Wausua’s own ‘Cookie Lady’ honored by granddaughter

Will wonders ever cease? Honestly, this Cookies by Bess journey I’m on never ceases to amaze me! Whether it’s the amazing cookie recipes I’ve been baking over the last several years or the periodic encounter I have with a former Cookies by Bess cookie book owner or long time family friend…there is always something to…

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“Cookies baked with love”

The Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Food section writer Diane Page interviewed Grandma Bess way back in December, 1980 and published the below article titled “Cookies baked with love”.  I can’t think of a better name for an article written about Grandma Bess than, “Cookies baked with love”! Grandma Bess talked to many newspapers, radio and TV talk…

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Cookies by Bess’ 60th Anniversary!

It dawned on me a couple months ago that the year 2020 is Cookies by Bess’ 60th Anniversary! What an amazing milestone! The Hoffman family has been baking Cookies by Bess’ cookies for 60 years! WOW! Congratulations to us! ? To honor this major cookie baking milestone, I have pulled together some images from the…

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“Cookies by the thousands”

During the 1980 Cookies by Bess promotional tour, Grandma Bess, Grandpa Abe, and my parents (Rich & Toby) traveled all over the mid-west to promote the revitalization of Cookies by Bess.  Along the way, Grandma Bess was interviewed by newspapers and TV talk shows.  One of my favorite newspaper articles “Cookies by the thousands” published…

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You can’t keep Bess away from cookie sheets

One of my favorite things about recreating Cookies by Bess is reading all the old newspaper articles written about Bess. A lot of the information in the articles is the same, as the stories are the stories, but each article also has at least one new “tidbit”. The “tidbit” I learned from You can’t keep…

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Bess Hoffman: ‘Baked with Love’

This week I decided to post another article from Cookies by Bess’ promotional tour back in 1980.  This article, Bess Hoffman: ‘Baked with Love’,  was written in The Post Crescent (newspaper serving Appleton-Neenah-Menasha, Wis.) on Tuesday, June 3, 1980. The article once again introduces Grandma Bess Hoffman and how she began baking cookies. her Cookies…

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“Cookie lady writes a book”

On Thursday, June 12, 1980, The Milwaukee Sentinel published an article on page 1, part 4 (the Food section) titled “Cookie lady writes a book”. The article highlights Bess Hoffman on her come back tour for her famous cookie cookbook, Cookies by Bess. The Milwaukee Sentinel article is one of many showing up in newspapers…

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Who was Bess Hoffman?

Happy Anniversary Cookies by Bess!  This week marks 1 year since we updated the Cookies by Bess brand, website, and blog!  Thank you EVERYONE that visited our website, read our blogs and followed us over this past year!  I’ve had a blast so far and I am looking forward to continuing to work my way…

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Holiday Cookie Exchange

Now is the time to start thinking about and planning your Holiday Cookie Exchange! One thing I always look forward to as we get closer and closer to the holidays is a Holiday Cookie Exchange!  Being Jewish, I didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas, but pretty much everyone I knew and worked with did. Working at…

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Hints and Short-Cuts for Baking Cookies

It hit me as I was reading through the old scrap books my father sent me last summer. My Dad got the “pack rat” gene from his father, my Grandpa Abe! I was looking for the notes Grandma Bess put together for the classes she taught at the Wausau (WI) Technical Institute. I found the…

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