Mia, Creation 1995-2006 (Pt. 1)

Mia, Creation 1995-2006 (Pt. 1)

Yes! It took me that long because it was an evolution of love and passion.

We at RubySnap affectionately call Mia our fatty pants sugar cookie, she truly has to be one of my favorite stories.  I get big grateful, happy frogs welling up in my throat just thinking about how indebted I am to have this cookie. All of the credit goes the Cheryl Hill.  I met Cheryl when I moved to Salt Lake City in 1995.  I had a 2-year-old daughter, needed to work, and was desperate for a caretaker that I could trust.  Cheryl was that person, she graciously started taking care of my daughter Alex, which was equal to salvation.  Cheryl was akin to a sister and I’m certain my daughters nearly loved her more than myself. Cheryl taught my girls preschool, took them on field trips, read them stories, and enriched their lives as well as mine.  I can probably thank Cheryl and her son Wesley Hill for my ultimate discovery of my talents.  I will tell that story later because it is amazing and deserves its own limelight. Cheryl made sugar cookies that made my mouth water.  She shared her recipe with me, for years to come, it was a tradition to make big batches for every child’s birthday party.  I could eat the entire batch myself.  We would roll out the cookies and cut them in big fancy shapes with copper cutters purchased at Orson Gygi.  Little did I know Orson Gygi would become my favorite “vacation get away”.

Later in 2006 when I was developing the line-up for the future My Dough Girl bakery, of course this cookie had to be on the menu.  It wasn’t until this time that I fashioned my own version of Cheryl’s recipe after making my first trip to Bali and experimenting with vanilla beans and the magic they create.   For a cookie so wonderful it must also have an amazing frosting.  Regular buttercreams never quite captured my amazement, so I reinvented a buttercream to my liking, using beets to color the icing pink.  Back then I pureed beets until I later ascertained that beet reduction was a more powerful color agent and less smelly. What I looked for in a buttercream was delivery of flavor and creaminess.  Regular buttercreams felt waxy and gritty with shortening and sandy sugar.  In keeping with the “faith” every Dough Girl cookie needed to be naturally made as if your grandmother spent all morning in the kitchen for the sole purpose of sharing her love. Mia was and is still is the epitome of love, it was a gift to me, and a way for me to give of my time and make home life a little sweeter.  …and don’t forget, I must tell you the story of Wesley Hill.  His story set me on my path.  For now we’ll call this Part One of the Mia story.

…my inner childlike Dr. Suess-ness

BIG M, little m
Many mumbling mice are making midnight music in the moonlight….mighty nice

Date of Journal Entry: 10/25/17