For anyone looking to sneak a hand into the cookie jar this holiday season, there are about 7,000 home-baked reasons to visit The Baptist Church in Warren’s holiday Cookie Walk fundraiser on Dec. 13.

As it has been for years, the church’s annual Cookie Walk is at the ready for cookie fans who either don’t have time to bake their own or simply want the delight of mingling and choosing among the creative cookie creations of Priscilla Eighme and Wanda Gilbert. As longtime church members and close friends, they personally bake and decorate about 5,000 cookies each Christmas season, with another 2,000 or so donated by other bakers.

Each year, they turn out lemon ginger cookies, chai balls, treats, Santa cookies and more. For many cookies, the final fashion touches elevate them on par with charming Christmas tree ornaments. The baking happens at the church and in members’ homes — wherever there’s an oven free.

The Cookie Walk has gained a big following in the last 20 years, with shoppers lining up at the church at 8 a.m. for the 9 a.m. opening. That first year, they raised about $700, and based on the trajectory of cookie sales over the years, this year they aim to raise about $6,000. Part of that revenue comes from raffle tickets for one of four handmade quilts created by Eighme, who has craft talent beyond the kitchen.

“We have quite a following in the wider community,” said Gilbert, during a cookie baking break in the church kitchen, which has collected a half-dozen freezers over the years for pre-sale cookie storage. “And it’s a joy.”

For Eighme, it’s a bittersweet holiday season. Her husband Scott was her official “taster,” but he recently died after a long illness, and after 50 years of marriage. He had been the meal chef of the family, while Eighme had a corner on the baked goods. Still, she hasn’t skipped a beat this season in keeping the Cookie Walk on track.

So what exactly is a Cookie Walk?

“The room is filled with tables overflowing with cookies, and our guests walk around and fill their cookie boxes, and those boxes get weighed by the pound, $15 per pound,” said Eighme, adding that it’s a fun and festive event for a good cause.

For a church with about 100 members on its rolls and only a couple of dozen of those regularly attending Sunday services, fundraisers like this and the annual rummage and craft fair are important in bringing revenue.

Rev. Debra Lee joined the church in August 2023 and divides her pastoral time with a Baptist church in Swansea. She said she’s been ‘’utterly amazed’ by the annual cookie operation and the fellowship it brings among members and others who help out.

“When they open the doors, it’s like a winter wonderland, it’s beautiful,” she said.

Lee said Warren attendance has grown a bit in recent years and despite its size, the church is ‘small but mighty’ in its fellowship activities.

“Every year it warms my heart as they all pull together to decorate the cookies – they all roll up their sleeves to make it successful,” said Lee, who will be rolling up her own sleeves for cookie decorating duties before the sale.

For Eighme and Gilbert, the annual Cookie Walk is a solid bond in their longtime friendship, which began when their children were small.

They will set some cookies aside to give away to residents of the nearby veterans home in Bristol, and to Jeff Davies, who faithfully rings the church bell every day at noon, and his understudy, his nephew. Some other gift cookies will make their way into other hands as well.

As for the recipe guidelines for 7,000 cookies, Eighme can’t even speculate on how many pounds of flour, butter, sugar and other ingredients she goes through each year. She said she aims to purchase ingredients economically, but isn’t counting her out of pocket costs – that might take the fun out of the experience.

Despite rising costs, they haven’t raised cookie prices because they see their friends and neighbors struggling financially  – and everyone should be able to afford some holiday cheer, in the form of cookies.