Not just anyone could enter the kitchen. Tradition dictated that no sane adult would let you cook or bake in the kitchen until you were at least a teenager. My mother and her 4 sisters, our family’s master chefs, strictly enforced the law of the land. They busily worked away in the kitchen while my siblings, cousins and I played outside on lazy Marksville, Louisiana Sunday afternoons.

I was so excited when I finally had the chance to participate – it felt like a great honor had been bestowed. My mom and her sisters gathered together and I eagerly watched what unfolded. The matriarchs created an assembly line. One person made the dough. Another created the pie filling. Someone else filled the pies...

I was bursting with eagerness – but in my first role I was disappointed that I wasn’t allowed to do anything pertaining to actual baking. Given I had the best penmanship, I was tasked with rewriting a massive pile of recipe cards.

My mom and her sisters made every type of sweet imaginable - sweet potato pies, blackberry cobblers, oatmeal raisin cookies, German chocolate cakes…

All of the cards had become soiled from the tremendous amount of baking my family did. Funny enough, that is how I learned how to first bake. I memorized many of the recipes by heart.

My mother gradually trusted me to bake for the family. She taught me many tricks of the trade. Soon, I was creating cakes, pies and cookies of my own. Therefore each handmade Kessler Cookie is like a trip down memory lane – inspired by tastes from my mother’s kitchen.

Here's my mother's recipe for a family of 9 (yep, I said 9):

20 slices of bread

8 eggs, beaten

a pinch of salt

1/4 cup of sugar

1 cup of whole milk

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

butter for topping and syrup for topping

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with salt, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Pour into flat bottomed dish large enough to accommodate a few slices of the bread. Put bread slices into the dish to soak up some of the egg mixture, a few at a time. Turn with a spatula and let them soak on the other side, but not too long, or they will be too saturated and difficult to turn. Gently remove the soaked bread slices to the buttered baking sheet, and continue with the remaining bread slices. Spoon any remaining egg mixture over the slices.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large cast iron skillet (large enough for 4 - 5 slices at one time) over medium heat. Add 4 - 5 coated bread slices to the skillet. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes on each side. Reserve in warm oven until all bread is done.

I've FOUND this method gets me to the table at the same time as guest, unlike my mother: Heat oven to 400°. Butter two baking sheets liberally and place the coated bread slices on the sheets. Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven; bake for 15 to 20 minutes, turning after the first 10 minutes to brown on both sides. Serve immediately with melted butter and your favorite honey or syrup.

Serves 8 - 10.

In October of 2001, at the urging of my sisters, Wanda & Vicky, Michal (a/k/a Frankie) & I started the Kessler Cookie Company. Our company was sparked by our passion for baking. Michal & I both shared a family history of great bakers, exceptional cooks and a joy for entertaining family & friends. So it just seemed natural to transform baking into a business.