Dessert lovers, hail to St. Hale Torched Cookie Sandwich!

I am very lucky to have discovered and tasted the most delicious dessert for me thus far. Everybody hail to this very yummy St. Hale Torched Cookie Sandwich! 🙂

The Story of St. Hale Torched Cookie Sandwich

Isabel really loves cookies. Among all of the pastries she tried baking, cookies are her favorite. Her cookie recipe is a product of a 10-years experiment — a trial and error and hit and miss process in the kitchen, until finally, she was able to create the St. Hale Cookie recipe. Originally, she was making homemade ice-cream cookie sandwiches but she eventually replaced the homemade ice-cream with homemade marshmallows. (This is the reason behind the name “Hale.” (“Hail” is frozen rain/ice/means cold.)

Her father was watching a cooking show where meat at seafood was being seared/torched with a blowtorch. He eventually convinced her to try using a blowtorch for her cookie gigs where she torches cookie sandwiches on the spot for that Torched Cookie Experience.

The Owner

Isabel Lagunzad, the owner of St. Hale Cookies, works as a Sales Operations Manager at MEC Networks Corporation during the day and focuses on her cookie business during weekends. She is a food enthusiast and she enjoys imagining and researching how food is made as well as how flavors and different techniques affect each other during the process of baking/cooking.

The Cookie Business

Isabel’s mentor, Mrs. Bibs Isaac, taught and inspired her to bake when she was in grade school. After a few years, she realized she wanted to focus on baking cookies since cookies, aside from ice cream, are her favorite. She researched and made countless experiments to develop and create her perfect recipe.

Future Plans for the Cookie Business

They are planning to convert their old house into a café where they will gradually expand and offer various pastries and dishes. She is currently developing more flavors and considering bringing back her original product which was homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches.

On Travel

In the past, she believes that the things she reads on books and in the internet are enough already for her to understand the world. Thus, she is not really into travelling. But she realized, to be able to further appreciate and grow, you have to go outside, experience and travel to further appreciate and understand the things you have read.

She has only travelled in a few places – Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Cebu, and Palawan. However, she is planning to go to one of the Asian countries this year.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Passion Pursuers

Isabel enumerated these 10 things for those who are also aspiring to become entrepreneurs or to pursue their respective passions:

Fail as many times as you can. But in failing, make sure you learn and try to understand why you failed.
That moment when you’re about to give up on your dreams, try one more time. Trying means continuous learning and improvement.
At least learn one new thing every day; This will help you be creative and appreciate every small detail and every person.
Surround yourself with people who have the same passion and who constantly find ways to achieve their goals and improve themselves.
If you think too hard, you will never move. In deciding, I believe it should always be a combination of study, analysis and trusting your gut feeling.
Always challenge yourself and look for areas of improvement.
Celebrate small victories. This will help you keep going.
Keep in mind that the smallest things are the most important things; You will always find depth in the smallest of things.
Remember that there are no small roles in this world, only big ones.
Be kind to everyone.