Bellaire Art Festival

It's that time of year again! Join the Southwest Chamber and Houston Civic Arts Association this Saturday, October 17th as we present the Bellaire Fall Art Festival on Paseo Park. Bring the whole family and enjoy great art from local and regional artists, entertainment, food, face painting and what is supposed to be some great weather! Michael's Cookie Jar will be there with Halloween cookies, soft-baked Americana cookies, brownies and more!

When: Saturday, October 17, 9am - 5pm

(RAIN DATE on Sunday, October 18)

Where: Paseo Park - in the Bellaire Blvd. esplanade (@ S. Rice Ave.)

MCJ Secures New Location

For the past three years, Michael's Cookie Jar has been sharing a commercial kitchen with the Bavarian Cakery. While being "baking roommates" has been very beneficial for the past three years, the time has come for us to move into our own kitchen and open up a retail bakery.

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After an 18 month search, a great location has been found! Formerly "The Village Table," this location in West U (a city within the Houston city limits) comes virtually ready to move in!
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It comes ready with a walk-in freezer, pot sink, dishwasher, mop sink, hand sinks, tile floors and ADA compliant bathrooms. While these are not terribly "sexy" things, they are required for a commericial kitchen. We'll add a hood for the oven and then our equipment and, of course, a display case.

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A move-in date has not been set yet, but it could be as early as Thanksgiving, but not later than the first week of January. We'll have a "grand opening" sometime in the first few months of 2010.

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In the meantime, some electrical work will be done, as well as making sure everything is up to code for the health department.

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Check back periodically to see new updates! There is a way to set your computer to automatically notify you when updates are made, but I don't know how to do that. The photos here show the space as it is today. I'll have exterior photos on the next post.

Halloween Creativity

Autumn lends itself well to cookies! The colors and flavors of the fall season naturally conjures up colorful images and sweet flavors. For this year, I've enlisted the talents of my sister, Leigh Hannan. She is a Illustrator and specializes in colorful pen and ink drawings for "surface treatments." Surface treatments are things like napkins, coffee cups, plates, stationary, stamps, embroidery and so on. I encourage you to visit her website to see all her designs! I also encourage you to visit Michael's Cookie Jar to see all our delicious buttery cookies for Halloween.

This autumn we begin the "decorated cookie season" with a Michael's Cookie Jar exclusive! A quick drawing on the back of an old production sheet became the inspiration for a new cookie design! Our creative culinarians transformed the drawing into a one-of-a-kind cutter and voila! We have our whimsical scarecrow looking for ways to charm you! Click here to see our complete Autumn Collection.

What's Your Bridal Style?

Ever wonder "what's your bridal style?" I certainly don't know mine! But on Thursday, August 27th at Solutions Salon (1800 Westheimer) from 6-8PM you will have the opportunity to find out yours! Think about how many details go into your hair, make-up and jewelry! It can be overwhelming! Rest assured, there are professionals who can help. Stop in and meet with consultants who can advise you on the style that works for you.

And what would a bridal event be without cookies from Michael's Cookie Jar! We'll have tasty samples from our popular cookie wedding cake. And we'd be happy to advise you on the best cookies for your cookie wedding favors, cookie gift boxes, cookie buffet and more! Hope to see you there!

RSVP at: salon@solutionforhair.com

12,000 Cookies

Wow! We had our biggest cookie order EVER! Our dedicated team of cookie bakers and decorators produced 12,000 iced cookies in one week. At times it was a daunting task, but we were determined. And we didn't take any short cuts. Like all our cookies, these were made with pure butter, sugar, eggs and flour. And we used a little orange oil and pure vanilla for flavor. Oh, and each cookie was INDIVIDUALLY wrapped. So, whether you need a dozen decorated cookies for a baby shower or 12,000 for a whole bunch of friends, Michael's Cookie Jar can deliver!

Please join us Sunday, June 14th from 1-3pm for the "Wedding Tips, Trends & Treats' Workshop! There will be a variety of creative event experts for you to visit and learn about different aspects of your wedding planning.

Michael's Cookie Jar, along with other local wedding experts will be on hand to offer advice on making your wedding day a flawless experience. Other participants include: Invitation Solutions, EnVogue Events, Hilton Americas – Skyline, Pen Dance Calligraphy & Engraving, Studio 563, Houston Brides Magazine

It’ll be a great time. Make sure you grab one of our gift bags on your way out as there will be several great discounts and gifts that you don’t want to miss!

Date: Sunday, June 14th Time: 1-3 pm
Place: Invitation Solutions

Located in the Heights

373 West 19th St, Houston
RSVP: info@invitationsolutions.com or 713.864.5573

Mother's Day Around the Corner

Cookies and greeting cards have a lot in common; there's one for every occasion! As soon as we pack up our Easter cookie cutters, Mother's Day cutters come out. In the next few days we'll update our website with a delightful array of "mom themed" all-butter shortbead cookies. If your mom loved making cookies when you were a kid, maybe she'd like to receive a cookie gift now that you're all grown up! And just like a greeting card, you can personally deliver cookies to mom or we can ship them for you.

Spring is Busy for Cookies!

As a growing business, each month is a new adventure! More Houstonians are getting to know us and our tasty all-butter cookies! Favorite items include cookie gift boxes for shipping, our Toffee Pecan cookies, Snickerdoodles and hand-decorated shortbread cookies. This Easter we have four designs that can be ordered through our website. Click here to see details. Kids of all ages will love these bright and cheerful decorated cookies. And, as always, if you have a special request, just let us know.

This year we are also participating in the Bellaire Arts Festival on Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 9AM to 5PM. It takes place at 5100 Bellaire Blvd. at South Rice Ave. It's really a fun time for families to get out (before the Houston heat sets in!) and have a fun day of visiting local crafts people. There will also be lots of food, including cookies from Michael's Cookie Jar. For more information on the festival, please visit the Bellaire Art Festival website.

Michael's Cookie Jar Supports Bo's Place

We receive dozens of requests each year to contribute fresh baked cookies to many worthy causes. The Third Annual Girls' Night Out: Champagne on the Champs d'Elysees, which benefits Bo's Place in Houston, Texas, is one such worthy cause. Girls’ Night Out will be held Thursday, March 26, 2009 at the Advantage BMW Midtown dealership (1305 Gray Street). This is an evening for “bubbles, baubles, and bites” for 600 of Houston’s finest ladies! The shopping is spectacular, the food is fabulous and the fellowship is second to none, all for the benefit of Bo’s Place.

According to their own vision statement, "Bo’s Place is the nation’s premier bereavement center providing compassionate grief support services, research, and education in order to facilitate the healing of children and families who have experienced the death of a loved one."

This is a home-grown, one-of-a-kind service which is what we like to support. Please visit Michael's Cookie Jar booth to view many of our most popular all-butter cookie selections. Every purchase of cookies will help support the wonderful work at Bo's Place. For more information on the event or Bo's Place, visit this link.

How much do I love thee? Let me count the ways...with cookies! After Christmas, Valentine's is the next biggest holiday for Michael's Cookie Jar. Hearts are a bounding everywhere! Check out our website to see some tasty gift ideas for the one you love! We have a lovely cookie gift box that is perfect for shipping.

Bridal Show Fun

The Bridal Extravaganza at the George R. Brown was great fun. Sara and I gave out more than 2,000 samples to hundreds of brides and their friends and family. We featured dozens of ideas for our all-butter, hand-made cookie favors, suitable for the wedding or bridal shower.

We also unveiled our "Cookie Cake." This is a great alternative to a wedding cake, groom's cake or an addition to a dessert buffet. At $1.75 per person, it's also a great bargain!

Bridal Extravaganza Show

I hear wedding bells! Well, they're not mine, but for thousands of Houstonians, 2009 will be the year of their wedding! Michael's Cookie Jar (along with 599 other vendors) is participating in Bridal Extravaganza Show at the George R. Brown, January 10 and 11. We'll have a booth with samples of wedding cookies, favors, cookie cakes and more. If you're getting married in the next 18 months, this show is the place to be.