A baking sheet of sugar-cookie dough balanced on a tub of sprinkles, some freshly rolled-out dough on the counter, dozens of cookies cooling on racks, while a double-boiler filled with melted chocolate bubbles on the stovetop.
It’s Christmas season at the Sutherland house.
‘This is when it gets tricky, but we manage,? said Emily Sutherland, sharing scarce counter and oven space with her daughter, Jennifer Sutherland, at their Independence Township home. ‘We always say, someday we’d like to have a nice, big kitchen.?
Baking cookies, chocolates, and other treats for family, friends, and neighbors has been a family tradition for years. The oldest of eight children, she learned to bake when she was young and was in charge of making cookies.
‘I’ve always liked to bake,? Emily said. ‘I carried on the tradition with my girls.?
Since last year, the tradition has taken on new meaning.
‘Last year, we turned it into a charity event,? Emily said. ‘We began a new tradition ? baking cookies and making chocolates and hard rock stained glass candy to benefit the work of ESTHERS Children.?
She founded ESTHERS in 2006, after a mission trip to Brazil during which she helped homeless children.
‘The children are living in the street, young moms with babies,? Emily said. ‘I couldn’t get it out of my mind. God put it in my heart to do something to help those girls.?
The group started by sponsoring four girls in Brazil. They now help 11 girls.
Our goal is to help them graduate from high school,? Emily said. ‘That’s the key to the future.?
The charity relies on private donations, receiving no church, corporate, or government funding. Fundraisers include wine tastings, garage sales, spa days, teas, dinner auctions, golf outings, and the cookie sale.
‘We’re always doing something,? she said.
Christmas Cookies and Chocolates for Charity is a family enterprise, also including her husband, Michael, their other daughter Tina Bowman, her husband, Mark Bowman, and their grandson, Tyler Bowman.
The kitchen is filled with 80 pounds of butter, 100 pounds each of flour and sugar in 25-pound bags, chocolate chips and powdered sugar in 4 1/2-pound bags. Emily and Jennifer will bake for about 12 hours a day until Christmas.
Cookies include date nut, magic bars, turtles, raspberry almond, shortbread, cream cheese sugar cookies, coconut almond thumbprints, spritz, Santa’s whiskers, orange slice, peanut butter kiss, butter balls, nut cups, cranberry bliss, gingerbread, and Portuguese lemon.
Chocolates include caramel pecan turtles, chocolate-covered pretzel rods, peanut butter cups, chocolate-covered Oreos, mint-chocolate covered crackers, molded chocolates, buckeyes, peppermint bark, and English toffee. Their hard rock stained glass candy comes in a variety of flavors.
‘It’s fun, but it’s a lot of work,? Jennifer said. ‘People tell us we have the best cookies they’ve ever had.?
Jennifer, a journalist, also works to spread information about the plight of ‘street children? worldwide.
‘If people knew the real story, they’d be more motivated to help them,? she said. ‘They need even simple things, the basics, a bed to sleep in, food to eat. They have literally nothing. We’re doing what we can to help them.?
ESTHERS stands for Equipping children with skills; Strengthening children in personal identity; Training; Healing; Educating; Restoring children physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and socially; and Sending children back out into society equipped with education, skills and tools.
A platter of eight dozen cookies is $50. Chocolate platter is $40, and a pint of candy is $10. All proceeds benefit ESTHERS.
For more information or to order, call Emily Sutherland at 248-202-5910, or e-mail esthers.children@gmail.com. To order, include name, address, email, phone, and delivery date, between Dec. 17-21.
They ship out-of-state orders, but locally, within about 50 miles, they make deliveries themselves. To help by donating cookie ingredients, contact Jennifer Sutherland at jenn.sutherland@gmail.com, or 616-304-0394.