CORPUS CHRISTI — It's been a season of adaption for Sugarbakers as customers have looked for new ways to shop and still support local.
Known for its sugar cookies, the bakery and restaurant is offering curbside pickup and individually packaged treats this holiday season says General Manager and Master Baker Meesha Graham.
"Sometimes I'm in the area and I DoorDash from here sometimes," says customer Joe Trejo.
The decorative cookies take all shaped including wreaths, stockings, deer and snowflakes to name a few.
According to the National Confections Association, chocolate and candy sales have gone up 5% and premium chocolates jumped more than 12% since the start of the pandemic.
Customer Danny Clark says, "the holiday season you take appreciation for stuff like that, homemade, scratch not everyone give's out their recipe."
Despite fewer people gathering for the holidays, festive treats are still making it to the table.
In fact, Master Baker Graham says this month shes made around 2,000 cookies.
"People have been wanting to have their cookies individually packaged and then set aside."
"And we make our dough from scratch, completely from start to finish the icing we do ourselves we mix the colors ourselves, we cut out everything ourselves," said Graham.
While cookie sales have stayed about level this year, adapting has helped the business keep some much needed sales especially after Sugarbakers had to close its dining room earlier in the pandemic, Graham says.
The baking doesn't end at Christmas with New Years only a week away, Master Baker Graham says she is coming in the day after Christmas to get started on a new batch. Specialty orders are also requested for people who want something nice for their families or a small event.
"We always get some pretty awesome request and specialty order so yeah I will get some things going for sure."
Master Baker Neesha Grahams cookie making process includes:
Step 1: Making the dough
Step 2: Rolling out dough
Step 3: Punch it
Step 4: Bake
Step 5: Let cookies cool
Graham says Suagrbakers uses a different method, the piping and flooding method
"Make the outline, letting that dry and then filling it with your icing and that has to sit for for a few hours before you can go back and start decorating on top of it which is the third and final step."
