The official Dancing Deer Baking Company Blog

We absolutely love hearing from our loyal Deer fans - it’s great to hear that we’re doing something right and especially helpful to hear suggestions on how to improve.  And every once and a while we receive fun photos that either include our product or have something to do with deer dancing.  The most recent photos we received were taken by a designer at Smock Paper, a letterpress paper company based in Syracuse, NY that shares our concern for the environment and love of beautiful things!  Check out the charming photos of our Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Gift Collection below - and click here to visit Smock Paper’s website.

At Dancing Deer, we love our holidays.  We get to bake decorative cookies for the season and we always make time for a celebration in the bakery with all the Deer.  St Patrick’s Day is next on the calendar – and you know what they say, “Everyone’s Irish on St Patrick’s Day!”  So, send some Lucky Clover Cookies to all of your IRISH friends and if you enjoy arts and crafts, click here to learn how to make an Origami 4-leaf clover (don’t worry, I tried it myself to rate the difficulty – I give it a rating of easy to medium difficulty level)

Next week, I will continue to watch the best athletes in the world compete in a variety of competitions.  As I watched each competition this past week, I marveled at how the new athletes continue to raise the bar and level of competition over previous world records and often, their own personal accomplishments.  I am amazed because daily, they achieve athletic feats that I could only dream of, but even the commentators – many of whom have medaled in that same sport – remark that the top competitors this Olympics are just in a different league.  Shaun White soared 25 feet in the air above the Snowboarder’s halfpipe (it looked more like 40 feet!)…Lindsey Vonn won gold in downhill skiing after bruising her shin weeks ago…figure skater Evan Lysacek’s free skate was considered by judges to be “technically perfect”...

Since all of us Deer are amazed by the Olympic athletes, we decided to celebrate Team USA Spirit with our Olympic giveaway.  Any Deer fan that orders over $34.95 will receive a FREE gift of PATRIOTIC STAR COOKIES ($33.90 value), which includes over two dozen star-shaped vanilla shortbread cookies in a wooden Shaker gift box. Shop now at http://www.dancingdeer.com and remember to use code “OLYMPICS” at checkout. 

OH and don’t forget to root for Team USA!!

Traditionally, I have not been a fan of Valentine’s Day.  I fell into that group of cynics that considered it to be purely a commercial holiday – another way for greeting card companies, candy shops and…well, mail order gift companies to earn more money.  I even read once that Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin on February 14th and I happen to be allergic to penicillin, so I figured it was a sign that I must be allergic to Valentine’s Day as well! 

This year, I decided to make a comeback to the world of optimism and LOVE!  One cannot deny that Valentine’s Day is a holiday when companies like Dancing Deer promote their chocolate products and red & pink gift packaging.  However, this fact cannot take away from the spirit of love that is shared between the sender of a delicious Dancing Deer Sweetheart Tower (for example) and their deserving recipient.  It is a day to celebrate love of all sorts and if you want to send brownies to your sweetheart, friend, niece/nephew (or whoever!) to let them know you are thinking of them, then all the better!

To prove to my doubting co-workers that I was serious about my change of heart, I even baked a Valentine’s Day Gingerbread House (I like to call it the ‘love shack’ – original, right?).  And I used a Dancing Deer Gingerbread House Kit to bake it…of course (nobody said that they have to be baked in December!).

This Valentine’s Day, Spread Sweetness in your World.

“It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

We had the good fortune this year to have Mark Real (pictured above) work with us as a seasonal holiday Deer. What that means is that, at a time during the Christmas holidays, when our volume spikes significantly, we hire the best people that we can find to help our customers with their holiday gifts.

If you were fortunate enough this past holiday to be helped by Mark, then you were greeted with “HAAAAPY HOLIDAYS. THANK YOU FOR CALLING DANCING DEER BAKING CO!” The word “Company” was never spoken; it was always “Co”. You then heard his infectious smile come through the phone with incredible velocity as he proceeded to listen to you with rapt attention, delightfully engage you with humor and then help you with the utmost care.

As I got to know Mark, I could not help but think of the F. Scott Fitzgerald quote that started this post. Mark is a true presence, a force of nature, and one of the kindest, most caring Deers that we’ve been privileged to employ.

Mark is regrettably moving on from Dancing Deer, as the season has come to end, but he will continue to serve as a role model for all of us Deers who were lucky enough to spend time with him and all future Deers who will come after him.

Thank you, Mark, for taking such good care of us and our customers.

Favorite Food Fact of the Day

“Banana trees are not actually trees - they are giant herbs.”

 

Fun Food Fact #2

“Large doses of coffee can be lethal. Ten grams, or 100 cups over 4 hours, can kill the average human.”

 

Fun Food Fact #3

“In 18th century Maine, lobster was so plentiful it was commonly used as farm fertilizer! In the 19th century, lobster was called a Poor Man’s Food”

 

Fun Food Fact #4

“Animal Crackers.. ever wonder what animals are in a box of animal crackers?
1 lion, 1 buffalo, 2 sheep, 2 monkeys, 2 tigers, 3 rhinos, 5 bears, 6 gorillas”(Source: Professional Chefs Association)