There is a single iconic picture that perfectly represents Bisousweet, me, the past and the future.

Snapped in 2014, it’s as if it was taken this morning.

The picture is striking in its simplicity.

A linen napkin marked with subtle stitching and fringe the platform for three linzer heart cookies.  Golden edges, ruby red jam, tender crumbs on the buttery cookie bottom.

I’ve been making this cookie since 1998 with only minor tweaks along the way. The first circa 2005 was its size, large to something more delicate & petite. The second shifted from store-bought jam to a brand I was able to purchase in larger quantities. The more recent changes were the result of our commitment to only use wholesome, clean ingredients.

Everything else remains the same as it was in the beginning.

We roll dough, punch out hearts by hand, outline each cookie with a hand-piped almond ‘shmoo’, fill the center with jam, and bake until golden. Every bag is packaged by hand and closed with a twist of ribbon.

The linzer hearts have been wedding favors, teacher gifts, care packages sent to college. They have been the center of many family discussions including one heated one where one of my children threatened to boycott Bisousweet should we ever stop making them.  It’s the cookie that was the center of our Hearts for Heroes campaign at the outset of Covid. It’s no surprise that it’s also our top selling cookie.

Our team currently makes 4,000 hearts a day.

A DAY.

The quantity is staggering.

The original copper cookie cutter, vintage Martha-by-mail, has been duplicated numerous times by this small copper cookie cutter company. Years ago, we worked with a metal fabricator to try to help us scale our single heart punching to something…more. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, and it sits on guard, holding my office door open.

As I sit and review the construction plans for the 20,000 square foot building that will one day this summer be the new home for Bisousweet, I can’t help but smile and dream about how many Linzer Hearts we will make once we settle into the new facility. 

What I know with certainty is that we will always, a l w a y s, make this darling.

It’s the heart of the company.