Shoppers filled pastry boxes with cookies last year at the Community Cookie Walk. Photo provided by Ashley Chipps.

By MARY BETH SPALDING
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — If you’re a smart cookie, you’ll arrive early this year to the Community Cookie Walk because arriving too late carries one distinct risk: The only thing left might be crumbs.

Doors open at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Community Presbyterian Church, corner of Sixth and Jefferson streets, Rochester. The cookie sale runs until noon, but last year pickings were “slim” by 10:30 a.m. and everything was sold out by 11:30 a.m., said Ashley Chipps, who is the church’s mission and outreach coordinator that organizes the Cookie Walk.

“We were really happy with the turnout and the support we received from the community last year,” Chipps said.

Peppermint candy cane cookies were among the many types of holiday goodies available last year at the Community Cookie Walk. Photo provided by Ashley Chipps.

The church raised $1,010 and all proceeds were donated to the children’s backpack food program at Rochester Community Schools.

This year, the church will give its Cookie Walk money to the outreach program of United Ministries of Fulton County, which helps local families in need pay for rent, utilities and medicine.

The Rev. David Smook, president of the board for United Ministries, is already grateful for the expected financial gift.

Earlier in November, United Ministries, which relies strictly on donations, had to suspend accepting applications for outreach assistance because it had no money left for that program.

Between $2,000 and $3,000 in donations have come in since then, Smook said last week, but around $10,000 is the target amount needed to restart the program. Smook said the need for rent, utilities and medical assistance is great.

“I’m really glad the community is taking this seriously and trying to help out,” Smook said. Events like the Cookie Walk, he said, can be a “big help.”

Community Presbyterian held an annual Christmas cookie walk for 17 years before the event was put on hold for a few years. Last year it was revived, and community response was strong because of the hiatus, according to Chipps.

The Community Cookie Walk last year featured several tables like this one, laden with a variety of homemade Christmas cookies. Photo provided by Ashley Chipps.

Christmas cookies are sold for $8 per pound. People can choose a decorative holiday pastry box or a clear plastic box, which are provided, and visit cookie tables set up in the sanctuary. They can slip on plastic gloves, also provided, and fill their boxes with the cookies of their choosing.

Expect to find festive Christmas sugar cookies, twinkling with colored sugar and piped with icing, gingerbread men, peppermint candy cane cookies, Oreo truffles, buckeyes, snowballs and much more, including good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies.

Other goodies include fudge, peanut brittle, Chex mix, spiced pecans, Boston brown bread and chocolate-dipped pretzels.

The event offers some social time, too. In the Coffee & Cocoa Corner, people can sip a hot beverage, munch on free goodies and chitchat.

Church families donate all of the ingredients, labor and supplies for the Cookie Walk, Chipps said. Last year, a dozen church members each baked between six to eight dozen cookies.

That sounds like a lot, but they went fast.

“Some people like to make this a tradition,” Chipps said about the Cookie Walk. Last year, “We had people waiting at the door at 9 a.m.”