Story and photos By Theresa-Marie Wilson~
Fans of cookies have a new reason to pour themselves an ice-cold glass of milk and enjoy homemade confections without even opening a bag of flour—they’re delivered right to the front door.
Gerry Alberry has been baking cookies for more than three decades and developed a fan club amongst his co-workers, friends and family members back in upstate NY.
“Years ago, I started cooking on my own,” said Gerry. “My mother was a good baker, and one day I decided to try to make a chocolate chip cookie. I did it, and everybody said, ‘Wow, those things are great.’ Then I started changing it up–I added peanut butter chips. Then I started making sugar cookies filled with raspberry. It kind of took off. Everybody loved it.”
Upon retiring from UPS after more than 30 years on the job, Gerry and his wife, Meg, moved to Grover Beach and decided to turn their love for great tasting, quality cookies into a business opportunity.
The couple, along with their eldest son, Ayden, successfully applied for a California Cottage Food Operators certification and their family-run, home-based business, Gerry’s Cookies, was born. Their soft, chewy cookies exist in a realm between homemade flavor and texture and professional baker expertise where every bite is like a memory of grandma’s house.
“I’m all for the soft and chewy cookie,” said Gerry, “I’ve never liked a crunchy cookie. Chocolate chip cookies are pretty basic, but it is how you make them, how you cook them, how you pull them out of the oven and how you cool them that makes a difference.”
Meg says her husband has the “magic touch for making cookies,” and truth be told, this writer agrees, and, thus, took home a bag for later.
The company’s slogan is Manmade with Love.
“When people ask us what is so special about our cookies,” Meg said, “I always say, it’s like the old-fashioned cookies like grandma used to make, but now dad is. They are not the gourmet 95% coco, wheat flower and all this new-fangled stuff; they’re just an old-fashioned cookie that is just delicious.”
The company offers a selection of eight cookies—the chocolate and peanut butter chip and traditional chocolate chip are the best selling of the bunch, but the chocolate chip macadamia nut is gaining a big following among local cookie monsters.
“We are constantly evolving,” said Meg adding that good tasting, glutton-free cookies on the way.
The threesome sets up an assembly line type operation in the passive solar energy home they rent where up to 2,000 cookies have been made for just one event in the standard size oven. Gerry handles the mixing, Ayden jumps in to help with the scooping and Meg packages the product in food safe, eco-friendly, sealed plastic bags.
At the end of the day, even they can’t stop eating Gerry’s Cookies.
“I came down here [from San Francisco] being dairy free and glutton free very strictly for about a year,” said Ayden. “I wasn’t a sweets person, but now I feel like I am sneaking them. Last night, I came down for a midnight snack, and I had two cookies.”
Chances are he will run into his mother on the next snack attack.
“I was going to have one, but I thought it was too late,” Meg said.
As for the future, Gerry’s Cookies hopes to introduce wine and beer pairings with their cookies. Ultimately, opening a storefront location would be just fine in their mind too.
“Our long-term dream is having our storefront where we not only have our cookies, but we also have tea and coffee,” Ayden said. “I do art and jewelry, so we kind of want to have a fun place.”
So, how do the California transplants enjoy their new hometown after being here a little more than six months?
“The minute we got here, everyone has been so wonderful,” said Meg. “They are so helpful and friendly. I feel like this is where I should have been my whole life.”
Look for Gerry’s Cookies at festivals and events, such as the Sizzlin’ Summer Concert Series in Grover Beach, or order them online directly. For prices, cookie selection, and more, visit www.gerryscookies.com or call Ayden at 805-270-5857.
