the story behind my love for cookies & a view into my epic childhood

hello! happy monday. if you all were hit with the winter storm around the world, i hope you all are warm and cozy in your homes today! or, those who had school, good luck out there <3

**all photos are mine!**

here we go!

it all started with my family opening up a pizza shop in the western part of kansas — belleville — where my family moved back to about eleven years ago from texas, where my siblings & i were born. belleville is where my mom grew up, so in many ways, it already felt like home. my dad found a cheap home on an acre on the corner of the small town, very run-down, not cute in any way, but it had so much beautiful potential. boy, we truly underestimated how much work we would put into it. but is it worth it? i think so. we fixed up the house, little by little, turning the wreck into our little, cute wreck full of too much shiplap, character, and love. though we had to wash dishes outside sometimes, it was worth it haha!

before pizza was ever even an idea, my parents were creating beautiful pieces of furniture — mainly dining tables for families. goodness, they loved it so much. a dining table can truly mean so much to a big family. it’s where everyone comes together to share meals, laugh over good cake, drinks, stories — it’s where life happens. where the character is. where people live. and my parents were so good at working together, creating gorgeous tables with their own hands. i’ve always admired their work.

my siblings and i were always there, watching them in awe — sipping coffee at an early age and munching on cookies (of course), helping when we could, or at least trying, with our weak little arms haha. i adored our shop. at first, it was called the wood sanctuary, based on my parents’ furniture business. the pizza shop wasn’t quite an idea yet.

their love for creating started down in texas. they would make tables and redo furniture they found, turning it into something new and beautiful right there in our little driveway when we were toddlers. we did “orders” for families and worked on them there. the furniture never left, but then came coffee.

we all adored coffee — so, so much — and thought, why not get our own espresso machine for the furniture shop? so we did. my dad fell in love. truly. he perfected latte art, drank way too much coffee, and loved every second of it. looking back now, goodness… what a life we all had together. and still do.

we worked endlessly on the old building, basically rebuilding it in our own little way, as we did to the house! everything was wood. amazing furniture. concrete countertops where the espresso machine sat. handmade booths. epic wall art. and the twelve-foot raw wood slab table right in the middle <3 it was just awesome. and then, because my parents’ minds never stop moving… boom. the pizza idea.

there was no pizza in belleville. so, we made a little joint. handmade pizza. homemade fresh tomatoes turned into sauce by my little sister dylan, who was about five or six at the time. italian roots, straight from italy. homemade pizza dough perfected by my mom and my other sister, carly <3 — so good. we literally called a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint in sicily and asked if they would share their dough recipe with us. and they did. just like that, we had an italian dough recipe. fresh ingredients. new ideas no one had ever heard of. honey sriracha cream cheese pepperoni, anyone? #deliciouslyamazing.

we had a handmade forno bravo pizza oven shipped from san francisco — almost half the town’s strong men had to help unload it, along with a big tractor. and don’t forget grandpa ed’s u.s. flag from when he served in world war II, hanging proudly.i loved how much my dad loved it. i loved everything about the shop — the brick, the wood, the exterior, the warmth. i truly miss it.

i was in my early teenage years then, and honestly… some people handle that stage well. i didn’t. i wish i could go back and truly appreciate what i was blessed with — how well my family was doing, our little house, our safety, the stability that shop gave us. i appreciate it deeply now. i am truly thankful. and i always will be. if there is another shop, there will be things i do differently.

and now — onto my love for cookies.

all the girls in my family love baking. my mom has always been a tremendousssss cook, chef, baker — everything. and how, you ask? was she a professional chef in a big city? did her mom teach her everything? no. she learned it mostly on her own. there isn’t a morning, afternoon, or night that goes by without a good meal. that’s a gift she was truly blessed with. she taught my sisters and me how to bake at a young age, letting us help in the kitchen, and that’s where my love for cookie baking was formed. she herself adored creating new cookie recipes, and that love passed right down to me — especially when i started baking cookies for the pizza shop. i remember my sisters & i always wanted to bake. always. and still do! it's almost a problem. well, no, i don't see any problem in it actually haha. my sisters & mom will forever be my favorite people, especially to bake with.

i remember baking giant chocolate chip cookies all day before the evening rush. packaging them up. slapping people’s hands when they tried to eat them early (mostly the dough). keeping everything clean. prepping for the night. i miss it so much. my cookies were so popular, and i’ve always wondered why. it’s not like these people had never had a thick, gooey chocolate chip cookie before… right? maybe they loved where they came from. our little family-run pizza shop. familiar faces. love. kindness. hospitality. that’s what we — the collard family — created in that little town. a shop full of love, laughter, community, coffee, and good food. that’s what my parents built. how blessed we were to experience that and to serve others there for that time. to glorify the Lord with our gifts of hospitality! oh, how i miss it. maybe one day we’ll open another.

wow. writing this has nearly brought me to tears. but there you have it. that's how my love of cookies grew into something much more. so, i have been throwing out some hints here & there but...the cookie club is officially here. the first cookie recipe drops tonight, and i couldn't be more excited to bake alongside you! stay cozy. stay sweet. the cookie club is open!

many blessings, and may the Lord be with you all,

bylilyjohanna