How Many Free Throws Can You Bake?

December, as you can imagine, is considered “Busy Season” at Sweet Little Sin.  As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I am instantly thrown into a situation of organized panic knowing that I am pretty much going to be baking nonstop for a month (this on top of Chanukah shopping, getting out holiday cards and every other year preparing for our annual New Year’s Day blow-out open house).  I say organized panic because every year I make my poor family crazy thinking that I am never going to be able to get it all done, and yet, somehow, over the years I have figured out a system that manages to get every last cookie, cake and brownie baked, packaged and out right on time (if I could only apply that system to the rest of my life I would be golden!).

This year the panic began to creep up on me as we drove to New York City for Thanksgiving and an email came in for an order from a new corporate gift client that kept growing with every mile driven.  By the time we reached NYC (four hours later) I was in full fledged panic mode, wishing I had brought my laptop to start the organization process,  as I realized that I had already reached my limit for baking and I was going to have to cut off all orders for a few weeks. 

Needless to say, about an hour after stepping back into our house after the Thanksgiving weekend, I was already having my husband doing the ingredient math (c’mon, those who really know me know that I couldn’t possibly trust myself to do the math!) on the 120 dozen cookies, 26 dozen brownies and nine dozen S’mores Bars that had to be baked, packaged shipped and delivered by December 20.  And that was just the first batch of orders!

On December 24, while making yet another batch of S’mores, I found myself talking to a good customer who had come to pick up his order (of four dozen Lemon Drops and a dozen rugulach).  In a good natured yet marketing-savvy kind of way, he suggested I “figure out exactly how many cookies, brownies, rugulach and S’mores Bars I made and, if I lined them all up, just how long would the line be?”  (I recall relaying this suggestion to one of my oldest and dearest friends over a glass of wine a week or so later and watching her reaction of utter hysterical laughter at the thought of me wrapping my Emerson College brain around that math.)  Regardless, it was an interesting idea and I swiftly put my trusty husband and his mathematical brain to work on it.  Below is what “we” figured out:

Based on the size of each cookie, brownie and bar, and the number baked, “we” estimate that the sinfully delicious treat line would run approximately 420 feet.

In terms that most of Sweet Little Sin’s local fans can relate to:

• More than three times the Adam Vinatieri Snow Bowl field goal
• One homerun hit over The Green Monster and onto Landsdowne St.
• 30 perfectly shot Ray Allen free throws

That’s a LOT of dessert!   Thanks to all of those whose orders were a part of our most successful December yet!