OBAMA COOKIE SELLS BIG

Lorain – As the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama gets closer it seems that everything with the Obama name or image is selling like hotcakes – or in this case, like cookies.

Long time Amherst Baker Tim Kiedrowski of Kiedrowski’s Simply Delicious Bakery started selling campaign cookies during the general election. Kiedrowski gave his customers a choice of a Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin cookie – he said the Obama/Biden cookies out sold the McCain cookies hands down. The sale of Inauguration Cookies was the obvious next step. “This kind of reminds me of the Beetles or when Kennedy was elected – the people are excited, our customers are excited.”

Kiedrowski said that during the election he supported John McCain but now rallies behind Obama and wishes him well. “He said his plan is to put people back to work and for us in this situation he has been doing that. We started making the Obama Cookie about two weeks ago and the demand has been so high that I have had to hire extra help to keep up. We have been working around the clock to keep up with the demand.”

Within the last three days Kiedrowski said that local people who are going to be at the Inauguration have been in to pick up boxes of the special cookies. “Judge Mihok was in and bought a couple dozen to take with him and there was a high school student that bought a dozen to take with him to give to some of his friends that are in college there so that is nice to know our cookies will be in DC during the Inauguration.”

If you just walked in off the street late Sunday to buy an Obama Cookie, you would have been out of luck – Kiedrowski and his crew had just enough supplies to fill the 75 plus dozen orders. In just the last two days the bakery sold over 175 dozen Obama Cookies. “We have run out of the product that makes the edible photo that goes on top of the cookie and I have called all of the local suppliers and my friends in this area and nobody has anything for me. So tonight (Sunday) my son and I will be driving to Wisconsin to buy more so we can be stocked and ready for our customers on Tuesday morning.”


What is in the Obama Cookie you ask… It’s an English Shortbread Cookie with vanilla frosting and the picture is done on an editable sheet of frosting. For those of you donut freaks Kiedrowski’s did not forget about you – they have the Obama donut too. A round Bavarian Chocolate Cream donut with white icing so the photo stands out.

Kiedrowski’s has been in business since 1984, it was then that while working for Simply Delicious Bakery in Amherst that Kiedrowski had the opportunity to buy the shop from his boss. He kept the Bakery in the same location for 10 years before moving to the Heritage Plaza at 2267 Cooper Foster Park Road. He and his family have been selling fresh baked products from there ever since.

Kiedrowski is surly getting plenty of attention for the Obama Cookies and donuts – but his store’s claim to fame still remains The Paczki. That is pronounced Punch-Key by the way. Paczki Day is the feast of the plenty before the Lenten fast begins. On this day the traditional deep fried pastries are enjoyed throughout the world’s Polish communities. Paczki takes place on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. In 2008 Kiedrowski’s sold nearly 40,000 Paczkis over a three-day period. People were lined up in front of the store as early as 4am and Kiedrowski has had to hire a Police Officer to direct traffic near his parking lot off Cooper Foster.

This year the Paczki Ball is being held on Sunday, February 23rd at Deluca’s. For ticket information you can contact the bakery – but wait until after Tuesday, they’ll have their hands full then.

The Obama Cookie sells for a mere $1.25, Kiedrowski said that the cookie is priced higher because it is so labor intensive. “It’s a hand mixed dough, it’s a hand cut dough and then we back them. Then we ice them and then decorate each one, one at a time. So I have to pay people to do all of that, so it’s a very costly cookie – but as I have said, it’s worth every bite.”


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