With an eye to preserving an Old World tradition, Carol Jeske of Carol’s Handmade Cookies puts a sweet spin on a holiday custom.
As beautiful as her handmade German-style gingerbread and springerle cookies are to behold, Carol Jeske of San Antonio is quick to explain that her recipes and cookie molds have historical significance.
“In Switzerland, before people could read or write, they used gingerbread and springerle cookies to tell a story. Some of them even became political propaganda. If you wanted to send a message, you’d use a cookie.”
Often there was a self-help angle to the sweets, too.
“I’ve got a mold with men in a tree, like fruit. If you wanted a husband, you ate the cookie. Or, if you wanted to gain courage, then you ate a cookie with a lion on it. Cookies with numbers and letters were given to children to help them become smart. It’s crazy and wonderful at once.”
Jeske’s culinary passion is rooted in her own childhood.
“I grew up in a Swiss-German community in Wisconsin, a place so ‘old Swiss’ that people from Switzerland came on vacation to remember what life used to be like. I remember cookies made and served by the older ladies, but I never knew what they were called.”
Decades later, while running a bed and breakfast in Seguin, Jeske ran across a magazine story about cookie molds.
“I recognized them right away and thought they’d be wonderful to have at the B&B. So I started buying up all kinds of molds—wooden, wax, metal—and trying out recipes. My first one came from an antique shop. Later I started looking on Ebay and the German version of Ebay.”
Success in the kitchen, alas, didn’t come easily.
“The first ones were like hockey pucks,” she said with a laugh. “The recipes and ingredient lists look simple, but they are tricky to do, especially here in Texas with the heat and humidity.”
Jeske persevered, however, taking classes and connecting with other cookie fans online while she continued to expand her mold collection.
Over time she narrowed down which recipes worked best with which molds.
“Right now I have over 100 molds. I’m an antique-a-holic! One day my husband said ‘What are you going to do with those molds?’ What could I say to that?”
And thus a new business was born.
Jeske launched Carol’s Handmade Cookies in 2017. She said she does her baking at the Maestro Entrepreneur Center, an organization that helps women and minority entrepreneurs establish their businesses. She sells the cookies through her website and Facebook page. (Although she ships nationwide, Jeske said that her local Facebook fans have access to a wider selection of cookies and seasonal discounts.)
Folks in the Alamo City are taking notice of her work, too. This past fall Jeske attracted regional print and television media attention for her Halloween-themed goodies. More recently, her heart-shaped gingerbread cookies were a hit at Valentine’s Day.
Now, with Easter on the horizon, Jeske is tapping into Old World tradition yet again.
“Before the 1700s, I’d say 90 percent of the cookies told Bible stories. That includes some of the less popular ones as well as more familiar stories like the crucifixion. I’m planning to have a variety of spring-themed and Easter cookies, and of course I’m always open to special inquiries from local customers for other holidays or special events.”
Story by Pamela Price, founder of TheTexasWildflower.com. (Special thanks to Iris Gonzalez of StartUpsSanAntonio.com for introducing us to Carol’s company.)
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