Blog: News, Tips and Cooking Ideas

The war is over! Peace declared at Bear Country Cookies. ...Oh, and other news too.

Written by Cori Goddard Monday, 02 August 2010 14:56

First things first, folks: The results of LEMON WAR 2010!

Last month there was a showdown at Bear Country Cookies between our classic Lemon cookie and the new Lemon cookie with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. The winner was to be hailed as the alpha-cookie and was to be featured on our menu permanently as such. However, throughout the month both cookies sold so well and so evenly that it was impossible for us to declare an out-right winner. Because of this (and the fact that we just plain love each of them!) a tie has been declared. We'll keep selling both Lemon cookies side-by-side from here on out. 

 Looks like they are getting along to me. 

 

In other news: New Cookie of the Month!

Our Cookie of the Month for August is a White Chocolate Cookie with Lime Buttercream Frosting! It is a perfect cookie to wind down the summer with, and we love it already! 

 

 Handmade with love. awwww.

 

 

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The Inspiration Behind our Name

Written by Elise Brehm Wednesday, 28 July 2010 10:44

Hey Folks! Elise here again, I thought I'd give you guys a little background information on Kodiak Island for those who aren't familiar with it and then turn it over to Joel to explain just how we got to be called Kodiak Cakes. 

Kodiak Island is an island off of the southern coast of Alaska, it is about 275 miles southwest of Anchorage and at 3,465 square miles it is the second largest island in the U.S. The majority of the island is part of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge which was established in 1941 in order to protect and conserve habitat for the wide array of wildlife in the area, including fox, otters, sea lions, salmon, many species of birds, and of course the Kodiak bear. The Kodiak bear, whose face can be found on the front of all our boxes of mix, is probably the most famous resident of Kodiak Island. They eat mainly salmon and berries and male Kodiak bears can grow to be 1500 pounds! This makes them the largest type of brown bear; you definitely do not want to get on the bad side of one of these guys. There are approximately 3500 Kodiak bears living on the Kodiak Archipelago, about one bear for every four people. While the bears live all across the beautiful green island, the majority of the people live in the city of Kodiak (where I will be staying) on the eastern side of the island. The city is a commercial fishing center and houses the largest operating base of the United States Coast Guard.

So now that you know a little more about Kodiak Island here's Joel to tell you how we came to be named Kodiak Cakes:

"People often ask us why we named our brand Kodiak Cakes, and then they point out that we aren't based in Alaska. I usually pause for a moment and ask, "Haven't you ever heard of Kodiak Island, Utah?" Then I get a confused look and quickly admit that it's a dumb joke. When my older brother Jon (founder of Baker Mills) was coming up with a name for the family pancake recipe, he wanted to create a brand that was wholesome, rugged, authentic and powerful. The brand needed to be representative of the Old West, when life was simpler and folks ate wholesome foods, and it need to fit our theme, which is about restoring the tradition of whole grain flapjacks to American tables. (By the way, if you've ever wondered what a flapjack is, it's a traditional pancake made with whole wheat and whole oats, often cooked by frontiersmen on an open fire.)

In his book, “The Story of Kodiak Cakes,” Jon mentions that he named it Kodiak Cakes because he always wanted to go on a fishing trip there, and still has yet to make the trip.  Same goes for me.  We’ve almost gone many times, and nearly went this year, but we just never get up there.  So Elise is beating us to the punch and will be experiencing our names’ sake first hand."

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Adventures in Kodiak!

Written by Elise Brehm Wednesday, 14 July 2010 13:06

Hello fellow lovers of Kodiak Cakes! Elise here, I'm the office manager around these parts but I'm taking over the blog for a bit with something a little different but hopefully fun. In a few weeks I have the awesome opportunity to visit a friend who is living in Kodiak Alaska this summer and since I do work for Kodiak Cakes and we happen to have the greatest customers in the world, I thought it would be down right rude not to share some of my adventures in the land and with the creatures that inspired our name.

So what do you guys think I should do while I'm there? Has anyone here been lucky enough to visit or even live in Kodiak, AK? Any tips for seeing, but not being eaten by a Kodiak bear? I'd love any ideas and input you feel like throwing my way! Fortunately I won't have to spend any time convincing the locals of how delicious Kodiak Cakes are, if this picture Claire sent me is any indication, they already know!

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LEMON WAR 2010!

Written by Cori Goddard Tuesday, 06 July 2010 12:02

Today the fight begins. 

Our classic Lemon cookie and our new Lemon cookie with Lemon Cream Cheese frosting go head-to-head. 

LEMON WAR 2010 (that's what I'm calling it) will take place during the entire month of July. The cookie that out-sells its combatant will be declared the winner and will take it's rightful place as a permanent flavor on our menu.

Please drop by the store this month and try them both. We'd love to hear which one YOU think should be declared the winner of LEMON WAR 2010!

 

IN THIS CORNER: The Classic, and Time-Honored Lemon Cookie

 

 AND Introducing The Upstart, Fresh-Faced New Guy: Lemon with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 Big Thanks to Mini's Cupcakes for the All-Natural, Handmade Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting!

 

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Bear Country Cookies has the BEST summer treat!

Written by Cori Goddard Wednesday, 09 June 2010 11:55

Cori here, Store Manager of Kodiak Cakes' Bear Country Cookies (located in the Gateway Mall, Salt Lake City) blogging today because I want to GUSH to you all about my most favorite summer-time treat in the world: our famous COOKIE SUNDAE! Words can't describe this incredibly amazing, gooey treat, so I took some pictures:

 

 

This is one of our Oatmeal Dark Chocolate cookies just out of the oven, cut up and served in a cup of vanilla frozen custard. mmmmmm.

 

Top with MORE FROZEN CUSTARD!

 

 Drizzle some chocolate syrup on top, and there you have it: The best summer-time treat ever. 

 

 

Some advice: Eat this baby right away! Don't let it sit for a minute or so (like I did) or you'll end up with a chocolate-y mess. 

 

 ...I devoured it anyway. 

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For the love of Cooking Cookies!

Written by Cameron Smith Friday, 23 April 2010 12:43

We had yet another blogger write about our mixes and this time it is about the Cookies! Fortheloveofcooking 

made our Bear Country Cookies and put her own spin on this recipe!

Here are some photos from her blog and her result.

Be sure to tell us as you find Kodiak Cakes on the web or in your stores.

The finished result! She added Semi-sweet chocolate chips and some White Chocolate Chips!

I think I know what I am going to make this weekend! 

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She Calls them Fiesta Flapjacks

Written by Cameron Smith Tuesday, 13 April 2010 12:07

We have a great relationship with Kath @ katheats.com. She recently sent us this blog entry she did with our mixes.

She called them Fiesta Flapjacks and let me tell you... They look devine!

These photos are all ones that Kath took and let us use here on our blog.

We would love to see what other creative ideas, recipes and pictures that you have.

Send to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The picture on the right is her adding all the ingredients.

 

The picture below is the flapjacks cooking on the frying pan... mmm good! 

 

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And the Winners are...

Written by Cameron Smith Thursday, 01 April 2010 14:24

Thank you everyone for your comments!

The contest is over as well as the month of March! We are not April Fooling when we say congratulations to 

1. Linnea

2. Michelle Tsao

3. Becca

4. Misty

We are sorry that everyone did not win the 6 month supplies, but congratulations to these 4 lucky winners!

If you will be sure to send me an email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your shipping address so we can get

your mixes to you.

Also here is another contest we will start, that will be won each Friday during the month of April. 

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Kodiak Cakes 1/2 Year Supply Giveaway!!!

Written by Cameron Smith Tuesday, 02 March 2010 16:17

4 Lucky people will be the winners of this 1/2 Year Supply Giveaway!

We are giving away four 1/2 year supplies of our Flapjack and Waffle mix.

To win this contest all you have to do is post a comment here on our blog about how you first discovered Kodiak Cakes. (If you don't first comment here you will not be eligible to win) Also be sure to include your name and email address so we can have a way to contact you if you win.

On top of this great Giveaway we will be offering a one time discount of 25% off any 3 Pack order! The Coupon Code to use for this discount is 3PACK 

You also have a chance to gain more entries into the contest and here is how you can do it...

1. Post an article on your blog about this contest and Kodiak Cakes (4 Extra Entries) Make another comment here with the link or URL to your blog. 

2. Follow us on twitter (801COOKIES) (1 Extra Entry). Make a comment on our blog with your username so we can see you're following us on Facebook.

3. Follow us on Facebook. (1 Extra Entry) Post here on our blog your name so we can check your following of us on Facebook. 

4. Write a comment on our Facebook wall, mention us in a tweet or link to us from your blog (1 Extra Entry). Make another comment here on our blog with the link to the wall post, tweet or blog.

5. Post a recipe that you have made using Kodiak Cakes mixes (4 Extra Entries). Enter the full recipe here on our blog.

6. Purchase a 6 Pack of any of our mixes or syrups (4 Extra Entries). Make yet another comment with your order number here on our blog.

7. Purchase a 12 Pack of any of our mixes or syrups (8 Extra Entires). Make another comment with your order number here on our blog.

8. Purchase 7 Fresh Cookies (3 Extra Entries). Make another comment with your order number here on our blog.

9. Purchase 16 Fresh Cookies (6 Extra Entries). Make another comment with your order number here on our blog.

So if you do all the bonus entries you will end up making a total of 10 comments here on our blog! This contest will run for the whole month of March! As you enter each comment we will keep a running track of all your entries on an Excel Spreadsheet.

We will select the winners randomly on April 1st using Random Line Picker.

If you have any question about the contest please feel free to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We would also like to provide all of you with a one time 25% off discount! This coupon can only be applied to 3 pack orders. The coupon code to use for this discount is 3PACK and we will run it from now until the end of March.

 

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10 Tips to Make the Perfect Cookies

Written by Joel Clark Friday, 19 February 2010 12:42

We recently opened our new retail store at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City called Bear Country Cookies.  We named after our new cookie mix. In fact, did you know that this cookie mix was based on a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe we created 9 years ago that you make with our Kodiak flapjack mix?  The recipe is still on our web-site so if you only have the flapjack mix but want to make Bear Country Cookies, click here.  People loved the cookies so much that we decided to create a mix out of it.  So with that introduction, let’s get down to business and get your cookie baking skills up to star quality.
 
1. Eighty-six the bad chocolate
In restaurant lingo, this means to take an item off of the menu.  Ok it’s pretty self-evident, so why are we even discussing this?  Because I’ve had way too many bad chocolate chip cookies made with terrible chocolate, and oh what a let-down it is.  Using good quality chocolate can make an average chocolate chip cookie taste a whole lot better.  In our Bear Country Cookie mix, and at our retail store, we use the best quality baking chocolate we can get our paws on.  

2. Don’t sweeten the pot  
Just a couple of days ago I bit into a cookie that was so sweet I couldn’t take another bite.  Most chocolate chip cookie recipes are too sweet.  Taking a little sugar out of the recipe (about 1/4 cup from the average recipe) can tone down the sweetness of the dough and draw more attention to the chocolate, which is what you want to do assuming you followed tip one.  Plus, a little less sugar helps the cookie stay puffy rather than spreading too much.
  
3. Butter them up
Especially cookies…use all butter for the best flavor.  Some argue that some shortening (or margarine) will give you a more consistent cookie that won’t spread as much but it is not necessary (and who cares about consistency when what we really care about is taste??). Plus hydrogenated fats aren’t good for you, are not all natural, and usually have trans fats and preservatives.  I can always tell when a cookie isn’t made with butter – not worth the calories.  Some all-butter cookie recipes ask you to refrigerate the dough.  We have a recipe with perfect proportions that doesn’t require refrigeration. Click here for the recipe.

4. Cold or hot – it’s not!
Make sure your butter is room temperature.  This is tricky because if it’s too cold, you may end up with chunks of butter in the dough that can cause your cookie to spread.  Leaving it out the night before is best.  If you are in a crunch and must soften it in the microwave, be careful not to melt it or soften it too much, which can cause your cookies to look like pancakes.  If this happens, you’ll need to refrigerate the dough for an hour.

5. Just beat it 
The butter, sugar, and eggs need to get creamed!  Don’t be afraid to really beat them up for two reasons: 1) if your butter is slightly too cold and you didn’t follow tip 4 very well, this will help get rid of any remaining butter chunks.  2) When the egg whites get whipped they start trapping air and this is where you get much of your leavening for the cookie.  

6. Lighten up
Ok so you beat it up, now lighten up.  Once you add the flour, stop mixing after it all looks combined.  Over mixing causes the gluten in the flour to turn sticky, changing the texture of the cookie, making them tougher.  

7. Crispy or crunchy?
There is a difference, and we like crispy not crunchy.  Crispy means you can still have a soft center, not a dried out hockey puck.  To accomplish crispy not crunchy, cook at a higher temperature for a shorter time. Some cookie recipes bake at 300 for 18-20 minutes – this will result in crunchy.  350 degrees for 8-10 is much better but 375 for 7-9 minutes is best.  You want a golden brown cookies that may seem a little underdone in the middle.  Don’t worry, they’ll set up.

8. Convection not convention
Ok we could have added this to tip 7 but we needed 10 tips. Bottom line: use convection if your oven has it.  Convection heat bakes the best cookies because it intensifies the crispy crunchy thing we were talking about in tip 7 by speeding the crisping process (because it bakes faster) but leaves the inside soft and gooey.  

9. Ban the bad pans!
Thicker cookie sheets bake better cookies because they allow for even and consistent heat.   Cheap thin cookie sheets can cause the cookie to burn or not bake evenly.  

10. Get out your grains
Guess what?  Keeping in line with Bear Country Cookies, many cookies are fantastic with whole grains.  Cookies such as pumpkin chocolate chip, apple spice, oatmeal, anything cinnamon, and molasses cookies are all great flavors that are fantastic made with whole grains while adding nutrition to a yummy treat.  

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Where you can find us...

Written by Cameron Smith Monday, 08 February 2010 15:21

We have many requests to make a link on our website that has locations of where our mixes can be found. We have answered your question in part by supplying you with this list that contains many of the grocery stores we are in...

If you don't see your store or state please comment to us and let us know what stores you would like us to be in...

We are working with Hy-Vee, Giant Food Stores, Winco Foods and Harris Teeter to name a few. If any of these stores are ones that you go to constantly we would love for you to either talk to the buyers or management about why they need Kodiak Cakes in their stores.

So without any further wait here is a basic list...

Northwest: Fred Meyer, QFC (Seattle Mainly), Safeway

Northern California: Safeway, Raley's, Nob Hill, Soon in Save Mart

Southern Californa: Von's, Pavillions, Ralph's, Albertson's

Utah/Idaho/Montana and some Wyoming: Dan's, Macey's Ream's Harmon's, Smith's, Albertson's  

Texas: Randall's, Tom Thumb, United Supermarkets, some Kroger Stores

Southeast: Some Publix stores in Flordia

East Coast: Shop-rite (New Jersey and some in New York)

Mid West (mainly Minnesota/Wisconsin): Coburns, Several Cub Foods, Rainbow Markets, Kawalski's 

Mid West: Minnesota/Wisconsin:  Coburns, several Cub Foods, Rainbow Markets, Kawalski’s

Chicago: Dominick's 

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What is your Favorite Type of Cookie

Written by Cameron Smith Friday, 05 February 2010 13:26

We have found from many people that visit our Retail store the Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie

is one of the top, but we want to know from you what your favorite type of Cookie is?

Mine was always chocolate chip until I tried a snickerdoodle at our retail store,

now I am not sure what my favorite is. So tell us what salivates your mouth

and makes you forget about your diet for that delicious cookie that nothing compares with.

This clip below is Joel making a Chocolate Chip Cookie.... MMMM Delicious! 

 

 

 

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In The News

Written by Cameron Smith Friday, 29 January 2010 09:59

Learn with Joel, how to make Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies with Kodiak Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix.

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What is in your Fridge?

Written by Cameron Smith Wednesday, 27 January 2010 15:57

We love to look at the blogs out there and expecially see what people have to say about our mixes.

As we were looking at various blogs we came across one of our favorite bloggers. She took this picture of her fridge a few weeks ago. As we were looking at the picture we noticed that she had our syrup!

She has also taken many great pictures of our pancakes and made them look even more delicious than they already are. One of the toppings she loves to put on them is Almond Butter, which sounds absolutly amazing. I have to admit I have never put Almond Butter on my pancakes, instead I always cake on the peanut butter, which is a personal favorite.

What do you have in your fridge?

Send us your pictures with our mixes or syrups in your fridge.

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Introducing...

Written by Cameron Smith Tuesday, 26 January 2010 16:08

After the weekend wait we have some very exciting news here at Baker Mills.

I know I said you would find out the surprise yesterday, but we needed to fix a few possible problems,

so without any further wait... We are proud to announce to all of you that we will be selling our Bear Country Cookies online!

We have had so many people in Salt Lake City tell us how much they love these cookies and we didn't want

to leave anyone out. These cookies are made at our retail store in Salt Lake City at the Gateway Mall. We will be offering

11 different flavors including our popular Bear Country Cookie Mix. This is also a left over picture of Joel in San Fransico at

the Fancy Foods Show.

 

 

 

You can see the new packaging we will have on our boxes soon...

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