Hello, Skratch Labs Cookie Mix!

Something big is happening today. It’s huge, actually. I don’t know where to begin telling you about it because I could tell you it’s all about cookies….but that wouldn’t be the entire story. 

Sometime earlier last spring (on a date, time and location that I can’t remember, during a powerful collaborative effort that I’ll never forget,) the Skratch Labs Team and I began having a passionate little affair with cookies and cookie bars. Our love did not go unrequited, or unnoticed, particularly by the hungry riders of the pro peloton who seemed to be able to smell cookies baking in our ovens from miles away. We realized quickly this was more than just a fling. There was something to the way the cookies made us feel. The way the cookies made the riders feel. The way they brightened their faces after long, brutal days on the bike, and the way our little souls would sing passing them over as our best offering of comfort and support. On paper, there were all sorts of things that “maybe” they should be eating. And they ate all those things too…but they WANTED to eat cookies. (As it turns out, professional cyclists dream about maple, pecans, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, raspberries, coconut, sea salt, butterscotch and bacon (!!) when they’re gritting their teeth and pushing beyond their boundaries. Isn’t that wild and fantastic?) And we’re sure there was something to that. 

The Cookie Lady

 

Before too many days out there ticked by, we were getting special requests from riders for the cookies of their dreams. We would gather the requests, cart all of my cookie baking equipment into a hotel room, and mix up the cookies right there. We’d pilfer and poach ovens wherever we could, and deliver cooled and wrapped cookies with a smile and a hug before the riders left the starting line. I don’t know what type of fancy diagnostic equipment can measure the performance increase based on morale alone…we just had cookies as a measure. But that was enough.

As we anticipated, our infatuation with cookies never died and when we got back home to Boulder Skratch sent me into the kitchen to start work on something I’ve wanted to share with you all since. Cookies. Not just any cookies – a magic cookie you could make at home that would be quick, fool-proof, friendly, personal, basically just as good as getting a big sweet hug from us as you’re running and riding up mountains, adventuring to the ends of the earth, or just trying to bake up something sweet and good for your family after a long day. And most importantly, better than eating a prepackaged energy bar. We wanted to be sure the nutritional content was as close to a pre-packaged bar as possible, that they weren’t too salty, or too sweet. We wanted to create a cookie that would give you permission to bake, and eat cookies. 

Skratch Labs Cookie Mix

Over the course of the year, there have been so many conversations had between my colleague and friend, Allen Lim, on why it’s so important and exciting for us to release cookies from Skratch to the world. He has a lot more to say about it here. I’m not an exercise scientist (yet!) but as an athlete + chef I can say this: there are so many factors that go into priming your body for performance. Dialed training, ample recovery, proper hydration and mindful nutrition – you’ve heard this schpeel before (I hope.) Too much (or too little) of any of these is a detriment. But if there isn’t any love tossed in there, you’re going to be running on empty.

This year, my hours in the kitchen revolved around cookies. And love. We have worked incredibly hard to get the love into the cookies, and working to get the love-packed cookies into the world. 

Today is that day. I’m so proud  – WE’RE so proud – to share Skratch Labs Cookie Mix with you – the first food product from Skratch. We’re so excited to see what you make of it in your hands, in your kitchens, as you strive to be your best selves. To all of those friends, family members and cookie fans (you know who you are!) who hung in there with me when I had flour in my hair and eyelashes, slurred my words, fell off the planet, let my email become an abyss, was waking up in the middle of the night to talk to the cookies and forgot to call you back, and who have just stood by me (and us) as we leapt into the unknown; thank you THANK YOU for understanding, for finding little ways to keep me sane, and for just being there. This could never have happened if you didn’t believe in us, and in the power of cookies! 

You’ll likely recognize the Cookie Lady with the wild hair and mismatched socks in this video, filmed on one of those days we were whipping up cookies in a hotel room:

 

You can buy Skratch Labs Cookie Mix here,  and I think you’ll recognize the Cookie Lady in these videos where you can learn a bit more on the Genesis of Cookie Mix, and how to make a few of our favorite recipes with the mix. 

So that’s it – you have permission to leave your pre-packaged energy bars at home, and eat cookies! -xoxo L