Month: April, 2010

Enter Our Mothers Day Gift Competition!

Click here to enter our Mothers Day Competition and win a dozen smiley cookies a month for a whole year!

I remember celebrating mothers day as a child. Gifts usually took the form of macaroni paintings or plaster hand prints. As the years went by and I began to have some money at my disposal, mothers day gifts started to reflect that: A fancy toaster oven one year, pearl earrings the next. I thought I was doing great until I overheard her talking to a friend in June two years ago. She said that her favorite mother’s day gift of all was the macaroni painting I had made of us walking hand in hand when I was six. Since then she’s gotten nothing but hand made gifts which are apparently much more valuable to her than expensive toaster ovens.

Enter Your Favorite Mother’s Day Gift to Win a Dozen Cookies a Month for a WHOLE YEAR!

Moms out there, we would love to hear about your favorite gifts. In fact, we’d love to hear about it so much that we’re a competition for you. Here’s how it works:



  1. Click on this link to enter the best Mother’s Day gift you’ve ever received.
  2. On Wednesday, the 5th of May, we’ll pick the top ten finalists.
  3. From Wednesday till Saturday, our viewers will vote for what they think the best gift is.
  4. The winner will be announced on Saturday, May 8th.

The prize? Oh, it’s awesome: 1 dozen Smiley Cookies EVERY MONTH for a whole year. Delivered straight to your door, fresh from our bakery. And what’s more, you’ll get a special offer just for participating! Maybe we can’t make macaroni paintings for every mother out there, but we try our best.

Happy Mother’s Day and may the best gift win!

4 Comments by ckeffer on April 22, 2010
filed in Smiley Cookie

The Tax Man Cometh…

This post is another deviation from the normal cookie tradition post, because it’s not really about cookies.

It’s about taxes. (I know … ewwwww)

Tomorrow is Tax Day, and if any of you are like me, we’re frantically looking for that last W2 form and wondering why H&R Block can’t find a way to fit us in right under the wire. It’s hectic, it’s stressful, and it’s silly all at the same time.

I have some advice for you. Calm down. Eat a cookie. (I guess this post really is about cookies…somehow everything comes back to cookies.) But seriously, here are 5 reasons why eating a cookie will help you feel better about taxes.

  1. Did you know that sugar and carbs release serotonin which is the chemical in your body that makes you feel better? Comfort food is called comfort food for a reason: because it makes you feel better even when you’re stressed.
  2. Taking time out to do something frivolous (like eating cookies) will give you a chance to distance yourself from whatever frantic task you’re dealing with right now. It might even give your mind a chance to relax enough to remember that you stuck that W2 form in an envelope and put it on the mantle so you wouldn’t loose it.
  3. Tired? Need a burst of energy? One sugar high, coming up! Everyone always talks about how awful sugar is and how terrible calories are, but there are times when they totally come in handy. For instance, when you’re trying to stay awake after working on the most tedious task imaginable and it’s almost done…
  4. Cookies are a great distraction for children who have lost patience with their parent of choice who has no time for them at this very moment. Hide some cookies around the house and let those kids have a nice scavenger hunt. My mother used to do this for us, and though I don’t usually condone using sugary treats to bribe children, there are some times when it’s totally necessary.
  5. Reward yourself. You did it. It’s 12:01 AM and you’re just driving away from the post office box after checking 8 times to make sure that the envelopes all had stamps on them. Congratulate yourself on a job well done with a cookie that reflects the smile on your face. Then go to bed.

As a lover of all things cookie, I submit these reasons to you.  And what’s more, SmileyCookie.com is jumping on board. Even though we can’t do your taxes for you, we want to make you feel good anyway!  We’re offering a Tax Day discount of $10.49 for a dozen Smiley Cookies.  Just click here and cash in on your reduced price smiley cookies. Good luck everyone!

No Comments by ckeffer on April 14, 2010
filed in Community, Smiley Cookie

Mother’s Day Food Traditions

This post is not all about cookies. I know, it’s hard to believe. The thing is, even though I remember baking peanut butter bumble bee cookies for my mother and grandmothers, that tradition seems to be largely familial in origin. Historically, Mother’s Day is traditionally celebrated with cakes instead of cookies.

The Origin of Mother’s Day

In the United States, Mother’s Day was made an official holiday in 1914. It’s a floating holiday here in the States, always falling on the second Sunday of May. This tradition was adopted in many other countries in Europe including Germany, Greece, Latvia, Denmark and Finland. But the idea of Mother’s Day predates the official holiday by centuries.
The Greeks celebrated Rhea, the mother of the gods and the ancient Romans celebrated Cybele, the celebration of the goddess Cybele. Even today, Mother’s Day in different countries often matches up with more ancient versions of the celebration.

Food on Mother’s Day

No matter where Mother’s day is celebrated, there are several common themes. For that one day, children and fathers take over the jobs the mothers usually do, cooking meals and generally making mom’s life as easy as possible. These meals often have traditional elements.

Simnell Cake

Simnell Mothers Day Cake

Mothers Day Cake


This marzipan covered fruit cake is the traditional food gift in Britain from children to their mothers. It’s quite similar to the Christmas fruit cake. According to popular legend, Simon and his sister Nell wanted to make a cake for their mother. One wanted to bake it. The other wanted to broil it. They ended up doing both and bringing the cake to their mother.

French Bloom Cake

In France, Mother’s Day is not celebrated on the second Sunday of May, but instead is celebrated on the last Sunday of the month. A huge family dinner in honor of mother and a special cake decorated as a bouquet of flowers is traditional.

American Traditions

Making cookies is a lot easier than baking cakes. It may be for this reason that cookie baking and gifting is catching on in America, though it hasn’t quite overtaken breakfast in bed or the traditional dinner out. I still think that a plate of bumble bee peanut butter cookies from a 6-year-old is one of the best Mother’s Day gifts, but then again, I might be biased.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

No Comments by ckeffer on April 6, 2010
filed in Cookie Traditions Around the World, Cookies for Celebrations, Holiday Smiley Cookies, Smiley Cookie