipment in my car to bake cookies, I could literally bake cookies on the spot anywhere I traveled no matter where I was. "Bart, can you bake us some cookies?" To which I'd reply, "I sure can. Where's the nearest grocery store? I'll be right back and you'll have cookies in no time!" I know, sounds rough. Hey, got a spare bedroom? Want me to come stay with you for a quick stint? I'm kidding, well, maybe not. I'm ready to hit the road again. Next stop → YOUR PLACE!
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COOKIE STORY #31
"I'll bring my cookies to your company potluck."
"Bart, feel free to bring something to our company potluck party this Friday." I must have heard that a dozen times when working temp work in my early 20s."
When I VOLUNTARILY dropped out of college in the Fall of my sophomore year, I quickly fell into working with a variety of companies through temporary work agencies all throughout Orange County, CA during the years of 1989-1992. Temp work, if you don't know, is basically a temporary employment situation with a company where you work for a limited amount of time (i.e., 1-30 days or more) all based on the needs of the employing company or organization. You find temp work through temporary (work) agencies. By working with a few agencies, you can always stay employed and see a variety of work opportunities tossed your way.
In that time, I probably worked for about 20 or so different companies per year depending on the work required and time duration they needed me for. Well, working temp (I found out) in those days was awesome = paid weekly, work when you want, no worries if you wanted to decline work (which meant days off to go surfing or sleeping in) and you were never stuck working in one place for more than 3 weeks at a time on average. So, literally, it would be like work for one company for 2 weeks, another for 4 weeks, and another company for 3 weeks. I loved it. I loved the variety of working at different companies and really getting to know Orange County, the companies, different work assignments, what type of work interested me the most, etc.
Well, to my surprise and good fortune, many of these companies had potluck events when I worked with them where they'd ask me to bring something to contribute to their potluck party. Hey, glad to! That was my queue to bring my cookies. The interesting thing was, by bringing my cookies to different companies every few weeks, I was able to see what hundreds of people thought about my cookies.
I got to see the reaction of 20 people at one company, 15 people at another company, 30 people at another company and this took place over a 2-3 year period. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE later, the results? The response people exhibited? OVERWHELMINGLY, folks got into my cookies BEFORE they reached for a plate to dine on the main meal or other side items provided by their co-workers. What's more? I never left home with leftover cookies. People took them home in napkins and on paper plates to their desk, etc. I went home with NOTHING, but "AMAZING cookies, Bart!" and other similar remarks!
My cookies were a hit at every company. Well, at that point I knew I had something on my hands in regards to an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe and this was back in 1989-1992. Which, even to this day, I have never divulged or shared with anyone to the degree that they could reproduce my cookies on their own. "Bart, I saw you make them, but I couldn't remember anything because you made them so fast!" So, interesting, eh? Even some 34+ years ago, my cookies were taking over potluck events and companies and the folks who worked there. Cool beans, err, cookies!
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COOKIE STORY #32
"Is Bart home? Does he have any cookies?"
"Where I used to live, I knew I had to KEEP QUIET about what I did (i.e., bake cookies) from the children in the neighborhood or I'd never see another peaceful day walking to my car again."
Where I used to live, in this particular apartment complex, there were dozens of kids who would play (safely) out in the parking lot and nearby grounds. Well, I knew I had to keep quiet about what I did (i.e., bake the world's best chocolate chip cookies) or I'd never see another peaceful day walking to my car or coming home or walking out my front door.
Why so? You can just imagine if these kids knew I baked cookies, "Do you have any? Can we have some? When will you make some? Are you baking today?" Right?
Well, it was about a year later, having kept my mouth shut for that long and after I kept running into them, I finally broke down and told them what I did:
"Kids, I have to tell you who I am and what I do. I make the world's greatest ... chocolate chip cookies. Even better than ... your moms! Who wants to try one?"
OMG! Did they light up like little Christmas trees! Yep, I had to open my big mouth and get busted! So, the cookies were finally out of the bag, so to speak, and from then on I couldn't walk to my car anonymously anymore without hearing some youngin' cry out from across the parking lot, "Bart, Bart, ... do you have any cookies? Are you baking today? Can we have some?" ;-) It's was actually kinda cute. Like kittens at my door every other week or so wanting cookies.
I told them they were for sale and they could buy a cookie if they gave me a quarter per cookie. They all would run home and ask their parents for a quarter, and then run back with their hands out to exchange cookies for quarters from the COOKIE MAN! Sheesh, again, I had to open my big mouth, didn't I? ;-)))
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COOKIE STORY #33
"Cookies in exchange for delicious ramen!"
"I used to live near this amazing ramen restaurant in Los Angeles, CA where I'd often exchange my cookies for a complimentary bowl of ramen. Yummm!!!"
I love ramen noodles, and when I used to live in Los Angeles, CA, I lived near one of my favorite ramen restaurants. What's cool is I found out they have a location here in Las Vegas, NV, which I've been to and they rock just as well. Just LOVE their ramen bowls and chicken thigh fried wings. Mmmm!!!
Well, I had been going there so much to meet with friends and clients that I told them about my cookies and they said they would love to try them. So, a week later I came in with cookies. They knew who I was and they were waiting to try them. Poor souls, having to wait a whole week to try my cookies! They were ANXIOUS, for sure! You can imagine them thinking about them every day until I came back in again, eh?
The day finally came and I brought cookies in and a lot of them! I knew there were 2-3 waitresses working the floor and 2-3 guys back in the kitchen cooking up all this great food. Well, whenever I brought cookies in, I either never saw a bill or it was greatly reduced with items not charged for.
Seriously, to be able to exchange the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies for the most amazing and most excellent ramen and chicken thigh fried wings is just Heaven to me.
"Bart, we love your cookies. Come back again and remember to bring some again. Oh, no charge for the extra bowl of ramen and we didn't charge you for the chicken thigh fried wings. They're all on the house."
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COOKIE STORY #34
"My cookies are really ANTI-DEPRESSION cookies!"
"No matter what mood you're in, if you're feeling down, sad or just not yourself. Try just one of my cookies and see how it lifts your spirits, puts a smile on your face and just gives you a new outlook on life after one bite!"
I often think sometimes I should have a day, maybe once a month or so, where I hand out what I call ANTI-DEPRESSION COOKIES. You see, my cookies can put a smile on your face no matter what mood you're in, how your day's been going or what's going on up in your head.
So, imagine if I were to advertise, "Are you feeling down? Are you feeling depressed? Could you use a pick-me-up? Well, why don't you come on down and have one of my DEPRESSION-BE-GONE COOKIES to brighten up your day!" Can you just imagine all the people who've a had hard day or maybe they've got something going on in their world that's just got them down? Then? They have a cookie (chew, chew, yum, yum, smiles) and now they have hope, a new light or perspective on things, refreshed energy to attack their day (again) or go after that thing that's been bothering them head on ... WHO KNOWS!
Yeah, I think about doing this in the near future and I can't wait to see how it all turns out. Yeah, depression sucks and if you've tried everything to lift you up and out of your cloudy mood, maybe you haven't had one of my DEPRESSION-BE-GONE cookies to see if they'll help you. Why not, right? You've got nothing to loose, but to TRY ONE to find out!
I know for me, havin' eaten some 30,000+ cookies in my lifetime (who's counting, right?), I can tell you this, and my friends will back me up when I say, "Can you ever see me depressed?" In unison, all my friends (and family) would say, "NEVERRRRR!!!!" I want to believe I owe it all to??? The COOKIE! SUGAR! CHOCOLATE! AND LOTS OF IT! Yes, my cookies are THAT powerful!!! All you gotta do is try one to find out if it can help put a smile (on your face) that you had a hard time doing before. I know for me, every time I think about my cookies → I SMILE!
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COOKIE STORY #35
"My Halloween costume was me going as a BAKER!"
"Going forward, if I ever go to a Halloween party, I'll just dress up as a COOKIE BAKER. It's easy, a no brainer, no cost to me (except baking a couple batches of cookies), and I can put my costume on in like 15-30 seconds. Gotta love it!"
Sometime back in 2018, a friend of mine and his wife invited me to join them one Halloween night at this particular country/western bar for partying. Okay, twist my arm. Problem was, I didn't know what to dress up as. So, I just decided to go as a (cookie) baker. I threw on an apron, an oven mitt and I made a batch of 100+ cookies, put them in a large mixing bowl and I hit the road.
I showed up to the bar, got my table to be at for the night, and proceeded to hand out cookies to everyone at the bar who wanted to try one. By the end of the night, EVERYBODY in the whole bar knew me and was searching for me to get a cookie. Remember, these people have been drinking and dancing all night.
My friend and his wife, who dressed up in these expensive costumes and were really looking forward to showing them off, didn't stand a chance against the power and draw of the cookie. Dozens of people came to our table not to inquire about their costumes, but to ask, "Is this the cookie table? Can I have a cookie?" This happened ALL NIGHT long.
You can imagine my friend got pissed that I was stealing his "costume thunder." What's more, I walked a lady to her car (as it was getting really late) and she said to me, "Bart, you're going to have to pay to get back into the bar if you leave the bar to walk me to my car." Well, with a confident cookie smile, I told her, "Those rules don't apply to me. I'm the Cookie Man!" Sure enough, she drove off after we chatted for another 15-25 minutes or so at her car, and I started walking back to the front door of the bar.
When I hit the entrance door to the bar, the door guy stopped me to say, "You need to pay to get back in." Well, with a smile, I tossed out, "I don't think that applies to me. You see, I'm the COOKIE MAN," and I paused. The door guy practically JUMPED over counter saying, "I've been looking for you, please, do you have any of those cookies? Come on in. Don't worry, there's no fee for you except COOKIES!" Of course, I said, "Yes, I have some. They're at my table. I shall be right back."
Again, folks, a testament to the power of the cookie.
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COOKIE STORY #36
"Bart, they always ask if I have your cookies with me."
"I stopped in Reno, NV, to visit a friend who was relaxing in their coffee/deli area where customers can sit, eat/drink and chat. He told the ladies behind the counter I made the world's best chocolate chip cookies. Well, here's that story!"
So, I once met a friend at a local grocery store near where he lived in Reno, NV. He was waiting to meet with me in the seating area near the deli area where they sold coffee and other lunch/snack/beverage items. When we got to talking, he asked me how the cookie business was going. I said, "Great, I actually have some cookies in the car, would you like some?" Of course, he said, "Absolutely!" So I went to my car, grabbed a dozen or so, brought them to the table where we were sitting, and that's when the ladies who were working behind the counter came to the table to deliver his coffee to him and my cup of ice water.
They asked, "What are those?" (i.e., referring to my cookies). I didn't say anything, but my buddy spoke up and said, "Ladies, this man makes the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie." Keep in mind, these ladies worked in the deli area where they deal with cakes, cookies and donuts and all that stuff. Naturally, their curiosity was piqued. My friend offered the two ladies his cookies to try, knowing I had more in the car. Well, they took them back to their work area, tried them and came back out to say, "These cookies are better than any dessert we sell in the store!" As you can see (by the look on their faces) and those possessive grips on my cookies, you know they're serious about that statement! My friend says every time he goes back into that store they ask him, "Hey, where's your friend, Bart? We want some more of his cookies." Funny, huh?
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COOKIE STORY #37
"I got a West Yellowstone, Montana timeshare building smelling like a cookie bakery within 10 minutes!"
"I once stayed at a timeshare in West Yellowstone, Montana where I opened my big mouth with the front desk clerks, which then obligated myself to making a batch of my 'world famous' chocolate chip cookies for them. Ok, twist my arm."
Another favorite cookie baking episode was when I stayed at a timeshare in West Yellowstone, Montana for 3 weeks back in March of 2010. I used to do that quite a bit, which was to stay at timeshares I had access to just to get caught up on personal work projects, enjoy a little solitude and time away. Other timeshare locations I've stay at (and baked cookies there) included McCall (ID), Palm Springs (CA) and Oceanside (CA), among other locations, which I don't remember.
Well, this time around, it was a 3-week timeshare where I promised myself I WOULD NOT bake cookies, eat sugary items, I'd eat better, workout as much as I could, and try to lose some weight (in that 3 week window of time). Well, none of that lasted for long after I opened my big mouth. I told the folks who worked the front desk at this Montana timeshare that I bake the world's best chocolate chip cookies. What did they say in return? "Can we have some?" So, I had to oblige them, right? Of course, duh!
MY TIMESHARE VIEW IN MONTANA
THE TIMESHARE & MY KITCHEN
COOKIES I BAKED IN MONTANA
So, you have to imagine, I'm staying in this timeshare that's a lot like mini-apartments (in a hotel like design) with hallways that lead to your room. When I started baking their cookies, the aroma from my kitchen (baking cookies) must have permeated the entire hallway, even penetrating everyone's room on my floor. I can only imagine what people in their rooms were saying to each other, "Honey, is someone baking cookies somewhere in the hotel? Let's call the front desk to see if we can get some."
Well, I finished baking, packaged up their cookies, walked down to the front desk, and delivered them. The clerks told me people were calling the front desk to ask them who was baking cookies and if they were for sale. Because this was during the winter, pretty much everyone was indoors. So you couldn't escape the aroma. The front desk people were laughing hysterically at the little disruption my cookie baking caused on my floor. The good news for them, is that they knew THEY were going to get some. HAHA
Anyhow, I had a few cookies waiting for me back in my room. Knowing that, I went back to work on my stuff. They had a field day dining on my cookies while at work. for sure. Hey, isn't it cool to know I can whip up cookies anywhere, anytime and even at a Montana timeshare?!?!
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COOKIE STORY #38
"My cookies take over the classroom ... again!"
"No matter where I go, no matter what the event, if I bring cookies, within minutes, I seem to own the room I'm in! Everyone seems to want to try one!"
I got a call from a friend of mine who was teaching a class on marketing in Venice Beach, CA back in the Summer of 2018. I hadn't seen or heard from her in like 10 years. Looking back, I was reminded of all the fun lunches and conversations we'd have about business, marketing, TV publicity and publishing. Her class was a few days away, which gave me plenty of time to bake cookies for the event, even though she didn't ask me to. It was one of those one-night classes you attend from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. Again, she didn't ask me, but she knows about my cookies and knows how I take over the room with them. So, of course, I had to bake some.
The day came to drive up to Venice Beach from Newport Beach, CA, where I was living at the time, and I proceeded to sit through the entire class with my cookies safe in a Tupperware container underneath my chair. I didn't hand them out or bring any attention to them before or during the entire class, which lasted about 3 hours. No, I wanted my friend to have all the spotlight from beginning to end and then after the class was over, and it was time to network amongst us, well, only then would it be a free-for-all where anybody could do or talk anything, really.
So, having waited 'til the very end, when she said, "That's it, thanks for coming. You're all free to mingle and network amongst each other," was when I broke out the cookies and within 10 minutes, I owned the room! What was funny was my friend, the speaker, and a few others already knew me. They had had my cookies before. So, what did they do? They told all the new people in the room about the cookies and before you know it, everybody was standing next to me, talking to me, grabbing a cookie to much on, asking about whatever it is that I did as they too told me what they did. Cookies just make for great conversations, I think.
Well, my friend, the presenter of the class, stood there chewing her own cookie while she watched all the cookie mayhem happen right before her eyes. After it settled down, she said to me, "Bart you never cease to amaze me. Everywhere you go, when you bring cookies, everyone in the room just gravitates to you."
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COOKIE STORY #39
"I have some in my car if you'd like to try them ..."
"I was shopping once with a friend when I told these department store clerks about my cookies. They were going on a break and wanted to try them. I said I had some in my car. Follow me ..."
I was once shopping inside Target department store in Westlake Village, CA, with a friend of mine, when I just happened to tell a couple of employees there about my cookies. They told me they were going on a break and kind of jumped at the chance to ask me if I had any cookies on me. I replied, "I sure do. I just baked some today. Wanna try one?" Well, in the spirit of (always) promoting my world famous chocolate chip cookies to new folks, we proceeded to go to the car while my friend continued to remain inside and shop some more. We got to the car, I broke into the box with cookies that I had and we ate my cookies right there in the Target parking lot.
These guys were overly ecstatic and, well, enjoying my cookies quite well as you can see from the photo above. I think I decided to just leave all the remaining cookies with those guys to share with their co-workers. I can always make another batch, and I probably did. Hey, anything to spread the "cookie joy" to those who've never had them before, right? You bet. Wanna try one?
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COOKIE STORY #40
"My cookies were gone in 30 minutes at this wedding reception, which I catered back in 2016."
"Seriously, I made these cookies to be served at my friend's wedding, which were literally devoured within 30 minutes after the wedding reception started."
I once had a friend who was getting married. He asked me to contribute my white chocolate chip cookies to the dessert table for the wedding reception. So, I arrived at his house a couple days before the wedding, as I had to fly from out of town where I lived to where he lived. I made the cookies the day before the wedding, and covered them up to be consumed the very next day at the wedding.
The day of the wedding, we put my cookies on a 3-tier display tray. As you can see in the photo (below), they looked really nice. The problem was, they only lasted 30 minutes into the wedding reception. YIKES!
Seriously, there were other desserts on the table donated by other wedding attendees, which remained there for hours.
My cookies disappeared within 30 minutes once we lifted the cellophane wrapping and could let everybody enjoy drinks and desserts.
What's going on here? When the other desserts remained on the table, but my cookies disappear within minutes, not hours, what does that say about the loving scrumptiousness of BART'S COOKIES???
EXACTLY!!! YUMMMM!!!!!
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COOKIE STORY #41
"Would I like a FREE pizza? Sure, I didn't expect that ..."
"I once was given a FREE pizza in exchange for dropping off cookies at this local pizza place near my house. Granted, I didn't expect it, but I also didn't reject it! The pizza, I mean."
So, from time to time I do like to order pizza made by a pizza store down the street from me because sometimes even I want a break from cooking. Well, I was in this particular pizza store enough times that they knew me and my regular pizza order. If someone knew me and my order, they'd always try to give me a lil' extra on the ingredients I chose to make my pizza really heavy, if you know what I mean.
Well, one day, I went into the store just to thank them for that kind of special treatment and that I make the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies. To which they replied, "Can we try some?" I said, "Absolutely!" I made sure they were going to be working the next day so I wouldn't miss any of them when I made my cookie delivery drop-off.
For all the pizzas they made for me with that extra care, I made them a whole batch of cookies (approx. 40 cookies) for the entire crew of about 5-8 people. I went in there just with the idea to just drop off the cookies, because I was already on my way home and had the cookies on hand.
I gave them the cookies and what do they say, "Bart, would you like a FREE pizza?" How can I say, "NO!?!?" I said, "Sure, I'd love a FREE pizza! I'll wait outside in my car. Just come to my driver side door when it's done like you normally do when I order Carside Delivery. That okay?"
Ah, the power of the cookie. Free pizza in exchange for cookies??? I actually had a good friend of mine in the car who witnessed all this too. What's more, I bet any pizza store (owner) reading this would gladly swap cookies for a complimentary pizza, right? Any takers? Just let me know!
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COOKIE STORY #42
"Would you like to try my chocolate chip cookie PIE?"
"My hair stylist asked me what was new lately? I couldn't lie, so I said, 'Lately, I just made a chocolate chip cookie pie ... Wanna try one?' What do you think she said? Exactly ... I had to open my big mouth!"
So, just recently, my neighbor and good friend bought some milk chips for me at the store. Well, in the Las Vegas, NV heat, she left them in the car while she did her errands. You know what that means, right? Those chips turned into LIQUID HOT CHOCOLATE! "Well, don't worry," I told her. "We'll just place this bag in the fridge so they can harden into a block of chocolate and then I'll just cut them into tiny blocks of chocolate. Granted, they'll be too big for cookies, so we might have to make a ... (drum roll) ... CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE PIE with my same chocolate chip cookie recipe!" She got real excited. "I've never had that before!" Well, here's how that turned out.
Naturally, I went to work making a batch of my world famous chocolate chip cookie dough, but instead of making cookies, I made a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE PIE with the dough. Here's what that looked like:
PLACING THE DOUGH IN A PIE PAN
DOUGH IS 100% SPREAD IN THE PAN
PIE IS BAKED & READY TO EAT
Oh, you wanna see my chocolate chip pie fully? Completely? In a full width photo? You mean something like this? (BELOW) Yeah, after 10 minutes of dough prep and 22 minutes of baking at 400°, here's how it turned out:
Oh, you wanna see it sliced up, on a plate and with some vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup on it? Alright, have it your way. Where's your plate?
So, then I went to work (that same week) on my hair stylist's pie. Yeah, I whipped up enough for two pies. One for her and one to share with the crew. The response? "I took Bart's chocolate chip cookie pie home to my family and OMG! I'm in my 50s, and I've never had a chocolate chip pie (anything) that tasted that good in all my life.”
Alright, here are a few more photos with pie and ice cream and chocolate syrup. I know you want some. In fact, just looking at these pies makes even ME want CHOCOLATE CHIP PIE for DINNER.
Had enough? Ready for your chocolate chip pie? I know I am. Hey, I gotta run. Gotta go make dinner. Yeah, I'm having pie (and ice cream with chocolate syrup) for dinner ... again!
COOKIE STORY #43
"Would you cater our Christmas party with your cookies?"
"I was asked by the manager of a Chick-fil-a in Henderson, NV to contribute cookies to their Christmas party. Of course, I said, 'Yes ...'"
It all started when the Chick-fil-a manager noticed a lot of the employees who worked there knew me (and he didn't know me). He introduced himself and asked why the employees knew me so well. I told him I delivered cookies a few times in the recent past and they all loved them, and they probably just know me as the "Cookie Man." That's when he asked if I would contribute my cookies to their upcoming employee Christmas party. Of course, I said, "Yes! I'd be glad to!"
I must have made about 300 cookies, which is about 7 to 8 batches of cookies. I started baking Friday night, then a few batches on Saturday, then 2 more batches that Sunday morning of their Sunday evening Christmas party.
What was funny was I was eating about a dozen cookies a day from all the baking I was doing. When Sunday came around, I must have eaten between 30-40 of my own cookies. Whoa, you definitely could say I had cookies for dinner (and breakfast) on some of those baking days.
Well, that Sunday evening, I arrived at the store, set up my cookies and watched everybody make their mad dash to the area of the table where my cookies were. Literally, as soon as the cookies were made available, the employees jumped at the chance to grab a few and start eating them. Some of the employees were on their way home as the party didn't last too long. So, they packed a few cookies for themselves to go. Good thing there were plenty to go around. I even left a whole tray there for the employees to enjoy the next day for all those who couldn't make it to the party that night. You can imagine, the manager was quite pleased with all the cookies I brought.
What was also cool was the manager told me their store does a catering exchange with a local BBQ restaurant where they swap food for their Christmas parties. Well, the Chick-fil-a manager said, “Bart, look at this huge unopened tray of BBQ tri-tip strips. Take it home with you!” Well, I knew exactly what to do with all that tri-tip meat. I went home and made the most amazing BBQ tri-tip steak burritos for a week. Anyhow, it was a wonderful experience and every time I go into that Chick-fil-a store I'm always asked if I have cookies on me.
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COOKIE STORY #44
"You’ll give me free sushi if I bring you cookies? DEAL!"
"So, again, I had to open my big mouth (well, I kinda planned it) in front of the waitress at this sushi restaurant in Reno, NV back in 2016. Well, she told the boss. He came out and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Here’s that story, real quick!"
I was staying with a friend of mine in Reno, NV back in 2016. I was helping him with his website and new book about day trading. At the time, his current website was old and really needed an updated design and he had never published a book on anything before. So, I spent about a month at his house helping him with these two projects.
Well, at some point, my work became too much for him to afford. So, I told him I would work the last week I was there ... FOR FOOD!!! That turned into several outings at a very nice Italian restaurant (Johnny's Ristorante Italian Restaurant), a fun pizza place (The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub), a burger joint (Burger Me!), Dairy Queen, and a sushi restaurant called Sushi7. By the way, I think I gained 20 pounds that week from all that eating out! I’ve got to be careful not to work for food too often! HAHA!
Well, the sushi restaurant amazed me with their quality, but didn’t have an all-you-can-eat menu at the time. That was a bummer, because I can only afford to eat at all-you-can-eat restaurants due to my appetite for sushi. That’s when I stepped in with a "cookie offer!"
Knowing the influential power of my cookies, I said to the waitress, “I make the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies. I’ll trade you some of them for some more unagi on the house. Wudda ya think?” She must have shared my offer with her boss, the owner. The owner came out to ask me a few questions about my cookies. I told him how great they were, I showed him pictures of them on my phone and he said, “DEAL!”
I said I would come back the next day if he liked (with a whole batch of cookies = 40 or so cookies). He told me a good time to come by when it wasn’t too busy, he'd have my table ready, sushi made-to-order and his staff would dine on my cookies! A match made in Heaven for us both.
I showed up with cookies and they showered me with all the unagi I could eat. I still paid for some of the other sushi I ordered. Everyone was extremely happy with their side of the exchange. They got cookies, a treat they normally don’t ever get, and I got what I wanted = A LOT OF UNAGI on the house!!!
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COOKIE STORY #45
"Bart, the doctor doesn’t want cookies. Oh, really?"
"So, my mom had been going to this particular doctor for regular check-ups and I thought to ask her if they would like some of my cookies. She said, ‘Bart, they don’t want cookies.’ Am I’m like, ‘Did you ask?’ Well, here’s that story …"
So, once every few months, I would drive my Mom to see one of her doctors for one of her regular health checkups. She mentioned to me that maybe I too should go to see them to see how I was doing, health-wise. You should know, I haven’t seen a doctor in like 30 years? I don't get sick or need to see a doctor for anything in particular -- SO I DON'T GO! IF I can avoid it! HAHA
Anyhow, she talked me into it. Well, the only reason I thought to offer to bake cookies for the doctor's office staff was to kind of give my mom a little extra special treatment when they see her, right? "Oh, your son is the one who brought us cookies. Yes, come on in. The doctor is ready to see you. Those cookies were amazing!"
Well, my mom would say to me every time, "Bart, they don't want cookies." I would then say to my Mom, "Did you even ASK?" Of course, she would always say, "No. I just don't think they ..." Ugh!
Well, when it came MY TURN to see the doctor, I DID mention it and I asked them. I told them my Mom comes in here a lot and I mentioned her name. They recognized her name and when I told them I bake the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies and would they like some, they responded with GLEE, "ABSOLUTELY!"
What's more, I told them my mom's been here on several occasions and she always told me you would say, "No." Wow, did they respond differently. "Bart, we would definitely say, YES, to cookies!"
So, for my FIRST visit with the doctor, they said they would perform a series simple tests and that I should return a few days later for a follow-up session to discuss the results of those tests. Made sense and it was the perfect opportunity for me to bring cookies to them upon my next visit.
Well, the day came for me to return to the doctor's office and BRING COOKIES! Can you imagine walking into a doctor's office and you're not there just to be treated like a patient, told to sit down, told to wait for the doctor to come out and call you in, BUT, INSTEAD, you’re there to deliver cookies, and the person addressing you says, (1) “I'll be right back. I'm going to tell the doctor your cookies are here and the staff and place them in our office kitchen for everyone to grab a few. Wow, you brought A LOT of cookies! (2) We're ALSO GOING TO SEE about getting you in to see the doctor sooner so you can get out of here quicker and not have to wait all day.”
Gee, THE POWER OF THE COOKIE! It's just amazing. For about 45 minutes, I literally owned that doctor's office with just ... COOKIES! The entire office knew my name, who I was, why I was there, and was glad to help me. Oh, and my mom had been going there for about two years and I’d only been there ONE TIME!
Imagine going into the doctor’s office for years for your checkup(s), and the crew doesn't know your name until they look you up on the computer. Well, not in my case. I've only been there TWICE in my life and now they know me as the COOKIE MAN whenever I walk through their doors, whether for myself or to show up with my Mom on one of her visits. Too funny, eh?
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COOKIE STORY #46
"No, I'm not delivering food to someone? I'm delivering the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies!"
"Funny, I was once mistaken for delivering food to someone when I was really just delivering my cookies to a friend who was moving out of town. Check out this FREE BEER story …"
So, I'm living in Matthews, NC (c. 2016), when I was heading to the Carolina Beer Temple to deliver cookies to a friend of mine who was moving out of town. The Carolina Beer Temple is beer establishment where they have rotating taps of craft beer plus hundreds of options of canned beer as well.
Well, I must have gotten there first before my friend did. When I did, I ran into these nice ladies who thought I was delivering food to somebody.
So, I stopped at their table and gave them the formal cookie presentation (e.g., “I make the world's best chocolate chip cookies!”). They quickly said to me, "We'll buy you a beer if we can try some of your cookies!" I said to them, "I don't know, these are my friend's cookies. He's leaving town tomorrow. He might not ... OH HECK, WHY NOT! FREE BEER? I'll have a _____. How can I turn that down?"
They loved the cookies and I thanked them for the FREE beer. My friend soon arrived and sat with us while we all enjoyed his cookies. I told him I'd mail him some to replace whatever we ate, so not to worry. He was super cool about the whole thing and actually thought it was hilarious that my cookies got me a FREE beer. Strange, eh? Out of nowhere, a simple cookie delivery turns into a group beer/cookie eating session with total strangers!!!
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COOKIE STORY #47
"Oops, I didn’t make it. So, I ate (their) 12 ‘B-Mo’ cookies."
"'B-Mo' stands for 'Big Mother' of a cookie that I make. Well, I had promised to deliver some 12 B-Mos I had made for these ladies who work at this local sports bar, but I never made it and neither did the cookies. Yes, I am GUILTY AS CHARGED ... I ate ALL their cookies for (my) dinner."
So, when I was living in Matthews, NC (c. 2016), there was this local sports bar called Kristophers that I would go to every so often to either meet people there or just go by myself to have a beer and some pizza.
Well, on one occasion, I told the front desk ladies (hostesses) about my cookies and they got real excited to try them. So, that week, I decided to bake B-Mos for them instead of my usual B-Bites. B-Mo stands for “Big Mother” of a cookie (approx. a quarter pound of a cookie).
Well, there are about 3 girls working the front, another 2-3 gals working the floor and maybe the 1-2 bartending. I only spoke to the ladies up front, so perhaps the others didn't know cookies were coming.
Well, I made 12 B-Mo’s to deliver to them one night, but for some unforeseen reason, THEY DIDN’T GET DELIVERED. I couldn’t make it. I also couldn’t return there for about a week. Blame it on business, work, clients, or whatever.
The PROBLEM I now had was what to do I do with those 12 B-Mos??? Keep in mind, one B-Mo is equivalent to THREE (3) of my B-Bite sized cookies. So, in essence, I made approximately 36 cookies (=12 B-Mos). Well, I was hungry. It was past dinner time, and I didn’t necessarily want to make dinner. I didn’t even eat all day. I was stuck in my office working on something important. ;-))) Well, what did I do that was "oh so BAD," but "oh so GOOD?" You guessed it, I ate all 12 of those B-Mos for my dinner. Again, that's like eating 36 of my own cookies ... for dinner ... in ONE single NIGHT!
I don’t think I ever showed my face in that bar again. That is, unless I re-baked those cookies, I don’t think I could face them again, right? I mean, I ate what they were promised. I feel so bad, err, well, kinda, maybe. Anyhow, that is A LOT of cookies for ONE PERSON to EAT in ONE DAY! 36 cookies? (=12 B-Mos) ... Yikes!!!
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COOKIE STORY #48
"Cookies in exchange for a vermicelli Vietnamese restaurant dish cooking lesson. Would love that!"
"I once asked the owner of a Vietnamese restaurant to teach me how they make my favorite dish (vermicelli). He had no hesitation because of all the times I brought cookies in for their staff to enjoy."
I love Vietnamese food and I found this amazing Vietnamese restaurant in Las Vegas, NV called I LOVE PHO. You have to try their food if you’re ever in town.
Well, I’ve brought cookies to give to their staff on several occasions just because I love the food and their service is always so pleasant!
Well, one day I asked the owner if he would show me how he makes (my favorite dish) vermicelli with grilled shrimp, crispy egg roll and marinated pork strips. Since I had brought my cookies into their store on several occasions, he had no problem teaching me what I wanted to learn.
The owner said to me, with a smile, “Bart, I’ve had your cookies and they’re amazing and my staff loves them. When would you like to learn?” I was quite pleased and thankful that he would teach me. “Is now a good time," I asked.
I usually went to the restaurant when they were pretty slow, which was between 2:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. “Come back when you’re ready. I’ll get things ready," he said. I stepped into the kitchen and he showed me all the steps, ingredients and seasonings he used to make vermicelli. I felt like I was an employee in training. It was so cool!
Now, I’ve yet to make the dish myself at home, but it’s on my list to try making because I want to add it to my cookbook. But, until then, I’ll just keep going back to I Love Pho and place my usual order for vermicelli.
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COOKIE STORY #49
"Bart, you are my 'Cookie Angel!'"
"You are my 'Cookie Angel,' Bart, for serving your cookies at my husband's memorial ceremony." - Dottie Walters, Professional Speaker
Sometime around 2005 or so, I met Dottie Walters, author of Speak & Grow Rich, a legendary speaker, a founding member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), as well as the founder of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB).
Well, I met Dottie when I attended one of her speaker training classes (through the Learning Annex). She was someone I really wanted to meet in person, because she knew a lot of the same people I worked with; just, I never got to meet her. Well, when it came time to attend her class, I thought to bring her a few dozen of my world famous chocolate chip cookies just as a gift for meeting her and to let her know we knew some of the same people she's worked with.
After saying, "Thank you, Bart," she then asked me, "How much are they?" To which I replied, "No charge, Dottie. They're a gift from me to you."
She then said, "I'm asking because I would like to serve your cookies at my husband's memorial ceremony. They'd be the perfect dessert item and he just passed away recently. I would like to buy some."
I then asked how many cookies she needed, and she said approximately 200 cookies or so for her 40-50 guests. I told her, "Still, no charge, Dottie. I'm honored to do this for you." She then dubbed me her "Cookie Angel."
Dottie, too, has since passed away (Feb. 14, 2007 at the age of 82 years) and I will always remember my time with her and the cookies I baked for her. God bless you, Dottie. You brought smiles and motivation to everyone who knew you, including me!
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COOKIE STORY #50
"Give a few of my cookies to that Chick-Fil-A employee eating lunch over there. It looks like she’s had a long day."
"I made some cookies for the Chick-fil-a crew at the Sahara Avenue location in Las Vegas, NV. I then found out the manager wanted to sell them in this location and a second location he owned. Kinda cool!"
Here's another Chick-fil-a story for ya, where I again opened my big mouth and said, “I baked the world's greatest chocolate chip cookies” to the nice lady who was serving us at the Chick-fil-a location on Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas, NV.
Well, she was tending to my friend and I at our table, striking up some nice conversation, when I told her what I do (i.e., bake cookies and write books).
I then asked when she worked next and that I would bring some (cookies) in when she worked again. She was excited and said everyone on her shift was really looking forward to us coming back with cookies.
Well, we showed up with cookies, and I said to the lady who was our contact person, “Give a few of these cookies to that young lady over at that patio table outside taking her lunch break. I think she could use a cookie with her meal. She looks kinda down (or tired).”
Well, the lady came back to tell me, “Bart, I told her what you said (and the other co-workers too) and they're eating your cookies and say they’re amazing. They just wanted to say thank you for your kind gesture and thoughtfulness. I mentioned all this to the store owner and he would like to talk to you. He owns a second Chick-fil-a location and wants to know if he could sell your cookies in both stores. Please let us know if you're interested.”
Gee, can you imagine that? Bart's Cookies sold in Chick-fil-a? If I ever did get my cookies in two Chick-fil-a stores, other Chick-fil-a stores might want to sell them too. Then, maybe even more stores, until I'm selling my cookies in every Chick-fil-a store across America! Yikes!!!
By the way, did you know? There are roughly 3,059 Chick-fil-a stores all across America? That’s a lot of Chick-fil-a store locations! Well, if I sold just 500 cookies per day, per store on average x 3,000 stores, that’d be = 1.5 MILLION cookies sold PER DAY!!! Now, THAT’S some cookie sales POTENTIAL for sure. I just might look into that!
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COOKIE STORY #51
"It all started back in August 1988, at college, in my first apartment ... I wanted cookies for dinner!"
"I'm living by myself for the first time at 18 years old (1988). I know I can have anything I want for dinner, because Mom's not around to tell me, 'NO!' So, I think to myself, I want cookies … for DINNER!!!"
So, yeah, it was late August (c. 1988) and I was alone in my first apartment before my roommate showed up to live there in the Fall when school started. It was a sweet two bedroom, two story apartment right on campus. Because I was on my own to cook for myself, I started making all kinds of meals. Then, it hit me! I’m alone, Mom’s not around. I could have cookies for dinner if I wanted, and that’s exactly what I did.
I hopped into my Jeep Laredo I had at the time, drove down to the grocery store, purchased all the ingredients, made my first batch of chocolate chip cookies EVER, plopped down on the couch and proceeded to enjoy my COOKIE DINNER while watching whatever was on TV. I was in HEAVEN! Granted, I did feel a tad guilty (well, not really), and so I called Mom afterwards to tell her I had spoiled my appetite for dinner. “Mom, I cannot tell a lie. I had cookies for dinner. I spoiled my appetite for having a healthy meal. I hope you still love me,” I said to her on the phone. Of course, we laughed, and she replied, “I love you no matter what. Try not to eat cookies every night! But, I’m glad things are working out in your new apartment.”
While I don’t have any photos of my first apartment’s kitchen or me eating those cookies (DARN! WHO KNEW, RIGHT?), the "Dec 88" kitchen photo above was in the second apartment I lived in my freshman year at college. While living in that second apartment, my cooking skills were improving quickly. For example, I remember making stir-fry sweet ‘n’ sour chicken over rice with steamed veggies quite often in the Electric Wok I bought. I eventually moved into a third apartment (a three bedroom) where I made all kinds of meals, and yes, MORE COOKIES before (voluntarily) opting out of college because it just wasn’t for me. I then moved home for a year (to work and save money) before moving out on my own again.
After I happily opting out of college and I was living near Mom in Southern California at the time, I just happened to be over at her place baking cookies with my sister, which you can see in the "Christmas 1991" photograph above. Ah, those were good (baking) times, too! Look at the smiles on those faces. That’s probably why I bake cookies, besides eating them, is the smiles they bring to people every time they have one. So, as you can see, I’ve been baking cookies for a looooong time! 35+ YEARS and counting since 1988. I also don’t plan on stopping for a looooong time either!
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OTHER COOKIE STORIES
"Are there more cookies stories? Yep!"
"Yes, there are more cookie stories I could tell you, but how meaningful or impactful might they be to hear about after reading about the ones you just learned about? For example …"
Some of the cookie stories I thought about sharing, but not in such detail, might include other cookie bartering stories where I got more free food and/or drinks at other bars and restaurants wherever I traveled and could bake. I could tell you about the complimentary burrito dish at Kay & Daves Cantina (Culver City, CA) where I ate with the employees on their break. They got cookies and I got the biggest burrito made to my liking I’ve ever seen. Then, there’s free pizza and discount offerings at Old Chicago Pizzeria (Boise, ID) with staff or Mulberry Street Pizzeria (San Rafael, CA) with the former owner or free veal at Davinci's Italian Restaurant (Eagle, ID). Free beer and wings at the Balboa Bay Club and Billy’s At The Beach on P.C.H. (Newport Beach, CA). Then, there’s complimentary sushi dishes at Niko Niko Sushi (Costa Mesa, CA). The cool thing about all these cookie interactions is that fact that I wasn't alone! I had friends with me who witness every one of these cookie exchange, swapping, bartering, fun happening stories!!!
COOKIES & PIZZA AT OLD CHICAGO IN BOISE, ID
COOKIES & BEER AT BARS IN NEWPORT BEACH, CA
How about the girls high school volleyball team that came to my door in Eagle, ID when my nephew was a senior in high school and living with me and we talked to them about selling my cookies door to door to raise money for their cause instead of those stupid magazine subscriptions? They were all for it! You can picture it now, "Would you like to donate to our team to help fund ____? Here, try a cookie, and then decide! (Crunch, chew, yum!!!) GREAT! We knew you'd like to give $___, and you will receive your cookies within 2 weeks." Or, how about the 1,000+ people who I’ve mailed cookies to or I was there in person to bake them! LOOK at those SMILES, EYES ROLLING and HEADS TILTING BACK!!! Makes you wanna try one, eh?
How about other networking events and seminars I spoke at where I served cookies to those networking and listening to my presentations. How about cookies I’d bring to the different classes and workshops and seminars I would attend just as an attendee. How about the free hotel room I was offered at this privately owned hotel in South Lake Tahoe after showing the owners my cookies. “Bart, we’ll give you a free room for one night if you'd bake us some of your cookies!” Free burritos at Qdoba in Matthews, NC in exchange for cookies. More interactions with lawyers and cookies. I even sent my cookies to Gene Simmons of KISS (a big chocolate chip cookie lover) through a friend of mine who got his mailing address. See the cool box I mailed his cookies in and Shannon Tweed’s tweet (Gene’s wife) about how much they loved my cookies.
Check out the link http://bit.ly/dWGfcv in the Tweet above!
Trust me, this is ONLY the beginning. I’ve been laying what I call the ultimate and ultra-historic chocolate chip cookie foundation over the past 30+ years. Oh, and on a very PART-TIME (while LAYING LOW) basis. NONE of this was done FULL-TIME. Nope. I was busy writing 25+ books and working in other tech, business, consulting and marketing related fields for the past 25+ years. Heck, look at the futuristic COOKIE VAN I designed in my graphics design program. SEE THE FUTURE! I might be making cookie drop-offs in a town near you!!!!
Now, though, it’s time to bring my cookies to the public for their joyful consumption and share them with the world. Then, at the right time, with the right amount of exposure, the right company and/or companies will join me to assist me further in bringing the world’s best chocolate cookie to the masses in ways I could never do on my own. I’m just one person, and as I’ve said to many before, “I’m a marketer. Not a baker!” ;-) That said, I hope to see you soon on the COOKIE TRAIL taking place all over America!!! When our paths cross, I’ll be asking you the ULTIMATE COOKIE QUESTION:
Wanna Try One?
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Bart Smith has been baking the world's best chocolate chip cookies since he was in college (1988). That's more than 35 years ago. He bakes milk chocolate chip, dark chocolate chip, milk/dark chip combo, white chocolate chip, white chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts, peanut butter with milk chocolate chips, as well as the world's best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Bart’s cookie fans are all over the country and around the world. Everyone who tries Bart's cookies agree that Bart really does bake the world's best chocolate chip cookie. Just check out these 51+ cookie stories, 427 cookie testimonials and 140 cookie reviews. Then, you too may come to the same conclusion and want to try one. See if Bart's cookies truly are the world's best chocolate chip cookie you've ever had!
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