The Cookie Behind the Legend: What makes Sweet Martha's so good?

"I've never felt like I was in the cookie business.  I've always been in a feel good feeling business.  My job is to sell joy.  My job is to sell happiness.  My job is to sell an experience. "  --Debbi Fields

Mrs. Fields knew that cookies make people happy.  At the Minnesota State Fair, cookies are more than another snack; they are part of the quintessential State Fair experience.  

At its two locations, Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar sells over one million cookies every day of the Fair, head and shoulders above any other vendor.  Over the entire twelve days, Sweet Martha's takes in over two and a half million dollars on its only menu item:  chocolate chip cookies (plus milk to wash them down, of course).

Here's the thing:  I work at Sweet Martha's.  I will admit I've sampled a good number of cookies--and I've served thousands of them--so I know that not all batches of cookies are the same.  I know that some visitors have waited over an hour for these cookies.  Even so, everyone reaches the front of the line with a smile.  What is it about these cookies that makes these people so happy? 

Behind the Scenes

Maybe there's something in the batter.  To start out, here's a little background on the cookie-making setup.  Life for a cookie begins when it is mixed up in massive mixing bowls by one of a few "specialists" (we can't give the recipe to just anyone).  The enormous bowl is then wheeled over to a group of four employees working a mechanical dolloping machine.  They rapidly plunk the dough onto sheets, stack them on tall racks, and put the rack into an oven.  About 1,400 cookies fit onto a rack.  The scale is massive, but everything is made right in the booth.

After eleven minutes of bake time, the racks have a few minutes to cool before servers stack them into a bucket or cone for the happy customer.  Beyond the basic cookie-making-and-serving tasks, employees like me put baked cookies into pails (the cooler cookies form a base for the hot cookies so the whole thing doesn't form a globby mess), slap stickers onto the lids (so you know we sell frozen cookie dough), clean everything, water flowers, and run things between the two booths.  They certainly keep us busy!

The majority of workers are high school and college kids getting a little income before the school year picks up.  Like me.  The other main group of employees are fun-loving adults who love to chat with customers and other workers, making puns and just having a good time.  They're basically the cookie experts.  A few times a day the higher ups (like Martha--yes, she's a real person) come through to see how things are going.  

To get a job here, you have to have a reference who already works at Sweet Martha's.  That means that pretty much everyone knows one another, and if we don't, you are mixed around enough to meet the rest.  The whole establishment feels like a family--maybe the extra love helps!

On Your Side of the Counter

My favorite job is serving.  I love getting the chance to chat face-to-face with the customers, especially as I stack the cookies as high as I can--within reason, of course.  Little kids stand on tiptoe to get their chins onto the counter, staring at the cookies they've been waiting for, eyes getting wider and wider as the stack gets taller and taller...even grown-ups start laughing at the sheer volume of cookies they are about to receive.

That could be a big part of Sweet Martha's popularity.  You get a lot.  The take-home pail gives you about four dozen cookies.  At about 30¢ per cookie, that's the best deal at the booth.  The cones are trickier to balance, but you still get a lot of cookies for the price--a welcome abundance in a world of expensive fair food.  Plus the stacking process is another form of entertainment.

Perhaps people love the cookies because they are so hot and gooey.  Who doesn't love a gooey cookie?  Since they are all made on-site by real people, they feel every bit as homemade as the ones you snitched off the counter when your mom wasn't looking.  Except you can eat as much as you want.  Granted, batches are different, and they don't always have the same gooey center or abundance of chocolate chips; still, you get enough that the few cookies that are only good usually are accompanied by plenty that are great.  

The Cookie Experience

I think the real reason that Sweet Martha's makes people happy is simply that it does.  Fairgoers know the cookies are good.  Everyone talks about how good they are.  Many visitors stop by to finish their State Fair "bucket list" with a bucket of Sweet Martha's cookies, just like they have every year.  Others have been told, "You have to stop by Sweet Martha's!" and are joining in the tradition.

These cookies are unique in a world of pronto pups, cheese curds, and funnel cakes, but they are as much a tradition as the Great Minnesota Get Together itself.  The Fair just wouldn't be the Fair without a bucket of hot, gooey Sweet Martha's cookies.

More Info:

Quote found in Cookie:  A Love Story: Fun Facts, Delicious Stories, Fascinating History, Tasty Recipes, and More About Our Most Beloved Treat by Brette Sember.  Found on Google Books, accessed 8/30/2015.

AWESOME VIDEO: Travel Channel (2013).  "Sweet Martha's Cookies," Bizarre Foods America.  Accessed 8/30/2015.  http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/bizarre-foods/video/sweet-martha-s-cookies

See also http://www.sweetmarthas.com/

Photo Credits: Tony Webster (both from Sweet Martha's), Albertine Watson, and Editor At Large (Msc. cookie photos).  All photos from Wikimedia Commons.