Finding passion and fortune in her cookies

Lisa’s Kitchen Sink Cookies to be featured on Rachael Ray show Warwick — Lisa Ciriello is living her dream. A former New York City commuter, she traded in her job in midtown Manhattan a few years ago to pursue her passion — cookies. While Lisa’s Cookie Shop cookies are pretty well-known here in Warwick, it was a visitor from Manhattan who tasted her cookies that may send Ciriello’s cookie making to a place even she didn’t imagine. “One of Rachael Ray’s producers gave me a call,” said Ciriello. “Someone from the show came to Warwick and loved the Kitchen Sink cookie. They asked me if they could feature them as the snack of the day on her show.” Rachael Ray hosts a syndicated morning talk show which centers around cooking. She has published a series of cookbooks featuring 30-minute meals and became nationally known from her cooking segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Ciriello started Lisa’s Cookie Shop three and a half years ago, run out of her house here in Warwick. She and her husband, Tom, moved to Warwick four years ago. She had been commuting to Manhattan for years but felt disconnected from the community. “I worked for a leverage buyout firm at the time in midtown Manhattan,” said Ciriello. “I had many jobs but there was no passion or excitement in any of them. So I decided to do what I love.” And that is bake cookies. Ciriello, who has “baked forever” for pleasure, got a home processing license and started baking out of her Warwick kitchen. She credits one of her aunts for passing along the love of baking—“She was the only domesticated person in my family. We were very close.” The recipes are all her own—she basically bakes what she herself likes. But her favorite cookie is her Kitchen Sink Cookie. It is just what it sounds like. “It’s everything I love in one cookie,” she said. “It’s always been my favorite.” The Kitchen Sink cookie is an oatmeal based cookie with chocolate chunks, coconut, macadamia nuts and cranberries. True to form, it was the Kitchen Sink cookie that sparked the interest of the Rachael Ray Show employee. In the three-plus years since she started her business, Ciriello said it has grown tremendously. Her first account was Pennings. “I walked in with shaking hands and a tray of cookies,” said Ciriello. Now, in addition to Pennings Market, Lisa’s Cookie Shop cookies are sold at Frazzleberries, Masker’s Orchard, Everyday Gourmet in Vernon, and now at Scissors Salon in Florida. “The small business community here in Warwick is just so supportive and loyal,” said Ciriello. In addition to the Kitchen Sink cookie, Ciriello also bakes chocolate chip cookies, coconut chocolate chip cookies, raspberry bars, pecan coconut bars and two types of cakes — Vanilla Cloud Cake and Mocha Java Layer Cake. Her mail order business is flourishing — even before the mention on Rachael Ray. “Usually someone here sends a gift to someone somewhere else and they keep coming back,” said Ciriello. “We have customers in Michigan, California. It’s great.” With the business’s growth, Ciriello and her husband added a commercial kitchen to their property and the entrepreneur now has a commercial license. She and husband, Tom, still do all the baking themselves, giving Ciriello the added bonus of being home with their two and a half year old daughter, Season. “It’s been wonderful,” said Ciriello. “My husband comes home from work and helps with the cookies, too. The best part is we’re able to here for our daughter.” After the call from the Rachael Ray show, Ciriello baked her favorite cookies and hand-delivered them to the Show. On Monday, Feb. 4, everyone in the studio audience will receive Lisa’s Cookie Shop Kitchen Sink cookies from Warwick, New York. “I’m excited to represent Warwick’s small business community on national TV,” said Ciriello. To check out all of what Lisa’s Cookie Shop offers, take a look at her Web site, www.lisascookieshop.com. She also accepts orders via phone at 845-987-2167, fax 845-818-3820, and e-mail at mail@lisascookieshop.com.