Spring break!!!  This is coming to you from my parents’ couch in the house I grew up in, with the original baker, my mother.  You know, the recipe I use for the chocolate chip cookies is hers and I’ve sworn an oath to never reveal it to anyone or risk punishment of death.  Ask around, people have tried to get it out of me, but to no avail.  I swear, Mom.

It is so good to be home and taking a break from the city.  Everyone needs that now and then and I’ve come to look forward to Thursdays for just that.  Maybe not a break from the city exactly, but a break from the pace and sometimes stress of my “other” life.  This week I took my break at William Hallet on 30th Ave.  I came in, introduced myself, yada yada yada, and found myself in a brief conversation with one of the owners, George.  I told him the parameters of the project and that he had to recommend the place where I go next.  Usually I give the place a few days to decide but I knew that I’d be visiting home and unable to come back in before Thursday.   He thought about it. and thought about it, and thought about it, and finally said, “I got it, I know”.  Kristin, behind the bar, chimed in with, “Oh, is it that spa and salon?  Is it ____?  Maybe____?”  I could not have been more pleased and surprised by his answer – New York Center for Rehab and Nursing.  He went on to explain that they were somewhat like a hospice and act as a place for people to go when they have no place else to go.  His father was there in 2008 and the nurses were caring, kind and really good to his father and just the sort of place that deserves an act like this.   I love that he is using this opportunity to truly give back to the community, to his community to a cause and to a place that touched his life.  I’m really looking forward to my drop on Thursday.  I know that nurses in general are pretty hard workers and don’t have it easy, but I can only imagine what it must be like caring for the patients they surely have.  I’m hoping my cookies will be a bright spot in their day.

Now, I debated on even sharing this part, but it was too fun not to.  Also as part of this cookie week, I was commissioned to bake cookies for a birthday party for the lovely Miss Jenny.  Commissioned, you say??  But I thought you didn’t want anything from this project!  Now you’re selling them???  Ugh!  Ladies and gentleman, save your skepticism of my intentions and further intentions.  My goods are not for sale, per se, this doesn’t change anything about Single Girl Cookies, what it is and what it stands for.  And Jenny understood that perfectly when she approached me.  As a native New Yorker and an Astorian for 13 years, she understands the value of a neighborhood, and she saw this commission as an act of contribution to help keep what I’m doing going.  Which meant a lot to me, plus she gets to eat Single Girl Cookies.  It’s a win/win for all parties involved.  Now that we’re all cleared up on that, how about, YAY! somebody actually likes my cookies enough to buy them!  This is totally my Sally Fields moment, just bear with me.  They like me!  They really like me!  Ok, I’m done.  It was such a great experience,  I’d be open to opportunities like this in the future.  I’m still holding true to the original mission (One girl, one Mission, smiles, happiness, you get the point), spreading love and kindness, passing it on and I made a lot of new friends this weekend at her party.  Also, be on the lookout, lucky Astorians.  Part of the Single Girl Cookie experience is keeping the plate that the cookies came on with the intention of the recipient passing on the goodness by filling it with something else and giving it to someone else.  The plates are tagged, so keep an eye out – let’s see how far and wide we can make Single Girl reach!

Now the fun part – pictures!

The pay-it-forward plate

Beautiful almond buttercream icing

The treats I made for the birthday girl, it was a Jackie Robinson theme

 And the birthday girl herself enjoying a Single Girl Cookie!

I leave you now with a different perspective, one of the Single Girl, my writing companion, Cooper.

 

 

Copyright 2013, Renee Heitmann

Boy, have I got a lot to say today! Clear your schedules, cancel all your meetings, put down the General Hospital, cause it’s cookie time!

This week’s (and by this week, I really mean last week) drop spot was Pachanga Patterson. Have you been there? I’m sure most have, because I’m generally behind the eight ball with most things, but if you haven’t, stop reading this and go right now.

Are you back? Ok, good, let’s continue.

Do you remember last week how I mentioned a very generous guy named Joe came into Fatty’s and gave me a whole bunch of Ghiradelli chips to bake with? Well, holy crap, I will say without a doubt these were the best Heitmann cookies I have ever tasted. Ever. And for those of you that know me, know that’s a pretty big claim to make. They were larger than the ones I usually use so I thought it would be good if I chopped them up into smaller chunks. Brilliant idea on my part, that meant there were little flecks of chocolate floating around the rest of the dough making for an extra decadent and savory cookie.

Tell me that’s not the most beautiful cookie you’ve ever seen. I dare you.

I dropped them off at Pachanga Patterson, who was not actually open when I swung by (lesson #83762 – make sure the establishment you’re going to is actually open) but luckily they were having a meeting and I was able to speak with Leo, the owner. I started to explain who/what I was and he stopped me and said he already knew what it was all about – YES! Elation! I told him I’d be back to pick up my plate in a few days and sit down and have a meal when I do.

Because these cookies were so amazing, I wanted to spread ore cookie love around town and stopped by Singlecut after rehearsal that night. I had decided to spend my St. Patty’s Day there on Sunday, they were having a bluegrass band, good beer, that’s my kind of low key celebration. We got to talking and I said I’d take requests for goodies on Sunday, what do you want? Andrew had a genius (but glaringly obvious – how did I not think of this??) idea to bake something with their beer. David already had this genius idea already that night:

I was sent home with a growler of Eric “More Cowbell” Milk Stout and a promise of Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes for Sunday.

I could tell you the story of what happened on Saturday when Rulpsen, Singlecut’s good friend and mascot (he’s a fermenter, this is an interspecies relationship) came over to help me bake, or I could show you.

What you’re looking at is a chocolate cake with milk stout, a whiskey chocolate ganache filling and a Bailey’s Irish Cream buttercream frosting. If you want more details you’ll have to ask Rulpsen (twitter @Rulpsen). A true lady never reveals her secrets.

Sunday Funday was St. Patrick’s Day! Don’t you remember? If you can’t, that’s ok, I’m sure you’re not the only one. I headed to Pachanga Patterson to have some lunch, pick up my plate and drop off a few cupcakes before heading up to Singlecut.

I ordered a pretty standard pulled beef taco that was out of this world delicious and a not so standard Jameson margarita, also surprisingly yummy! I chatted with Leo for a bit and connected the dots that Vesta is a sister restaurant – I’ll have to head there right away as well. I also got a chance to speak with Michelle, the chef at PP, and to tell her just how many more tacos I think I could put away. Both Leo and Michelle were so complimentary and generous then in offering me the use of their kitchen if I needed in the future. We also talked about an exciting new venture for them, Van Alst, a catering company and some possibilities of a collaboration. Lots of good things coming out of Pachanga people! Leo also gave me the official word for who gets a visit tomorrow, William Hallet up on 30th Ave. Yet another place I’ve never really been but am really looking forward to visiting.

I headed up to Singlecut with my cupcakes where I learned the lesson of how small the world really is. Not only were the cupcakes a hit, but I had someone approach me and ask if I was Single Girl Cookies. If that weren’t awesome enough, it turns out I had given a cupcake to the husband of Judith from We Heart Astoria and she was putting the pieces together! How nice to put real people and faces to the avatars and personas of the cyber world we all live in. She’s lovely in person and I’m excited to announce that I will be a guest blogger on weheartastoria.com! We Heart Astoria is one of my fav go-to sites for what’s happening in the neighborhood from real people that really live here. They’re going to syndicate my posts and help spread the word about my kindness revolution! If that isn’t the best news I’ve heard in a long time, I don’t know what is 🙂

I feel like I’m probably leaving out so many things that happened in the Single Girl world this weekend, but I know this is already pretty long and if I remember anything big, I’ll let you know. For now, let me leave you with a small word of thanks. Many of you know my deep, deep love of Mumford and Sons and recognize the heading as modified lyrics to their song Below My Feet. That song keeps coming up in my Pandora, ITunes and Spotify radio and is one of my favorites from their newest album. It speaks to staying grounded and rooted in your purpose with faith and trust. To me, it relates to what I’m trying to do with Single Girl Cookies, learning about others, serving a higher purpose of kindness and charity with my gifts, and trusting that I’m on the right road. Thanks to all of you who believe in this as much as I do and especially to those who have lent their own gifts to the project, Shaun, Lisa at http://www.thrive-style.com, Mackenzi, Judith and Meg at weheartastoria.com, Jeanmarie Evelly @DNAinfo, Ryan at ryancmiller.com, Jeremy at jeremybales.com, @astoriahaiku, the team at Singlecut, my mom and dad, the team at Pachanga Patterson, @teamGREASE, @j-la. This whole thing is just proof of positive attracts positive. When you bring goodness to others, goodness will come back to you. Wishing you only good things until we meet again 🙂

 

Copyright 2013, Renee Heitmann

I had a few illuminating conversations last night, one that frustrated me, and another that reinforced what the first person said, much to my chagrin.  The topic: promotion.  My response: hell no.  We all have that friend on Facebook or that person that we follow on twitter that is really into self promotion, or everything they post says “please RT” or “like my page” or something equally as irritating.  And chances are we only follow them because of some real life entanglement or the rest of the content keeps us there.

Single Girl Cookies has now been happening for over two months and is starting to show signs of what it really is and take on it’s own life, much like a child around the age of two (speaking from nephew experience).  All of which is great and I’m loving every minute of it.  I still get to bake and deliver cookies and make people happy and life is good.  With this growth has also come some small amounts of notoriety, which is great; I figure the bigger this things is, the more people it can affect and the more change and kindness that can happen, right?  I find myself walking (or at least trying to) this thin line between feeding the project and promoting it.  I’d said from the very beginning that I want whatever happens with this to be organic and on it’s own.  If you create likeable content, people will like it. (Sorry, Jeremy, I stole that one)  I never want to be that annoying friend promoting their home business/show/spouse’s company/etc.  I also feel slightly awkward sending links to someone saying, “Hey! Check this out, look how awesome I am!”, because if you don’t know me personally, that’s how it could come across.  And those of you that do know me personally, know that’s not me.

But I do want this to grow.  It’s bigger than cookies, it’s bigger than me and I want to help it get there.  How do I get the message out and promote Single Girl Cookies the right way?  I like relying on my fans and have been telling people, “If you like it, do whatever you want with it, tell whoever, share whatever” and so far it’s yielded positive results.  What are good ways and avenues for me to share this while maintaining my humility?

All these people saying I should contact this person and that thing also (inevitably, now) come with the questions, “what do you want from this?” and “what’s the cause?”  The first one I know how to answer, I want people to be kinder, change the way they look at people in their world, etc.  But the second one is a bit trickier.  Usually it goes like this, “Uh, the kindness is the cause?”  palms up with me looking slightly bewildered when people can’t comprehend I’m not asking for money for something, be it myself or a charity.  And honestly, f there was a charity or some other monetary funded cause, I think it would feel easier for me to promote because then it wouldn’t be about me, it would be about something else.  Which it already is (kindness) but that seems to not be enough for some.  In a flattering light, it can be said that they are just seeing the potential for this and how much more could be done with it.  But I’m also mindful of stable and sustainable growth and would like this thing to be more than just a flash in the pan.  (metaphor for a relationship?)  This week alone i had a guy open up his wallet and try to hand me cash before he even knew what it was.  All he knew was people have causes, they cost money, how much do you want?  Uh….come again?  And last night another outline three different (and easy) ways this could become a charitable and money making for me venture to support my other goals and aspirations.  I don’t know what to do with that.  I could, and it would be fairly easy, but it seems wrong and not true to the spirit of Single Girl Cookies.

I guess all of this is to say HELP!  I don’t ask for help much and have  a stupid amount of pride when it comes to accepting it.  I have always taken care of things myself and take pride in being self sufficient.  I’ll even be that idiot walking down the street with 12 grocery bags because I can do it on my own.  I know, I’m dumb.  But as a woman, this is a very important to me.  So you know how hard this is when I admit to needing help.  I’d really love any feedback or advice or suggestions or anything you can think of.  How do I help this grow into the movement that it can become?   I think a good start would be for all of you to tell me how this has positively impacted your life.  Have you performed any acts of kindness as a result of Single Girl Cookies?  I know of two already and they warm my heart 🙂  That’s the whole point of this, right??

Drop me a line on twitter, facebook, or comment below.  Your feedback, promotion and help is greatly appreciated, and I am really looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say!

 

Copyright 2013, Renee Heitmann

So, I’m probably not supposed to publicize good news that hasn’t actually happened yet, but darn it, this is my blog and I will share what excites me!  Although I will save all specifics, names, dates, links, etc until they have actually happened.  Come on now, I wasn’t born yesterday.

Last week I was contacted by a photographer offering to do a cookie themed photoshoot, to which I did an excited dance in my apartment and then graciously accepted.  I had some ideas which (those of you that know me will undoubtedly agree) capture the chaos of life (me) while presenting a cool, calm and collected exterior (what I hope I pass as.   on a good day.).  I decided to incorporate my love of vintage and antiques and give it a Mad Men-esque vibe.  I met with the photographer this morning to talk details and he loved the idea too, so we’re just looking to get a date on the calendar.  Pictures coming soon!

Then as I was walking home tonight, I got an email that was a forward from my mother.  She had shared my project with a well known NY radio station that loved the idea and now wants to do a phone interview with me sometime this week!  Also the station name, channels and time to follow.

These might not sound like huge ‘breaking news’ to some people, but in my world, all this buzz for cookies, I’d say that’s pretty good 🙂

Oh, also, you guys know that Pachanga Patterson is my drop spot for this week and here’s the best part – they know I’m coming, they already know about the project, what it is and are excited for it!  Single Girl Cookies’ reputation has preceded her in the best way possible.  Could it be true that my days of being met with skepticism are coming to an end?

I shall leave you now with this picture of my Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes.

 

 

Copyright 2013, Renee Heitmann

That pretty much sums up my experience last night at Fatty’s Cafe and Crescent and Vine on Ditmars and Crescent.  I had such a great time and was crafting my blog post in my head last night as I was falling asleep, knowing full well I wouldn’t remember a word of it when I woke up.  But upon waking up, I’ve since decided a better title for this post would be “Holy Sh*t, My Life is Awesome”.  Why, you ask??

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130308/astoria/single-girl-cookies-shows-love-for-local-businesses-one-batch-at-time

Da dada DAAAAA!!!  Here is the exciting news I had mentioned earlier in the week.  On Tuesday I was contacted by Jeanmarie Evelly, reporter for DNAinfo.com.  She had heard about my project through the magic of the interwebs and wanted to get together to talk about it, take some cookies pictures, and write an article.  I, of course, was thrilled and squealed YES!, all the while leaping around my apartment.  The natural, organic process by which this came about says to me that yes, this one, small thing can do real good and maybe if more people know about it, more good will happen.  So, thanks to Jeamarie for being the first one to get it out there and crafting such a well written article and story.

Now back to last night.  In a word: warm, inviting, friendly, honest and real.  Oh, I’m sorry, was that more than one word?  Well, I can’t fit all the awesome of Fatty’s Cafe into just one word, so sue me.  As I walked in, I was surprised by a familiar face of Rodrigo, who I’ve gotten to know a little bit while he was working at TQK.  Funny thing is, I saw him just this weekend at The Strand and said, Hey!  It’s you!, not knowing I’d also run into him just days later in a completely unrelated manner and venue.  Reason #5697 why I love Astoria.

So after I said hi to him and explained the real reason why I was there, I sat down to have a bite to eat and enjoy the gently falling snow outside.  Also working there last night was Morgan, great girl who I hope makes her Jamaica plans soon.  And why do I know about those?  Cause that’s just the way Fatty’s rolls.  Customers are people, not just dollar signs, as further supported by my conversations with the owner, Fernando, later on that evening over wine next door.

I had the chicken pressed sandwich and a side of grilled asparagus, which is off the chain.  Not a phrase I say often, but seems appropriate at this moment.  I had finished up and a gentleman named Joe came in,we got to chatting and apparently he is a regular there.  Nice guy, does sketch comedy, outgoing personality, the whole bit.  Morgan gave him one of my cookies and he asked me what kind of chocolate I used.  I use plain old chocolate chips, usually store brand or Nestle.  He then said, “I work for Ghiradelli and have some sample chocolate in the car, hang on, I’ll go get some if you want.”  IF I want??  Oh brother, I always want good chocolate.  Which is how I ended up with these beauties.

60% Dark chocolate baking chips.  So a huge thank you to Joe and I’ve got enough chips for a few batches!

I popped in next door to say hi to Fernando and introduce myself when I was finished with my meal at Fatty’s.  I thought I’d just pop in and be in my way in 3 minutes, then maybe make my way up to Singlecut while I was in the neighborhood.  How would I know I’d be sharing bottles of wine with these guys (Fernando, Dan the bartender, and their friend Matt) and leaving at 12:30??  We talked about personal philosophies, business philosophies, backgrounds, life, stories were shared, and friends were made.  I found out that Fernando’s view on business was different than some other business owners I’ve encountered.  They’re not out to try and be “cool” or to make millions, or to dominate a market.  He just wants to contribute something back to the neighborhood, and that is reflected in every aspect of his businesses.  He said to me, “You didn’t have to bring us cookies to be our friend, for us to be sitting here, sharing wine and company, we do that anyway”, to which I replied, “But that’s exactly what makes me want to bring cookies and good will here, and why you deserve it”.  They are both definitely places I will go again and will look forward to going.

For those of you in NYC, be careful amidst the snow out there but don’t let it get you down.  I challenge everyone to find 3 positive things in their ‘everyday’ today.  I guarantee a brighter, happier day if you do that, and maybe you might just be the positive thing for someone else.

 

Copyright 2013, Renee Heitmann

What a fun, eventful, cookie-ful, positive-vibes-ful weekend I’ve had over here at Single Girl!  First of all, I cannot tell you how excited I am with the progress of this project and how well it continues to be received.  All y’all that are supporting, tweeting, FaceBooking and talking about this are making this the positive movement that it’s becoming.  So, thank you, I’m sure I will write something like this many more times in the future 🙂  Now onto the fun!

Cookie Thursday is rapidly becoming the highlight of my week, and as if that wasn’t enough awesomeness for one day, this week there was more – my cousin Brianna came to town!  I love this girl like a sister/bff.  She’s the greatest.  She happened to be in town to audition for my alma mater for grad school and make a weekend out of it and I was all too happy to show her the power of what a cookie can do.

If you remember, this week’s drop was Hell Gate Social  on Astoria Blvd over by the water.  Another place I had been meaning to try but never gotten around to.  If I’m being honest, my lack of going was out of sheer laziness, being that it’s so far away, but it is worth the drive!  Or, as the weather gets better, the bike.  (Omg, I canNOT wait to start biking again, and this is why:   Yes, that baby is mine, thanks Mom!)  But I digress.

I came in at about 10pm after a rather unusual (read: stressful) day and was very happy to be doing something that I knew would make me feel better.  I started to approach the bar at one end, but heard “Come down over here, I’ve been waiting for this all day!” YES!!!  I tweeted about it, word got around and they knew I was coming, and what it was all about!  You know when the Grinch’s heart grows three times it size?  That.

I officially met John, who manages the bar there, and it turns out he is the brother of someone I met at Sparrow.  He had a cookies last week and couldn’t wait for Thursday to come around for their turn.  I had a great time chatting with him and a patron Rebecca, and also another patron, Rene, who I guess teaches cooking classes out of his apartment and wants to buy my bread.  You really never know where life is going to take you.  There was also a hip hop showcase (who knew??) going on, and I gotta say, it was not too bad!  All and all, it was a fantastic experience, a great night and connection with Hell Gate Social and I’ll be back in on Tuesday to pick up my plate and get the official word on where I’m going next week.

While my cousin was here, I wanted to show her a good time and all my favorite Astoria places, and to us, that mainly revolves around food 🙂  So on Friday night I took her to Singlecut (among other places) to introduce her to the greatness of their beer and the people that work there.  We had a great evening with Amanda, Mike and Sam, although Sam informed us that he hadn’t had ANY of the cookies that I’d brought in over these past few months.  How is this possible??  Thanks to the couple of beers we had had and my excitement to get more people on the SGC Bandwagon, I promised Sam, “Don’t worry, we’ll be back in tomorrow and I’ll bring you guys some cookies!”    Also as a side note, I was recognized there as the cookie lady 🙂

Saturday came far too soon, as we spent quite an evening out at Strand after we left Singlecut.  As I thought about what cookies to make, I remembered Amanda mentioning that the general consensus regarding their favorite cookie of mine was the almond cookie.  Now, thus far in my Single Girl journeys, I have been pretty adamant about sticking to the secret family recipe for chocolate chip cookies when I make drops.  They are pretty beloved across the board, don’t have any nuts for those folks with allergies, and also the thing I have been making since I was probably 4 or 5.  I can whip up a batch while I practice my juggling.  But I have been known to have fun with a cut-out cookie recipe that my family makes generally only at Christmastime because I like the artistry of decoration.

Exhibit A – Hipster Cookies.

They are also my favorite cookie OF ALL TIME and I only make things I like.  That way when I “accidentally” break 3 (or 5) of them, nothing gets wasted.  So I decided to use a new cookie cutter I’d been wanting to break in and ended up with these:

TURTLES!

By the time I got done frosting them and then finishing up dinner (a homemade ricotta gnocchi with spicy sausage red sauce), we got to Singlecut pretty late, around 9:40ish and they’re only open ’til 11 on Saturdays.  Imagine another Grinch heart-swelling moment when the minute I walked in the door, Amanda double fist pumped the air and Sam said something like, “I was wondering if you were coming!  I was waiting!” 😀

Bri and I had a great time talking with Mike, Dave, and Eric and really enjoyed getting to know them for the people they are, not just the things they do for us.  We stayed until closing and went home happy and full, not just with food and drink, but with full hearts as well.

 

Copyright 2013, Renee Heitmann