Times are good, and 1950s moms are hungry for pastries to serve their baby boomer families. Icky's Cookies fly off local grocery store shelves, and with each new variety, the neighborhood is filled with the enticing aroma of Saigon cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and molasses.
Soon, national grocery chains and distributors want to buy his product, too, and Icky thinks he's made it big in the commercial baked goods market. But just as he's ready to expand his bakery, an editorial in the local newspaper suggests cookie ""fumes"" could pose a danger to nearby Marcus Park.
Will all good things crumb to an end? Perhaps.
Baking Second Chances is a local-guy-bakes-good story about a faithful man who follows his call to reflect God's glory even when the world seems stacked against him--and family and friends who are willing to put their cookie-eating mouths where their hearts are.
Industry Reviews
“In Baking Second Chances, Ann Haut continues her husband’s family memoir which began with Listen to Your Bread. The author’s writing style brought back memories of stories told around my own family’s table, and just like a good slice of sourdough rye smeared with butter, I was unable to put down this book. Entertaining and poignant, Baking Second Chances is an engaging and nostalgic delight that satisfies with each turn of the page.”
—Martin J. Brunner, professor of culinary and pastry arts, Sandhills Community College
“Baking Second Chances throws open a welcoming door and invites you into the heart of a family by way of their journey from make-do lean-to bakeshop to the commercially successful Haut’s Cookie Shoppe. Haut takes her cues from Icky’s cookie creations, baking a narrative that is subtle, familial, and warm—a narrative in which hardship is overcome by grit and grace and a generous Christian faith provides sustenance throughout. A delicious read.”
— Crystal Hardin, author of Prophetic Preaching: The Hope or the Curse of the Church
“In Baking Second Chances, Icky Haut struggles to grow from a small-town cookie baker into the owner of a major business. But for him, baking is more than a job or even a profession; it is a calling, a vocation. As a Lutheran pastor and theologian, I am grateful that the author has woven throughout the narrative a well-grounded understanding of vocation. And as a reader who craves good stories, I sure enjoyed Ann Haut’s book. It’s great entertainment with a serious core.”
—Wolfgang D. Herz-Lane, Lord of Life Lutheran Church
“Baking Second Chances is a winsome, history-based story that transported me back to Olean, NY, where my mother Jean Bauer was involved with Icky’s Cookies in its formative years. I was barely in elementary school at that time, so until reading this book, I was unaware of the extent of her contributions. What I do remember is slipping into the kitchen with the son of the bakery’s owner to sample delicious sugar cookies as they cooled on tray racks. Thanks to author Ann Haut for filling in blank spots and stimulating warm memories of years gone by!”
—John A. Bauer, pastor emeritus, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church
