Teresa Prince Conway '04

These United Cookies

Written by Teresa Prince Conway   

In 2004, Mrs. Lenhoff assigned senior projects to her Honors Lit Symposium. We had to select a topic, perform empirical research, and report our findings. Thanks to Mr. DiMauro, I had a definition of “empirical” in my Latin notebook. It said that empirical evidence could be proved “by the senses.” 

Taste seemed like the most desirable sense for research, so I produced a report called “The Chemistry of Cookies.”

I studied the composition of each ingredient and learned how different ratios could result in fluffy, chewy, or crispy cookies. The project was such a hit that my mom had me bake 13 dozen chocolate chip cookies for my graduation party in lieu of cake. 

After Marian, I attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I worked as a photojournalist and freelance photographer until my mid-20s when I desired such luxuries as paid time off, employee-sponsored healthcare and retirement savings. I studied at Nebraska Methodist College and earned an associate’s degree in medical sonography. Now I perform ultrasounds at Omaha OB-GYN. It is a great job, but uniform exam protocols leave little room for artistic expression. 

In November 2020, I found an outlet for my latent creative energy. Stacey Mei Yan Fong baked a pie for every state in the country. Her blog “50 Pies 50 States” inspired me to read up on the geography, culture and history of each place in this nation. This scholarly research guided me as I created unique recipes for every state and territory. Empirical research ensured that each recipe was delicious. 

For Nebraska, I made a twist on lemon bars with a corn nut crust. I crushed mulberries from my own backyard for a big red curd. For Colorado, I streaked meringues with chocolate and espresso to resemble granite then piped little mountain peaks. For New Mexico, I made a vegan version of the first official state cookie in the nation, Biscochitos. Recipes are complete for all 50 states; three territories and D.C. remain on my list. 

My blog, These United Cookies, features maps, trivia and a synopsis of each recipe. Complete recipes will be available in a book someday. This Christmas, I am sharing my Texas recipe, Chipotle Shealth Cookies, with Marian Alumnae. These are rich chocolate cookies with a hint of cinnamon and spice, a perfect foil (Mrs. Lenhoff taught me that word) to sugar cookies.

Enjoy!

- Teresa