Shannon Murphy of Littleton grew up cooking in her mother’s
kitchen in, so her year-old enterprise, Chunka Munka Cookie
Company, is a somewhat natural follow-up. “My mom was an amazing
creator in the kitchen,” she recalls, emphasizing how much she
loves the creative aspect of her business.
And, for the past six years, she’d been baking cookies every
Friday afternoon for her own brood of four, and then there was a
day when she wanted cookies, but saddened by a personal loss,
didn’t feel like cooking. The idea for her business developed out
of that time.
The Cookie Genius, as she’s called, develops new recipes by the
trial and error method and bakes in a commercial restaurant
kitchen, she says. Each cookie weighs four ounces, measured with a
scoop. The large ovens allow her to bake several batches at one
time, although she only bakes when she has orders, so her cookies
are always fresh. Usually, she can fill an order within a couple of
days — she bakes daily to order— and she delivers in the south
suburban area and as far as downtown Denver.
Beyond that, she ships via Priority Mail, so they arrive fresh.
All packing and shipping of the individually-wrapped goodies is
done in the commercial kitchen. “If I have cookies around the
house, the kids will eat them!”
Her personal favorite flavor, of the 31 she makes, depends on
the time of day and what sort of day it is, she says.
Blueberry/oatmeal— “Oata-Sing-Da Munka Blues” is its name— is good
for breakfast, while some chocolate variation, perhaps “Soffee
Loffee Coffee Toffee,” (Coffee Toffee Chocolate Chunk) appeals in
the evening.
She describes a good cookie as “a party in your mouth that hits
all the taste buds in the right place.” Texture is important, and
is aided in some recipes with the addition of instant vanilla
pudding mix. Baking is a scientific process, made a bit more
challenging by high altitude and it usually takes several tries
with a new recipe before she is satisfied with the results.
Of course, she makes the standards too: peanut butter (Nuts-o
Fast Mister Munka) and sugar (Unadorned Chunka Munka Bliss) and
chocolate chip, pumpkin, molasses…
But one has to consider: “Granny is a-Chillin” (Apple Pie al la
mode) and “Just Like Bogie and Bacall” (Key Lime), when
contemplating a gift order. (I’m already thinking of Valentines for
the college grandchildren).
One also has to consider how much fun the Cookie Genius had
making up all these wacky monikers!
See her Web site for specifics on prices and packaging, chunkamunkacookies.com.
