So like always lets start with some history on why I title the state of Alaska with, "Great Lands." Well Alaska's name came from the Eskimo word Alyeska which has the meaning of Great Lands. 

Well to start off, I did not have a normal trip to Alaska, I traveled by boat. And not just any boat.. the Mickey boat, as all my little cousins would call it. The boat where you are treated like royalty. I mean - gourmet food, chocolate on the pillow, animal towel art, broadway-like shows. I mean truly, they announce your name when you walk on to the boat like you're entering a royal ball. And let's be honest, I proudly waved my princess cupped hand (Just like I learned in Princess Diaries...). There is just something so amazing about waking up and everyone telling you to have a magical day.  Then you think to yourself heck ya I'm gonna treat myself today and get a 200 dollar hot stone massage, a Mickey latte, maybe go see a Disney movie MYSELF in the theater... hey I'm living my princess life to the fullest. 

So, as I pondered what ingredients I should use for my Alaska cookie, I reminisced about my trip around Alaska. I mean, my trip started with the most incredible experience but it has probably ruined fishing for me for the rest of my life. 

Let me start with our luggage was lost, so I currently only had the clothes I was wearing. So they give a speech that if you catch a really big fish and we can't pull it onto the boat, you have to get into the water with your fish for a picture. My direct quote to my mom was, "There is nothing getting me in that water." So this picture of me before the jurassic park animal decided to bite my line......

After 25 minutes of insane reeling and letting the line out.. MY WHALE of a fish broke water! I think our fishing guide was more excited then I was.. I thought this was a normal day on the river but apparently this fish was massive. At that moment, I didn't care if I smelled like fish for the rest of vacation, I was getting in the water and getting this fish. So finally, we were able to beach the fish, and it was worth the week of back pain. I reeled in a 10 foot, 500 pound sturgeon. Let me just say, I earned that royal treatment massage on the Mickey boat. 

So when we got off the boat at Alaska's 1st city, Ketchikan, we explored and walked about the city. We came across a store called, "Sam McGee's" which had tons of Alaskan souvenirs. They have one of the largest selection of "Made in Alaska" products. They had all kinds of products from candy, Ulu knives, wood products.. etc. They also had a GREAT selection of jams, which we bought and sampled back on the boat. So instead of using salmon in my Alaskan cookie, I decided to use one of their jams, Salmonberry. Salmonberry is a relative to the raspberry and found in parts of Alaska. 
If you would like to check out their jam selections or Sam's McGee's Store, here is the website! And if you're cruising around Alaska, make sure to add it to your stops! 

Then the next thing I thought about was dog sledding. Alaska's official state sport is Dog Sledding. So during our trip we stopped at a dog shedding kennel where they happen to have a litter of Alaskan Malamute puppies just born!!! I always wanted my own little Balto. (Hands down one of my favorite animated movies) Malamutes are the Alaskan state dog and for good reasons since they are hard working dogs. They were supposedly known to act like babysitters. I mean I don't have any kids yet but they sound just as reliable as care.com. :) With how cool this experience was... puppies also don't fit into the ingredient plan. 

So then I started thinking about all the awesome glaciers and beautiful scenery which had me thinking of ice cream. So if you didn't know the Baked Alaska is the state's dessert. Which includes cake and ice cream. However, when I went to research restaurants to contact... the best Baked Alaska is found in LA and most places don't have it on their menus. Even though, Alaska is in the name, it seemed stupid to make a dessert thats not easy to find.

Rice Crispy, oatmeal, coconut chocolate chip filled with salmonberry jam and chocolate

Alaska is the home of the Kodiak bear -- giving us the name BEARY instead of berry 

Thanks for reading and continuing to follow me throughout my journey to create a cookie for each state! 

If you have any ideas or places you want me to visit, email me! 
​I would love to add you to my adventure! 
​
xo 

Jessica Rose

I am not gonna lie, I played Trivia three times this week and I knew way more random facts since I started researching different states for this blog. So I would say my teammates are really thankful that I am contributing to more than just movie titles. 

So with that being said.. let's start with some history. 
Maryland nicknamed," Little America" and also known as the "Old Line State." Maryland got this name because it was regularly lined with troops who served in war. 

When I think of Maryland I think of two main things --
(besides the wonderful people I know that are from there ;))

lacrosse and Naval Academy

I spent many weekends growing up playing lacrosse tournaments and games in the state of Maryland. Lacrosse tournaments in Ocean City, MD were always the best. What more could you ask for... beach, tan, lax with some of your favorite people... maybe even throw in a night at seacrets to top the weekend off.  I can't remember a tournament when we didn't have to face M&D lax, which was always one of our hardest games. Which is probably why this fact is true about Maryland... In 2004, lacrosse became the official state sport. I mean I think it was about time since before 2004 jousting was the state's sport. Also what I gathered at lacrosse tournaments was that they LOVE their flag. I mean LOVE their flag. They had Maryland socks, lax sticks, pinnies, shorts (long boy shorts).. for some reason this look was the cool. And I am 100% guilty of it. 



 I also played a lacrosse tournament at United States Naval Academy. The academy was founded in Annapolis, Maryland in 1845. First and foremost, thank you all for your service but I can't say go navy, beat army... let's just say i'm a little biased. :) However, I did have the most hallmark date of my life in Annapolis. Yes, I know you all really read my blog for my embarrassing stories rather than the historical facts you could google yourself. So with out going into too many details, I went on a date with a graduated navy/marine pilot. We did it all... toured the academy, ate great food, did all things Maryland.. etc. Actually, it was just like a actual hallmark movie.. you know you watch this WHOLE 2 hour movie (30 minutes of commercials that make you cry) then they FINALLY kiss at the end and then the credits start running and you think WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM NOW?! That was kinda like my date.. it was this wonderful date, movie like kiss and then it was basically done after that.. but hey it was a great story.. and If you're reading this.. I hope you're doing well! :)
 
I could also say I remember the beaches from my senior week of high school but nothing about that week would be worth writing about. I mean getting my tragus pierced without my mom's permission would've been my highlight and most "rebel" thing I did.

​
So with those memories in the back of my mind...
I went back to Maryland to do a little more research for my ingredients/inspirations.

1 - Old Bay
It got it's name after the "old bay line," that is a line along the Chesapeake Bay. Clearly, we all know that Maryland is known for their crabs. However, something I did not know, Old Bay was made to put on crabs so people would spend more money on drinks at the bar. They had such a high quantity of crab they were giving them out for free so the salty seasoning encouraged customers to purchase more to drink. ​

We had lunch at a place called L.P. Steamers. It was SO unbelievably good and reasonably priced. I was able to get my Maryland fill of crab and Old Bay! :)
Make sure you stop and get your serving! 

3 - Dominio Sugar 
In 1922, the domino sugar refinery was built during the revolutionary war in Balitmore! If you walk by the domino factory it still has a smell of sugar! Trust me, I walked it! ;)
​

The Maryland cookie has been tasted and sample by a few people in Maryland. One of them is apart of a company BMORE around town. They organized social events for you to meet new people and experience more of the city! I was able to attend one of their St. Patrick's day events and had a blast! If you're looking for something to do, look it up! 

Thanks for reading and continuing to follow me throughout my journey to create a cookie for each state! 

If you have any ideas or places you want me to visit, email me! 
​I would love to add you to my adventure! 

xo 

Jessica Rose

A little history about Delaware is that it was the first state to ratify the Constitution in 1787 making it "the first state." 

So even though Delaware (without traffic) is about 35 minutes away from where I grew up, I knew very little about it. 

My Prior Knowledge of Delaware:

• It has no sales tax. AKA on Black Friday if we needed a big item we drove the extra 35 minutes to Delaware to purchase it. This is also a great place to take your monthly shopping trip to Costco where you can buy things you don't need and in bulk.. but hey, it's tax free... best 60 dollars spent... (well best 60 dollars my parents spent, let's be honest I use their membership.)
• They have soccer complexes. I remember having many soccer tournaments in Delaware at the Kirkwood complex. Not only did I play many games there but so did my sisters. Since I was the youngest, I was dragged to everything, you name it, games, fundraisers, team dinners... etc. So I remember being excited when they had a tournament there because they had a good snack bar and video games inside the complex. 
• Also, one of the girls I played lacrosse with at Messiah moved to Delaware after college.  She owns an awesome business. You know those projects you see on Pinterest or furniture pieces you can't seem to find anywhere? Well she designs and makes custom furniture to make it look like everything you've ever wanted! Check her stuff out on Facebook under Feather + Grain!
• And the last thing, is that my best friend works there. She works for a company in Wilmington in supply chain. I have no idea what that means but every time we go out she tells people that and they seem to understand what she is talking about. Our dads were officemates which made us become forced friends but it seems to have worked out well. :) Kels has been with me through it all and is probably the one you should thank for making my blog so grammatically correct, she is probably the one who proofread it. 

We've grown into ourselves nicely... well I have...
​ Kels has looked  the same since she was 7.

With that being said.. I needed to adventure to DE and research the state more! 

First, we went to Washington Street Ale House. They had GREAT FOOD AND DRINKS! It is a cute location in the middle of downtown Wilmington. Their happy hour is great and the service was wonderful!  They had a sign that said, "Why limit happy to an hour" but that was deceiving because their happy hour does end at 7.... :) but if you're in the area, CHECK IT OUT! 

Now on to the cookie...
"The Red Diamond"

Strawberry shortcake and white chocolate chip

​why the red diamond?

• Thanks to a second grade class, the lady bug is the state's bug... and lady bugs are red.
• Another nickname for Delaware is, "the diamond state," because Jefferson thought it was a "jewel"... giving us the second part of the name, diamond.. obviously.
• Delaware's state fruit is strawberries, making their signature dessert the strawberry shortcake.

I am definitely more of a chocolate person and not a fruit dessert person, but this has been tasted by many. Even DE natives, that happen to be lucky enough to be sitting at the bar during my awkward cookie photo shoot each, received free samples. Quote from one of the guys, "I didn't want to like this but it's incredible." I've only gotten great reviews about it and it's unique taste. 
​

Thanks for reading and continuing to follow me throughout my journey to create a cookie for each state! 

If you have any ideas or places you want me to visit, email me!
​I would love to add you to my adventure! 

xo 

Jessica Rose