Christmas Cookie Challenge on Food Network has invited one of Wadsworth’s own, Veronica Andexler, the small business owner of Just Eat The Cookie, to participate in their competition on December 12.
The show is hosted by Ree Drummond and Eddie Jackson and it surrounds four bakers who are put up to the test of making the best cookie for the round. Drummond and Jackson both judge each cookie, then decide who to award the 10,000 dollars in the end.
Andexler’s business, Just Eat The Cookie, is a custom cookie business based in Wadsworth, offering handmade cookies, cookie classes, cookie kits, and other various services to provide confections to the citizens of Wadsworth.
Andexler started her business in 2019, right before the pandemic started, and quit her tattooing job directly after.
“I had always enjoyed baking. I always did it when I was a little girl with Grandma and Mom… it just kind of grew with me as I got older and I never did anything with it except during the holidays,” said Andexler. “I can draw, I can do art, I can tattoo, so why not pick it [baking] back up?”
Andexler’s cookies can be mainly bought through Uniquely Handmade For You, a small business that unites hundreds of Wadsworth small businesses under one roof.
Daneen Kruezer and her husband, Dave, run the store, supporting small business owners in their journey to provide Wadsworth with different creations.
“She [Andexler] came when we first came here [to Wadsworth]. We had applications that people filled out [to be showcased the store] and she came here for an interview…,” Daneen Kruezer said. “She brought her beautiful cookies and, I mean, they were just amazing.”
With the support of Kruezer and her husband, along with many other Wadsworth citizens who appreciate Andexler’s creativity and baking skills, Andexler decided to go on to the Christmas Cookie Challenge.
“Lots of people were always telling me, ‘It would be really cool if you were on one of those [baking] shows,’ but I had no desire,” said Andexler. “But then, me and him [my husband] looked it up and submitted a video… and then just that [after I was accepted onto the show] was just months of interviewing and Zoom calls with production, and if my personality [would fit with the show].”
With Andexler’s popularity and business, this newfound national coverage of her baking skills could possibly heighten her orders for her custom cookies. She is also representing Just Eat The Cookie and the city of Wadsworth as a whole.
“I don’t know if she can handle anymore [business], but she’s always booked up…,” Kruezer said. “The sky’s the limit for her.”
The December 12 episode Andexler will appear on is season 8, episode 5, named “Superheroes of Christmas.” The episode will surround the bakers making superheroes with creative ingredients, testing their artistry. Although filming wrapped up in April, the public will see how Andexler performed for the first time on the Food Network show on December 12. The episode can be watched on the Food Network channel but can be viewed the next day on streaming services.