So to start I thought I would share some pretty cool facts about the state that I never knew…

• New Jersey is home of the most diners in the WORLD!!! I did not know that, I clearly need to check one of them out next time I venture too far on the PA turnpike.
• New Jersey has a state DINOSAUR… I did not even know that states had dinosaurs or even know how to pronounce half of them. Their state dinosaur is a hadrosaur. A fossil of that dinosaur was found in Haddonfield, NJ! I can’t wait to tell my first graders that this year during our fossil unit!
• And lastly, men are not allowed to knit during fishing season. Thank you Jersey for keeping a man’s priorities straight.

So look at that, Jersey is a pretty interesting state!

Bungalow Bowls – AHH I LOVE ACAI! This place was definitely booming but it was worth the wait. Their menu was incredible! Nothing is better than being hot at the beach with a frozen fruit meal in hand.​

Dot’s Pastry Shop – This place was so cute and their donuts were served hot and fresh! They are known for their crème filled donuts and they are SO GOOD! Its cash only so be prepared! 

 Salted chocolate chip cookie with M&M's and Johnson's famous popcorn!

This is the cookie’s name for a combination of reasons. The obvious one, Jersey and Johnson start with J. And second reason is J Wow was the name of one of the characters from the classic tv show, Jersey Shore. However, fun fact, only two of the Jersey Shore characters are actually from Jersey. 

Fun fact, Montana got its name from the Spanish word, Montãna, meaning mountainous! 

So last cookie that came from our road trip was for the state of Montana! I could honestly see myself living in Montana. I completely fell in love with its natural beauty! The first stop and place where we stayed was Bozeman, MT. After being in the car for 6+ hours as we drove from Wyoming, let’s just say I was a little hangry… So the night started off with a hunt for any type of food!

Toro: When we walked in we asked to see a menu and the hostess replied with it was taco Tuesday… I didn't need to see anything, she already had me at taco. Toro had an awesome atmosphere, it was open and trendy and the bartender that took care of us was extremely kind!  If you’re in town on a Tuesday I would definitely hit up their taco menu! 
Little did we know this was just the start of a long unexpectedly, fun night! After basically stealing the guy's next to me napkin we begin to start conversations with these two Bozeman natives. Dennis a man in his early seventies but still living in his prime and a helicopter pilot named Daniel.  We learned about their life adventures and what led them to the great state of Montana. There is such a beauty in learning about others and how they have chosen to live out their lives. So we moved on for the night and continued our conversations at Plonk. 

Plonk: This was a beautiful restaurant with awesome brick walls and an inviting atmosphere. I can't say anything about their food but their wine list was awesome. I would highly recommend checking this out if you're in town. This is sadly where our night end but hopefully one day returning to visit our friends at Dennis' farm for a cookout.  :) 
The Western: As any foodie, I LOVE breakfast! So I asked the locals and they said we need to check out The Western Cafe. I mean its titled "The last best cafe" and it lived up to its name!  They had AWESOME cinnamon rolls as they were served hot and fresh! The food was excellent and had a cute local vibe! Highly recommended for a good hearty breakfast. 

The world's first national park

Thanks to our new friends, we were able to navigate through the park without traffic and seeing the most wildlife! I even saw a moose which was one of my life goals!! 

We stopped at Big Sky... The place that says that they "offer the biggest skiing in America!"  Hopefully, one day I will make it back to snowboard the mountain ... Until then, this picture will have to do!

When I originally looked up the state dessert for Montana, it was a s'more. However, when I researched more... that was only because of the mountains and that people do lots of camping in the state. So I was not gonna settle for that as the reason behind my cookie so I decided to dig into the state a little more.  I heard that one of the best things to try in Montana is Wheat Montana's cinnamon rolls and huckleberries! 

- Wheat Montana: I tried both The Western Cafe and Wheat Montana cinnamon rolls and they were some of the best I've ever had! Which made my cookie base an easy decision.

- Huckleberries- They are all wild berries that grow wild in the Rocky Mountains. The berries have never been commercially grown so they have to be handpicked! I used Huckleberry haven's jam to make my glaze for the top of my cookie!

The cookie gets it's name from all the grizzlies that populate Montana especially in Yellowstone National Park. Also, the Grizzly is the mascot for University of Montana!!

Cinnamon Roll, White Chocolate, with a huckleberry glaze

This title could mean a handful of things for the state of Colorado. And yes, I know you’re thinking of that completely obvious one. However, Colorado is also known for having the highest mean altitude in all of the states. Also it is home of our Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs! 
I remember the first time that I ever went to Colorado was for a lacrosse tournament in Vail. Not only did we have to train differently and harder to be used to the elevation but I also thought it was amusing that all of our teammates bought shirts that said “I played lacrosse high… (And on the back) in the Rocky Mountains.” We thought we are so cool and definitely rocked them with pride all the way home to Pennsylvania. Oh how simplistic high school was. :) 

I now return to Colorado almost a decade or more later to visit one of my good childhood friends that lives in the capital of Colorado, Denver.

Moving on, once I landed in Denver, I was ready to explore! Denver is nicknamed as the mile high city. Since it’s elevation is 1 mile above sea level! This is how our cookie got its name. I completely fell in love Denver from it’s natural beauty to everything being walking accessible to it being so dog friendly! ​

GLUTEN FREE, Almond Butter, vanilla granola, chocolate chip cookie! 

Idaho got this nickname since most gemstones have been discovered in the state! It produces 72 types!! Think about that next time you put on your jewelry!

I only spent a short time in Idaho on our way to Bozeman, Montana but there was somethings I realized about Idaho.

1. IT IS SO GREEN! I have never been to a state that was so beautifully green. It was miles and miles of rolling hills. Roading tripping out West is a completely different experience then driving on 95 for 8 hours. This is probably because agriculture is an important roll in the state’s economy. And I know you are thinking about Potatoes and I will get there but Idaho is also known for their cattle and dairy products. They are actually known for their milk and cheese supply!

2. Their FRENCH FRIES are great! I mean that should be obvious. Idaho is commonly known as the potato state. It produces 1/3 of the nation’s potatoes. So clearly this needed to be included in our cookie as one of our main ingredients. ​

This is one of the potato farms we drove by

Since I was not able to stay long in IDAHO so I couldn't recommend many fun places, I thought I would leave you with some fun facts that I never knew before!
1. Their capital building is heated by geothermal water. Not only did I not know this but I did not know what geothermal water was..... it is heat that comes from directly from the Earth's Core!!!
2. If you are looking at a Idaho license plate, it will tell you where that person is from!!! 
​3. The first chairlift was used in Sun Valley! I think I would rethink the sport of snowboarding if I had to hike up the mountain every time.... 

I am excited to announce “The Spud” 

Not only did this cookie get it’s name from Idaho being the potato state but while driving through Idaho we stopped at the Spud Drive - In. This was the cutest outdoor movie theater with a giant potato as it's sign! If you are in Driggs, Idaho make sure to check it out!!

​I love when people ask me if I’m traveling for work or pleasure because I always answer with, “well this is a cookie business trip”. I could not think of a more exciting/delicious adventure. Well this trip was all made possible because my good friend let me be her co-pilot on her ACTUAL business trip. My trip to Wyoming started with a 6am plane ride to Denver then an 8 hour plus drive to reach Jackson, WY.
 
Side note – If you decide to road trip through WY make sure you stop at every available bathroom. You can go about 100 miles without a place to stop… let’s just say I learned this the hard way. 

​1st stop: Rock Spring, WY
 
This was not a plan stop on our journey, however, I was not prepared to go 8 hours without stopping to go to the bathroom. Let me start off with after this road trip I have not been to so many gas station bathroom before in my life and I’ve grown to have a new appreciation for them. So as an effort to not get altitude sickness, I was downing water so we had to make a pit stop in Rock Springs, WY. Rock Springs was the first town I have seen in MILES and it even had a Starbucks! #Basicgirlproblems We ended up finding the cutest brewery with extremely friendly staff. This place was called Bitter Creek Brewery, home of the beer named Bob. (Clearly I had to purchase a shirt with that saying on the back.) If you are ever traveling and need a stop make sure to stop at Bitter Creek and enjoy their awesome brews and DEFINITELY get the nachos.

1. The Rose - It is an awesome bar with their own specialty drinks. Make sure you try one of Wolfgang’s (our fabulous bartender) creative delicious drinks. They truly go above and beyond here on their presentation and taste.  
​

2. Picnic – They had the most amazing avocado toast I have ever tasted. I enjoyed this after attempting to run (like exercise) around town and sight see, however, the altitude got the best of me. I’m not a college athlete anymore, its okay to walk right? More importantly, If you are looking for a great place for coffee and food, I highly recommend it.

3rd Stop: Grand Tetons
​
Right outside Jackson, we stopped at the Grand Teton National Park where I made my friend partake in a “cookie photo shoot.” This surprising did not take that long since these mountains are truly breathtaking. Our cookie gets its name after this beautiful 55 mile long mountain range. Fun Fact -- The Grand Teton National park is the only national park with a commercial airport. If you ever get the chance to fly into it I can only imagine the views you would see! 

​​4th Stop: Cody, Wy
 
This was a small town on our way out of Yellowstone. This was a experience to say the least. This was the first time I ate, “Rocky Mountain Osyters”… let me just say my friend did not tell me what it was until I took a couple bites and then shortly after I lost my appetite. If you’re in the west it’s something you must try then look up what you are actually eating :)

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This is also when I started to gather my ingredients. I picked up some local honey, Bryant Honey, to drizzle on top of the cookie. It is a four-generation operation, which started in 1915, when the first 50 colonies of honey bees were brought to WY by railroad. Read more about their journey on their website!

5th Stop: Laramie, Wy
 
This was our last and final stop as our road trip came to a close. Laramie is where the gorgeous campus of University of Wyoming is located. This is when I decided that I was going to enroll as a cowgirl for the class of 2022. TOTALLY KIDDING, however, it was fun acting like we were their for summer orientation. And remembering what it was like to only have to worry about what was being served in the cafeteria or making sure you set three alarms so you can roll out of bed to get to class on time. Moving on, this is where our cookie got the rest of its ingredients. Their mascot was the cowboy, cowgirls or pokes. After doing some research, Wyoming is actually called the cowboy state so I decided to use the main ingredients of a cowboy cookie: coconut, pecans, and oatmeal. These were made for cowboys/soldiers back in day to help sustain them throughout the day. 

Lastly… a little fun fact The state of Wyoming is the largest producer of coal since 1988 giving the cookie its dark chocolate brown color. (to look like coal.. obviously)

After fully exploring the state of Wyoming,
 I am excited to announce
the“Grand Teton”
 
Dark Chocolate, Oatmeal, Pecan, coconut, chocolate chip cookie with a honey chocolate drizzle. 

"Taste the Feeling," why does that sound familiar to you? Well its because we have heard/seen this slogan on billboards, commercials, and in stores. It was one of the slogans of the famous Coca-cola. Why does this matter? Well fun fact, the first bottle of coca-cola was bottled in 1899 by 3 businessmen in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

So for my adventure to Tennessee, I decided to visit the capital of the state, Nashville. This place has become more significant to me as I have recently found out my sister and her family will be moving there this summer. So it seems like this is one of many trips that will take place this year. Nashville is not only known for its country music, live music, ELVIS, whiskey, but also it has become the hub for bachelor and bachelorette parties. And this is where my trip began.... Since I flew out on a Friday, my plane was not filled with one but THREE bachelorette parties, ready for their "NASH BASH" or "LAST BASH IN NASH." If you need any shirt ideas, let me know, I saw plenty.
I've been to Tennessee many times before but only once after college did I do the "broadway" scene. After graduating college, me and my sister road-tripped down the coast and back up through Nashville so we did all things tourist would do like visiting Broadway. This is a strip of bars and restaurants with cowboy boot shops (in case you forgot your boots and decided to buy a pair at 1 AM) located in downtown Nashville.

After my visits these were some of my favorite things about the state:

1. Mike's Ice Cream - this place has some of the best ice cream I've ever had. And i'm clearly a cookie person so unless its a chick-fil-a milkshake I don't normally "do" ice cream. I had to try the Tennessee Fudge since I was making the Tennessee state cookie. It was INCREDIBLE!!! 
2. Wild Horse - At this place you can do it all. There is TONS of space and levels so you don't feel crammed or crowded. There is a dance floor where they teach different dances to a variety of country songs. They have awesome live performers. And lastly, they have this legendary shot that called the "Jedi." It is no longer on the menu so if you visit there you need to ask for the creator, Bernie... your welcome and may the force be with you.
4. Colt's Candy: A Memphis native, Mackenzie Colt created, "Colts Chocolate, The Good Chocolate Company." Read more about her chocolate journey on her website. Hands down my favorite candy of hers was the truffle babies! They are filled with creamy peanut butter with an almond surrounded in pure milk chocolate. This inspired the peanut butter aspect and topping of the TN cookie. 
5. Jack Daniels: Tennessee is also known for the famous whiskey of Jack Daniels. This inspired the main ingredient of our cookie, Tennessee whiskey maple syrup. So amazingly good in our cookie, coffee, tea, and on top of pancakes. 

Here is a couple of the new things we learned on our Florida trip. 

1. There is tons of tolls! Believe it or not, Florida has the most toll roads and bridges. We learned this the hard way since we probably owe the rental car place lots of toll money since we did not realize basically every road is a toll road! We switched our GPS to avoid tolls and 10-15 minutes were added to each drive.
2. The Winn-Dixie is opened until 12:00am and has the nicest workers. Even though we were those costumers coming in a 11:50 and all loud because we haven't seen each other in months, they were still extremely nice and helpful! If you are in Orlando at Winn-Dixie, ask for Brian. (he's the best and knows thfe secrets of cracking a coconut)This is where I purchased the fresh Florida oranges and coconuts that inspired the Florida cookie. However, FL is largest producer for watermelon!  

After an extremely relaxing and exciting "business trip".. I'm excited to announce, ​

Research got real guys... I even went to the library to check out a Virginia history book. It was the just the right book for me, more pictures than words.  Let me remind  you I work at an elementary school ;) 

 So as many of you know VA's catchy state slogan is "Virginia is for lovers." It actually has a lot of history to how it become the state's saying. I'm sure many states could argue that there is lots to love about their state but sorry VA jumped on that in 1969. Their goal was to attract new tourist/young people to the state of Virginia. With the Beatles hit song, "All You Need is Love," love was all around in 1969. Their idea was to put, "Virginia is for __________ lovers"  and insert the tourist location. (mountain lovers, beach lovers, history lovers... etc) So that's how I laid out this post to highlight my time and ingredients of the state of Va. 

I think this picture really sums up my trip to Shenandoah and the activities that were done. So before I go on about my time in Shenandoah... I have to talk about  how it has beautiful scenery and one of the most gorgeous sunsets. But what led me there? Well it was the summer going into my senior year of college and we wanted to take a trip to celebrate our last year. We looked at pictures (you know those beautiful sunsets and mountains) and picked out this place from my parents blue green time share locations. So me and my college roommates planned a trip and head down to VA. Let me just say as newly 21 year olds it wasn't exactly our vision of OUR vacation. It consisted of watching the twilight series in our cabin, photo shoots (I know shocking this picture was totally staged) and tanning by the pool during the day. I think one day we splurged and went horse back riding.  Would I recommend it? Of course, it was so beautiful and peaceful, the perfect family vaca.. However, if you're in college... I would probably recommend more like Myrtle Beach... :) So with that being said, Virginia is definitely for cabin lovers!

I just LOVED learning about this. If anyone of you know me personally, I love Disney.. like LOVE it. It could be the elementary school teacher in me or it could just be the way my parents raised me. Well if you have seen the movie Pocahontas you can think of VIRGINIA! This is the place where Chief Powhatan (her dad) led his tribe. This is also where she defend her love John Smith. Believe it or not, she was only about 10 when she met John Smith so the love story is not actually true. However, I would love to believe in a love where you can talk to animals and get your guidance from a willow tree and someone still thinks you're sane. 

Yes, yes, I know that Washington D.C is not an official state in the United States but it is important to our country and home to about 700,000 American people so I figured it was cookie worthy. So why did I title my article "Cupcake with a capital C"? Well cupcakes are the signature dessert in D.C. and have many DELICIOUS shops around the city and it's also our nations capital. (I hope that's not a new fact you're learning from my blog)

So I bounced around from three elementary school while I was growing up so I actually never did the classic fifth grade field trip to our nation's capital. So me at 28 has never toured D.C. (besides the shopping outlets and inner harbor) which is kind of sad since I've grown up living so close! So my mission this weekend was to be a full-on tourist, see the cherry blossom trees, and visit as many cupcake shops in the city.

So to start off... let's talk about why there is cherry blossom trees in D.C. Once again, I am getting so awesome at trivia because I'm learning something new weekly! Well cherry blossom trees came as a gift from Japan in 1912 to represent the friendship between the two countries. I am excited because I was able to  plan my trip around the festival and seeing the trees in full bloom (which I've tried to do for years). Over 1.5 million people come to enjoy the trees during the prime weeks in April when they bloom. Because of these tree, cherries became the main ingredient for the D.C. cookie.

Now on to the cupcakes of the city which gave the cookie its unusual shape. I was on a mission to try as many cupcakes as possible and to clearly put on five pounds. 

I had to go to the Georgetown Cupcakes to see all the rave. I choose the "salted caramel chocolate chip."  If you want to learn about them and how they run take a look at their cup cake cam on TLC. 

You can thank my new friends that work at a coffee shop in National Harbor for proof reading this post. I know, shocking, me making new friends in a random city! Come check my boys out at Harbor Cafe! They make awesome coffee drinks and are very fun to get to know! 

1. The Rivalry 
 I just love the rivalry and passion everyone down here has for their teams! I like to view myself as Switzerland since I do own a shirt for all three teams.... (NC state, UNC and Duke) I mean if someone buys me clothing I'm not gonna say no. That's not the only rivalry they have in going on in NC. They also battle between BBQ sauce... vinager or tomato based sauce. People are also very passionate about their sauce choice. I personally like it all! If you have good pork, top it with whatever and I'll eat it!   

2. Beaches
Personally, I am more of a mountain/lake person. I enjoy fishing, nothing overpopulated, and just relaxing on a boat on the lake. That all changed when I visited the NC coast. Not only was my favorite tv show, "One Tree Hill" filmed in Wilmington but the beautiful and peaceful vibe their beaches have is something I never experienced before. Topsail Island became one of my favorite places to visit throughout my time in NC. Also during one of my trips to the North Carolina Aquarium, I had one of my FAVORITE donuts ever, the maple bacon glazed. After thinking back on this, my mind started rolling on my cookie flavor. 

2. THE FOOD/DRINKS
I am not gonna lie, my friend from my new school told me I could not move officially to North Carolina until I had Bojangles. So what did I do when I crossed the state line? I went to Bojangles and had my first cajun chicken deluxe, LARGE sweet tea and a boberry biscuit. Although, I do love me some Bojangles, I am talking about all the great food restaurants/bars all around the city. There are many gems all around Raleigh, that you need to experience if you are ever in town. The fact I wasn't 700 pounds when I left Raleigh was a miracle since me and my best friend decided #tasteraleigh and try new restaurants almost every weekend.

• The Pit (located in Bull City and Downtown Raleigh) This is authentic BBQ food served family style so you are left fully satisfied. This was also the place where I went on my first date when I moved into the city. 
• Crafty Beer Shop- This shop has an amazing selections of the best beers, international and national. They have a huge focus on all the great beer NC has to offer. It is a great atmosphere and amazing bar tenders. Kirk the owner is awesome and extremely personable with his costumers. 

• Flying Burrito - A place where you can get great tacos for just two dollars on Tuesday and ANYDAY after 10 while listening to live music Thursday - Sunday! This was definitely one of my favorite places to sit, enjoy salsa and chips and good company! :)
• Coglin's​ - I have to mention Coglin's... if you are going to go to downtown Raleigh late night, Coglin's should be your night ender. You can get your fix of 80's and 90's music while catching up on your "Save By the Bell" episodes. I mean what better place to practice your dirty dancing moves.
• This leads to the best late night foods: Tasty 8's for the best hotdogs and sweet potato fries and Armadillo Grill for awesome authentic tacos and guac!  These two places will solve your late night munches.

If you're ever in the Raleigh area check these places out! For more details, events and menus check out their websites by clicking on their names! :)

I remember my first month living in NC, I was in the grocery store and this stranger walked up to me and was like, "Hey! What are you making for dinner?" I honestly didn't know what to do.. I thought to myself.. excuse me, none of your business, go on now... Soon I learned that people are genuinely THAT nice. And I fell in LOVE with it and them! Now that I am back in the north I walking and talking to everyone (now I am THAT person and I'm totally okay with it!)

These people all had I huge impact in my life and helping me grow as a person. This is where people became family and helping me believe in my dreams of my cookie business. They taste tested more cookies then I could count and helped make my dreams a reality. I will forever cherish these people and your roles they had in my life.

Because of the strong passion for BBQ and pork in NC, I decided to go with bacon as the main ingredient in the cookie. Also every weekend we made pounds of bacon to feed our "friend family." So much bacon, that we sold the Walgreens next to my place out of bacon regularly. Also, It is topped with a maple BBQ glaze. I used BBQ sauce from one of my favorite places in Raleigh, The Pit.