The Cookie House: Belleville nurse opens bakery on West Main

Jeannie Sadrerafi is putting her cookies to the test at The Cookie House bakery in west Belleville.

"Everybody who comes in here leaves with a smile," said Jeannie, 50, as she stacked shortbread turtle cookies on a tray.

The pro makes chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and sugar cut-out cookies. She also sells cakes by the slice. Her interest in trying new recipes led her to create a cream cheese cookie and a turtle cookie, a shortbread treat topped with caramel and chocolate.

The Cookie House, which opened in late October, also serves salads, sandwiches and soups at lunch time.

"People really like the pastrami," said Jeannie, "and we give large portions."

Jeannie grew up in Oklahoma in a family of bakers. In high school, she took an occupational aptitude test.

"We had to take a standardized test, and I wanted to be a pharmacist. One of the counselors told me, 'Girls don't become pharmacists, but you can be a nurse,'" recalled Jeannie.

She became a registered nurse, but kept baking.

"The test also said I'd be a good baker," she said, laughing.

Jeannie, a nurse at Belleville's Memorial Hospital and divorced mother of four, started baking large batches of cookies for family and friends 14 years ago out of her home. Dr. Mark Feldman, a co-worker, regularly ordered cookies. He was one of several friends who urged her to open a shop. Now, he's her business partner.

In the spring, she found a vacant spot on West Main Street next to Don Rodgers Ltd.

"This was actually a house at one time, and then it was a place that sold windows," said Jeannie.

To keep the cozy feeling, she uses colors with culinary names -- cranberry and warm muffin yellow in the bakery area and green apple and olive for the two small dining rooms.

In a day, Jeannie uses 12 pounds of butter, 25 pounds each of sugar and flour and 10 pounds of cream cheese.

Her helpers include cashier Taylor Kosick, and Annie Wright who make the salads and sandwiches. Friend Stacie Dallas makes soups.

On a recent Friday morning, Donna Dougherty, of Belleville, couldn't wait to get her sugar fix.

"I drive by here every day, and I kept watching and waiting for it to open. It's the third time I've been in here," said Donna, who bought sugar cookies.

Bob Bernicke dropped by to pick up a cookie order for his wife and an oatmeal cookie for himself.

Jeannie is grateful for her abundance of well-wishers, but wouldn't mind getting more sleep.

"I probably had 12 hours of sleep since I opened," she said after the second week.

She's not complaining.

"There's nothing like handing someone a cookie and seeing them smile," said Jeannie.

Those wanting more than two dozen cookies need to place an order. All orders for Christmas cookies are due by Dec. 1.

On the menu:

Cookies (75 cents -$1.50 each, depending on kind and size)

Chocolate chip

Peanut butter

Oatmeal raisin

Cream cheese

Turtle

Cake, $3.25 a slice

Sandwiches ($5.95-$8.95, includes potato, cole slaw and baked beans or chips and an apple)

New York pastrami or corned beef

Gourmet three-cheese grilled cheese on sourdough

Grilled chicken breast on sourdough

Roast beef

Soup ($2.95 per cup and $3.95 per bowl)

Ham and bean

Potato

Salads ($5.95-$9.95)

Annie's Salad (grilled chicken with cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese)

Chicken Caesar salad

Grilled steak salad

At a glance:

Where: 6611 West Main St., Belleville

Hours: 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

Information: 213-7311 or www.jeanniescookies.com