February 2015

by Susan Budig By common consensus, a cookie is a small, round, flat, sweet baked product. But what if you’ve bitten into a cookie that’s square as a box? You might be tempted to exclaim, “This isn’t a cookie, it’s a heavenly hunk,” which is exactly what Ellen Redmond’s nephew said upon devouring one of Redmond’s homemade cookies.   Not only are the contours of the cookie unique, but its ingredients boost the bar-like cookie to another level of deliciousness. “The secret batter is the foundation for the cookie, but its shape is something different,” says Redmond. Its square shape holds in the moisture so that everything stays soft and chewy. Redmond and her nephew, Casey Webber, co-own Ella’s Heavenly Hunks and produce these biscuits in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For thirty years, Redmond kept her recipe hushhush. She made them for family gatherings where they were always popular. When Webber attended college, she’d stir up a batch and mail them to him. Her parcels