95th annual We Energies Cookie Book now available; this year’s theme honors local first responders

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It’s been nearly a century of tradition and it’s still going strong; the 95th annual We Energies 2023 Cookie Book is now available to the public. This year’s theme celebrates local first responders with 36 recipes from the Milwaukee heroes themselves.

The book was first created in 1928.

“It got started when We Energies was a young company and we were selling electric appliances and this was back when electric was brand new for folks, so we would be teaching our customers how to use electric appliances, and what better way to do that than to teach them how to bake some cookies?” said We Energies spokesperson Amy Jahns. “We’ve heard many stories that grandmothers, great-grandmothers, grandfathers, and now sons and daughters are baking from this book, and they’ve been doing it since the early 40s or the 50s or the 60s.”

To kick off the holiday season and get the community excited about the delicious treats, We Energies held its first-ever taste off with members of Milwaukee’s media and local police and firefighters.

“Every year when we are trying to pick out our cookies for our Cookie Book, We Energies employees get to taste test the cookies that come in and I think that we’ve thought many times, how can we get people involved in this outside of We Energies so this was a perfect way to do that,” said We Energies Spokesperson Amy Jahns.

Included in the tasting was CBS 58’s very own Chief Meteorologist Drew Burgoyne!

Tasters formed teams and were tasked with guessing the ingredients of two cookies and guessing which ingredients *weren’t* included in another.

“We look at the taste, we look at the texture, how they look,” Jahns said. "We want to make sure that there’s great varieties of cookies in each year’s book.”

After several tough rounds, Burgoyne’s team tied with another for first place.

“To be able to tie for first place, I’m elated!” said Burgoyne, who may have a new career in cookie taste-testing. “I don’t do any baking but I used to play with my food as a child and so I just got in there, ripped it apart, played with it, and I think the strategy worked.”

Judges included Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski and Milwaukee Police Department Assistant Chief Nicole Waldner.

“My two favorite things, judging people and food,” Lipski laughingly told CBS 58.

“Well, I’m super excited since I have a detective whose recipe made the book!” Waldner added. “So that’s really exciting so that when I do pick up my book, that’s the first one I’m gonna have my kids make.”

For both, this year’s theme meant a lot.

“The first responders are going to be working 24 hours a day all through the full holiday season coming up and maybe what this book will remind folks who are lucky enough to get their hands on one of is, that you know while they’re celebrating with their families, we’re going to have loads and loads of firefighters and paramedics and police officers out keeping the city and state safe,” Lipski said.

Besides the 36 delicious recipes for humans, there are also two included for dog biscuits for the first-time.

Last year, 220,000 books were distributed. You can get it online for free here.