The Secret Ingredient Of "The Sugar Cookie"

150 pounds of flour and sugar, 1 dozen 3lb cream cheese loaves, only three of the many ingredients that create one weeks’ worth of cookies featured at The Sugar Cookie in St. George. This shop opened November 11, 2011 and is quickly starting a cookie revolution. The newfound public love for these sweet treats has people sharing cookies with people in parking lots, taking insulin shots so they can munch on one right away, and the youngest of fans exclaiming “Mom, these cookies are killing me out!” Why are people so excited about The Sugar Cookie? Well, of course, it’s the combination of whipped frosting and the unique flavored sugar cookies, but this sweet goodness wouldn’t be possible without a little secret ingredient.

His[ and Her ]Story

Jenny and Jeff Ewell have been married for 13 years, have four kids, and love to run businesses together. The Sugar Cookie is one of many business endeavors that the pair have started and operated together. The idea for The Sugar Cookie began with Jenny’s passion for cookies. She loves baking so much that she was constantly in the kitchen making cookies for everyone. She was so busy in the kitchen that Jeff would ask her, “Are you ever going to hang out with the family?” So they started to talk about turning her passion for baking into a business. Jenny says, “I can’t even remember who suggested it, but in January, around New Year’s, we were talking about opening a cookie shop. It was late at night, and I thought it would be an idea that we’d dismiss in the morning.” When they woke up, they discovered they were still excited about the idea to open a cookie shop, and the more they talked about it, the more excited they got. Their enthusiasm never ebbed, so Jenny immediately went to the kitchen and began to test recipes.

  Their idea was to open a cookie shop that would specialize in flavored sugar cookies. Yes, I said flavored sugar cookies. This unique idea is the direct influence of the Food Network’s show “Cupcake Wars”. On this show, the contestants are given specific ingredients to include in three types of flavored cupcakes. Jenny liked the idea of flavored cupcakes, but she is more of a cookie girl, so she immediately set to work trying to create the perfect balance of flavors for sugar cookies. After many experiments in the kitchen and taste test runs to willing participants, The Sugar Cookie now features the best of her creations in 8 frosted flavored sugar cookies: lemon, cherry, chocolate cherry, coconut, chocolate coconut, chocolate peanut butter, red velvet, and original. They also regularly feature flavored rolled sugar cookies and shortbread. Jenny loves to tinker in the kitchen so you never know when something new might show up in the display case. In fact, they just started to feature one of her newest creations, lemon shortbread.

Sharing the Love

After sampling a few of the different cookies, I can honestly say that Jenny’s tinkering has paid off! I tried to coax a recipe out of her; sadly, I was unsuccessful. I cannot blame her for secrecy. If I had something this good in my recipe box, I’d keep it secret too. The recipe for her sugar cookies is based on a family recipe that she has tweaked to perfection through her years of baking. She says, “I used to give out the recipe because we have a family recipe book, but when we decided to open up the store last year, I stopped passing it out. Even though some people have a recipe, no one has the actual recipe we use. My mom doesn’t even know the changes I’ve made.”

While Jenny and Jeff remained tight lipped about their recipes, I did manage to wrangle one hint for sugar cookies out of her: cream cheese. This is the key to the tasty whipped frosting topping their cookies. She says,” We had people test all the flavors in butter cream and in cream cheese frosting. [The people testing] liked the cream cheese flavors hands down every time.” According to Jenny, it makes a smoother, richer frosting that balances the sugar cookie by toning down the sweet flavor with a whipped texture. So for all you frosting enthusiasts, try making yours with cream cheese.

The Secret Ingredient

By now you’re probably wondering how I’m going to share a secret ingredient with you if I didn’t even get a recipe. Well, the secret ingredient for The Sugar Cookie isn’t part of the recipe; rather it’s the incredible chemistry between Jenny and Jeff. Jeff openly admits that Jenny is the boss, but she confesses with a smile that they do an equal amount of work to make the business run. Jenny says, “It was hard to sell the cookies at first because I just like to bake. But it has been much better for our relationship now that we get something out of it. We have the best relationship of most anyone, and I think we like each other more now than we did when we met.”

So here it is, the true secret ingredient to the success of The Sugar Cookie: Go with the flow. Jenny and Jeff agree that business with a spouse works best if you evolve with the needs of the business. According to Jenny to find success in business you need to “Be more flexible” like the mom in the Disney movie The Incredibles. And they definitely put their advice into practice. For example, Jeff usually oversees the business side of the operation while Jenny bakes, but lately he has been getting more involved in the kitchen. As a matter of fact, while I interviewed them, he frosted some samples for me. Never cooked or baked a day in his life, and he was frosting away! They both take the opportunity to contribute what the business needs from them. Jenny says, “We’ve always supported each other in everything we’ve done.” The idea for The Sugar Cookie is no exception. People might be drawn into the shop for some tasty frosting and lighter than air sugar cookies, but the true success of The Sugar Cookie can be attributed the chemistry between the sweetheart owners who work side by side rolling out cookies in the kitchen.

To see deals offered by The Sugar Cookie check out the facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sugar-Cookie/136532366409867?ref=nf