The Cookie Castle News
About Cell Phones And Still No Answers On How/Why Trump Was Shot
IN THE JULY 12, 2025 ISSUE
Royal Greetings From The Cozy Castle Kitchen
Food For Thought
Laugh of the Week
Product Review
— Takfox Wallet Case for iPhone
Household Hint
Recipe Of The Week
— Creme di Caffe
A View From The Castle (News Commentary Blog)
— 365 Days After Donald Trump Was Shot We Still Have No Answers — Why not?
CookieQueen Entertainment
Cookie Queen Cookies & Cakes
Cookie Queen Cookbooks
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ROYAL GREETINGS FROM THE COZY CASTLE KITCHEN
I recently moved out of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods into 2025 — I finally bought
an iPhone.
I have had a flip phone (originally used by dinosaurs) for many years which was for emergencies. I rarely
made calls on it. Only three. people had my cell number so I rarely received calls. Every once in a while I would turn it on — just to
see what time. it was since I do not wear a watch.
And now I am in intense training to learn how to use this new fangled method of communicating. A
friend has been here twice for long sessions of instruction (thank you, Rita). .
I have spent many hours watching You Tube videos which explains the many many functions this
Doohickey can accomplish.
These are some of the most intense classes I have ever had during my 78 years of life and college
and med school education.
It was mind-boggling to figure out how to operate the myriad of functions. Just learning how to turn off
the flashlight and increase the volume was a major break-through for me.
Last weekend I took advantage of my two college/high school age nephews visiting for the holiday to
pick their brains about the many many questions I had. Both of them have had complicated cell phones for many years. They know how to do everything. Nick and Ethan ere very helpful.
At the end of our intense session I said, “I’ll bet I could get this thing to go in the kitchen and make dinner.”
We all laughed and then I said loudly “Make soup!” And that’s when six recipes for soup popped up on
my iPhone screen. I made them. They were delicious. I’ll be posting some of them in upcoming
newsletters.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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LAUGH OF THE WEEK
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PRODUCT REVIEW
I am new to a real cell phone. I've only had a flip phone before getting the new Apple iPhone 16E. It did
not fit in my small cross body wallet that I have used for many years -- I never carry a purse. I also was
worried about how I would carry the phone and if I might drop it. This magnetic phone case is perfect for
me. In addition to the phone there are 9 slots for cards and cash and it is easy to "operate." No dopey
zippers to fuss with. The phone connects magnetically and the card holder section closes with a snap.
Precision cut-outs allow easy access to all buttons. Then the whole thing is held shut with a simple
magnetic strap. There is also a wrist strap which facilitates "take with" when you have other items to
deal with like a dog leash and keys. It is lightweight, sturdy and the matte black version is classic. It has
made my transition from flip phone to a real cell phone very easy. I love it and hope it lasts a very long
time. There is another version which also has RIFD blocking (credit card protection).
Comes in black, wine red, solid pink, marble pink. $15.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F375R1HT?th=1
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HOUSEHOLD HINT
I so wish I had known about this baking tip “tip” 35 years ago when I started my cookie/cake business.
I always hated switching out pastry tips….not wanting to waste one of the plastic bags, trying to get the
tip out of the bottom of the bag, trying to get the new tip in place. What a mess. And I have never had
luck using “couplers” — they always pop off for me. Here’s how to do it the easy way:
1. Fill a pastry bag 3/4 full.
2. Snip off the bottom of the bag to accommodate the tip.
3. Place the tip of the filled bag into the tip of your choice — so the tip is now on the outside not the
inside of the bag.
But … how to keep the tip from popping off the bag when you squeeze it? — that is this question:
4. Place the bag with the tip on the outside into another pastry bag and snip off the bottom to
accommodate the tip.
5. When you need to switch to another tip, slip the filled bag out of the top bag, slip off the tip you
were using and replace it with the one you need now and replace the covering pastry bag.
No mess!!!!!
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Other helpful household hints can be found in the second edition of my book "Never Scrub Another
Toilet- The Cookie Queen Tells you How to Keep your Castle Clean and Other Ways To Live Like Royalty."
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RECIPE OF THE WEEK
I had some leftover coffee from a breakfast gathering and wanted to make something “different.” I found
this great old Italian recipe for Creme di Caffe which is very versatile. Light, refreshing, can be made in
minutes. You can serve it in a small glass (photo below) or use it to top pie, fresh fruit, angel food cake or
ice cream. And if you are having a major emotional breakdown — you can eat this right out of the bowl
with a spoon. It helps. A lot.
Ingredients
2-4 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 Tbsps. Kahlua
1 1/4 cups whole/whipping/heavy cream
1/4 cup strong coffee, very cold
Chocolate sprinkles or shavings (optional)
How To Make It
* In a medium bowl or blender jar whip cream with sugar. When soft peaks form drizzle in the cold coffee
and Kailua. Beat until thickened.
* Cover the bowl or jar with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
* Serve in small glasses, sprinkled with chocolate jimmies or shavings if desired or serve as a topping
on angel food cake or ice cream.
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A VIEW FROM THE CASTLE (News Commentary Blog)
365 Days After Donald Trump Was Shot We Still Have No Answers — Why not?
I am dreading tomorrow — the one-year anniversary of the attempted assassination of my President
Donald Trump.
I have PTSD from seeing this event happen right before my eyes. I was not in Butler, PA, that
hot July Saturday evening. I was at home watching the Trump rally on my iPad.
I have never missed one of Trump’s rally in the past 10 years but I mostly just listen while he speaks.
I have work to do and can easily get many things done while listening to Trump, the music, the crowd, the
talking heads reporting what is going on, how many people are there, the interviews, the atmosphere.
But on this particular Saturday for some strange reason I was sitting on the couch in my office. My iPad
was on my lap. The big clear screen was 12” away from my face.
I saw the exact moment when the bullet struck Trump and he went down. I saw six Secret Service
agents rush onto the stage and surround him.
I thought he was dead. For just a second — but it seemed like an eternity before he popped back up,
raised his fist in the air and shouted, “Fight, fight, fight.”
But I had already started sobbing hysterically. I phoned my sister. I couldn’t believe she was not watching the rally. Like me she watches them all. She and her husband were sitting on their back patio have their evening cocktail. I screamed “They just shot
Trump. Turn on your computer.” And I hung up. My phone was ringing off the hook. Friends from all
over the country were trying to reach me … knowing of my strong emotional attachment to Trump they
wanted to make sure I was OK. I was not OK. I am still not OK. I still begin crying whenever anyone
mentions the events of July 13, 2024 … or when he is speaking and turns his head and I see his ear. I’m
crying now as I write this.
I know in my heart of hearts that is was only by the grace of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit that
Donald Trump survived.
The next day at Sunday Mass a family sitting in front of me told me their story — they had been sitting
three rows directly behind Trump when the shots started. The man said to me, “I know it was the Holy
Spirit who saved him. I heard the soft “swoosh” that everyone has reported hearing when they believe
the Holy Spirit is present. He continued, “I am a gun-user. I know what gun shots sound like. This was
not the whizz of a bullet. It was a swoosh of wings fluttering to guide the bullet from smashing directly into
his skull.”
The only thing that will keep me sane tomorrow is my anger. I am angry because in the past 365 days
we know nothing about the guy who did this, why he did this, who helped him do this. We know his name
— Thomas Crooks — but nothing else. Nothing.
The powers that be immediately cremated his body. Why? They immediately washed his blood off the
roof where snipers took him down. Why? They wasted no time clearing out the house where he lived —
taking even the cutlery out of kitchen drawers. Why?
There have been lots of rumors about this, that or the other — he had several cell phones, some with
international connections, he had a bomb, he had a secret bank account where thousands? millions?
of dollars had been deposited. He had been planning this for days? weeks? months? He was allowed to roam
the Butler Fair Grounds all day unrestricted with a range finder. Why?
Yet no one with any authority is talking about anything. They will answer NO questions. None.
On Friday we learned that six of the Secret Service agents on the scene that day were put on leave for
a few days back in February. They were not fired. Why not? They screwed up big time and yet they
still have a job?? Why?? The director of the Secret Service, a DEI hire Kimberly Cheatle, resigned. Why
was this allowed? She should have been fired and forced to testify about all of her screw ups that day.
Why was she allowed to just walk away? The local Butler police wanted to use drones to surveil the fair
grounds that day but the Secret Service forbid that. Why?
Today the Washington Post is reporting something new — something we haven’t heard for the past 365
days — that Thomas Crooks was seen with three other individuals on the Butler Fair Grounds earlier
that day. Who were they? Where did they go? Why is there no camera footage of them … or is there?
And why has no investigative reporter tried to answer the many many questions left unanswered? Have
they all been threatened not to release information? Have they been paid off?
At least 14 books have recently been published about why the senility of former President Joe Biden was
not reported? Who really gives a damn about that? The public knew he was brain dead because we have
eyes and ears. We saw and heard his pathetic attempts to walk, talk, breathe. We did not need the
media to tell us that this skeletal creature pretending to be President was not really the guy calling the shots.
But there are NO books telling us the truth about July 13th. Why not?
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COOKIE QUEEN ENTERTAINMENT
The Original Class Act has been entertaining audiences for the past 33 years. We sing. We dance. We act. We'll make you laugh and some times there will be a tear or two as well as we perform music loved by mostly older folks.
The Original Class Act is available for both daytime and evening performances. We come with our own sound system. All we need from you is an audience, a space to perform and a nearby room to change costumes.
Just like the old movie story - a group of friends got together to “put on a show” for the church fun fair way back in 1992. We presented an entire program of Cole Porter music.
The three-day gig stretched into 33 years as the phone never stops ringing. Everyone wants to book our group for a retirement home, nursing home, church dinner, a women’s club or lodge meeting, family gathering. We perform for political rallies and just like the late Bob Hope, we even do benefits to raise thousands of dollars for worthy causes and we often do benefit shows at the VA in Aspinwall.
The Original Class Act performs throughout the tri-state area for groups from 10 to 3,000.
The group’s extensive repertoire features more than 2,000 songs including Broadway hits, country-music tunes, religious favorites, movie themes, Disney songs, patriotic anthems, inspirational hymns, and holiday favorites for just about every holiday - Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Fourth of July, Oktoberfest and Thanksgiving.
All shows are choreographed and costumed with members of the group making most of our outfits. This is a very talented bunch - at least that’s what audiences tell us after giving us rousing standing ovations.
You can book us for a date by phoning 724-339-0920 or e mail us at cookiequ@verizon.net.
Here is a list of our current programs. You may request a song list for any program:
* American Salute - Features patriotic songs, music from the Big Band era, Rock ‘n’ Roll hits from the 50s - music Americans love to hear.
* Best of Broadway - Have a favorite show tune? It’s probably in this program which features hits from dozens of Broadway shows.
* Classic Cole Porter - You’ll hum or sing along on every number. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll reminisce.
* Disney on Parade - Features songs near and dear to the young and the young at heart from all your favorite Disney movies.
* Everything’s Coming Up Flowers - In 2018 we developed this program for a show we did at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. All of the songs mention blossoms of some kind - roses, daffodils, lilies, hyacinths, crocuses. Come “Tiptoe through the Tulips” with us as we celebrate the beauty and musicality of flowers.
* In The Good Old Summertime - A joyous celebration of summer with lots of familiar tunes.
* Irish Festival of Song and Dance - featuring traditional Irish favorites and some sing-along numbers too. We have new Irish costumes this year and can't wait to show them off.
* Love Changes Everything - Love songs from movies and musicals. As Cole Porter says, “Let’s Do It.” Time for romance and some song and dance.
* Lullaby of Bird Land - all songs that mention birds ….. blue birds, robins, doves, eagles, turkeys. A great program for springtime.
* Music From the Movies - Pick a movie - pick your favorite song. It’s probably in this show. Everyone’s welcome to sing along too.
* Oktoberfest - Get out your dancing shoes & warm up your pipes for a visit to old Germany. We bring the music, you bring the beer.
* One Woman, 20 Songs - A Tour de Force - Sometimes not all of our members are available for the date you want. Never fear - one of our members will be there. Pat - recently received rave reviews for her one-woman show. She sings, dances and presents a fashion show of costumes while performing her solos from each of the group’s programs. One attendee asked her, “Are you from Broadway?” Another told her, “I’d be willing to pay to see this show in Pittsburgh.”
* O Solo Mio - A Concert of Our Favorite Solos” - Members of The Original Class Act (and sometimes a guest performer too) have chosen their favorite solos to sing for you. There are songs from movies, Broadway, holidays and some inspirational music too. Maybe one of their favorites is one of your favorites.
* Showtime Showcase - This program features two dozen of our favorite numbers from all of the shows that we have done in the past 29 years.
* Let Us Lift You Up - Traditional hymns and inspirational songs from Broadway and movies - including You Raise Me Up, El Shaddai, Scarlet Ribbons, To Where You Are, Roads, Lord of All Hopefulness, God of Our Fathers, The Lord's Prayer, O America, In God We Still Trust, All God's Creatures, Child of Peace, Hallelujah and songs from Sister Act, The Sound of Music, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell and The Hunchback of Notre Dame,
* December Holiday Festival - The show features traditional holiday music, some sing-alongs and lots of glitz and glamour in the many costumes changes.
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COOKIE QUEEN COOKIES
Current Cookie List As of 1/25
Amaretti $7
Amaretti (filled) $9
Apricot Delight $9
Biscotti $7 (frosted white with red/green drizzle)
vanilla
almond
lemon
anise
Brownies $15
Chocolate Chip $7
Cho Chip/Nuts $8
Chipettes $7
Cho Mac $7
Coconut Mac $7
Cowboy Cookies $8
Fudge Dusters $7
Ginger Snaps $6
Gingerbread Cutouts $7
Gobs, Cho $8
Gobs, Pkin $7
Ladylocks $9 (8 oz)
LemonTarts $9
Molasses Oatmeal $6
Molasses Raisin $9
Nutrolls $9
Oatmeal:
cho chip $6
plain $5
pecan/cc $8
apricot $8
cherry $8
raisin $6
Orange or Lemon frosted $7
PB OF $5
PB Cups $8
PB Kisses $8 (with my ganache, not Hershey Kisses)
PB Cho.Chip $8. (New this year)
Pecan Tassies $9
Pizzelles - Anise $6/18
Pizzelles - Vanilla $6/18
Pizzelles - Filled $8
Pumpkin Cho Chip $9
Pumpkin Gems $7
Snickerdoodles $8
Snowballs $9
Sugar - Ch Chip $6
Sugar - Pecan $7
Sugar- Almond (Van frost with Toasted Almonds) $8
Sugar -Trees $7 (red/green frost)
Jewish stars $7 (blue/white frost)
Thumbprints $9
Chocolate
Apricot
Lemon Cream
Raspberry Cream
Vanilla Cream (can be tinted in your colors)
Triple Cho Chews 8
Weecakes $6
I also do Buckeyes - which are candy, not cookies. $9/12 (Dark or milk cho)
For Thanksgiving:
Pumpkin/Cream Cheese Pie (must return MY pie pans)
Pumpkin Roll
Carrot Cake
Cookies. Cookies. Cookies. It’s one of the necessities when planning a wedding here in Western Pennsylvania. But not so in other parts of the country. I often deal with chefs at restaurants that hail from Southern and Western states and they ask me, “What’s with this cookie table at weddings?”
The custom is old world. European. Italian. Slovak. Cookies are expected. Back in the old country when a bride and groom would greet their guests to “collect” their gifts, they gave in exchange a small plate of cookies to take home. Many of these people who immigrated to the United States and mostly to the Eastern United States brought this custom with them.
You’ve probably wondered why little old ladies will stuff cookies in their purse before leaving a wedding reception. Now you know.
Anyway - it’s a nice custom and most area brides want cookies at their weddings. But how many should there be and what kind?
You know your guests better than I do. Are they cookie eaters or not? Are most of the guests in their 20s - these people usually are watching their weight. Are most of the guests men? Men like chocolate anything and they don’t like those dainty fussy cookies like Peaches. They want a brownie or a gob.
Are some of your guests children? They like smaller cookies - but lots of them.
Does the guest list include elderly women? They want the old-fashioned cookies like nutrolls, kolachi, pizzelles. And they want to take some home.
So - my stock answer is this: If you are having a sit-down meal and cake - then figure on a minimum of four cookies per person. Though - if you are Italian - you know in your heart it’s better to have too many than not enough, then figure on six per person. My cookies can be frozen IF there are any left over. If the cookies will be out before the appetizers are served, guests coming from the church will be hungry and will snarf down every cookie in sight and fill up and then they won’t eat the expensive meal. Try to discourage having the cookies out before dinner is served.
How many different kinds should you have? Not too too many because, when the nutrolls get raves and people start talking them up and then someone goes in search of a nutroll and there are none left - - bummer. It’s better to have fewer varieties and more of each cookie.
Here are some other questions often asked by prospective brides:
1. Do you tray cookies? Yes - but that costs extra for the trays and my time. I have spent six and seven hours traying cookies for big weddings. And you should ask at the reception hall. Some venues want to use their own trays for the cookies ... and they will charge you for this service. I prefer to tray them myself because sometimes folks who don’t know beans about cookies will put things on trays that just don’t go together.
For example, they will put anise pizzelles on a tray with other cookies. Once you put anise anything on the tray - all of the cookies taste like anise. Or they will put soft and crisp cookies together which means soon they all will be soft as the crisp ones absorb moisture from the soft ones. And then they all taste bad. And then there was the time that some dopey country club demanded that I have the cookies there on Friday morning for a Saturday evening wedding. As chance would have it, my singing group had a show at the same country club on Friday evening. Nosey as I am, I walked into the room where the wedding was to be held the following day and there were my wonderful cookies - already on uncovered trays with flies buzzing all over them.
2. Do you do “cookie favors” for the guests? Yes - and they are really nice. It’s a small box of six cookies. On the top of the box there is a pretty note thanking the guests for sharing this special day and then the name of the couple and the date of the wedding. These little boxes are usually a huge hit. One mother of the bride called me to say, “Those cookie boxes are all that people could talk about the next day at the post-wedding barbecue. Our out of town guests took them to their hotel rooms and enjoyed them late at night. Everyone raved about the cookies.” But I don’t do cookie bouquets? To get cookies to stay on a stick like that they have to be pretty darn hard. I don’t make hard tasteless cookies.
3. Do you make Peaches? No. No. Definitely no. I do not make anything that takes longer to make it than it does to eat it. Besides, have you ever seen how many of those half-eaten things get thrown out?
4. Do you make sugar cutout cookies? Yes - but only trees, stars and dog bones. My sugar cookies are so tender. If you want something with an appendage like a turkey neck or legs or arms they will break. Not doing those.
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COOKIE QUEEN CAKES
It is most important that your wedding cake taste good. You want guests leaving your reception to say, “That is the best wedding cake I have ever tasted.” That is why you have chosen THE Cookie Queen to bake the cake for your Special Day. My cakes taste really good. I do not specialize in elaborate decorations.
I specialize in making “one of a kind” cakes. I do not have a portfolio of cake photos because I simply refuse to do any cake design twice. Each cake is unique and is designed for YOU alone. If you have a photo of what you would like your cake to look like, please bring it to our initial consultation or Email it to me (cookiequ@verizon.net) prior to your consultation to save time.
Here is a selection of the most popular Cookie Queen wedding cake ideas:
1. A two-tiered “show” cake with the 10” bottom to be cut at the reception and served at the head table and the 7” top to be frozen for the First Anniversary. Undecorated double-layer sheet cakes are served to the other guests from the kitchen. This way everybody gets icing. There are no center cuts.
2. Filled cupcakes and Weecakes (mini cupcakes) are ideal because your guests can choose their favorite flavor of cake and frosting. The tiered cupcake stands are very expensive and I have found them to be unstable - so I no longer use them. If you choose cupcakes, I recommend still having a small two-tiered “show” cake to cut at the reception.
3. A selection of 9” cakes in many different flavors: You can choose the usual chocolate, vanilla, marble or anything else you might want to have: carrot, spice, chocolate-cherry, chocolate- raspberry, German chocolate, rum cream, lemon cream, pineapple cream, peanutbutter-chocolate or a choice of your own. Cakes are on display where guests can select their favorite and cut their own slice.
4. 8” cakes on each table - so the guests can serve themselves at each table. This provides dessert and eliminates the expense of table centerpieces. But - there sometimes is wasted cake with this method. However - any leftover cake can be frozen for use at a later time.
Prices: based on the batter, filling, frosting and number of servings you will need.
Floral Decoration: I will coordinate with your florist and have them design the flowers or I will work with your colors and design the flower decorations myself.
Frosting: I do butter cream or whipped cream only. If you wish a smooth rolled fondant finish, please select another baker. The fondant may look nice but tastes terrible. Also I do not use “white” chocolate. There is no such thing and “white chocolate” has a strange after-taste. (FYI: White chocolate contains no chocolate liquor. It is a mix of cocoa butter, sugar, lecithin, milk solids and vanilla. Chocolate liquor is the brown paste leftover after the cocoa butter has been extracted from the cocoa nibs.)
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COOKIE QUEEN COOKBOOKS
The Cookie Queen has published three cookbooks: “Royal Recipes From the Castle of the Cookie Queen,” “Hassle Free Holidays” and “Never Scrub Another Toilet.”
To find out more about her books go to her Amazon Author’s Page:
amazon.com/author/thecookiequeen
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COOKIE QUEEN CLASSES
Did you know that the Cookie Queen teaches cooking classes? A gift certificate for a class here at the Castle would make a great holiday gift. I offer a whole host of classes from two to make bread to how to make pie crust to how to make dinner in 15 minutes. You can also design your own class. Tell me what you want to learn and I will teach you. And you can bring a friend or two.
But not more than 5 in a class. Fees depend on what we’ll be learning and how many will be participating. You can purchase a gift certificate by messaging me at cookiequ@verizon.net.
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This newsletter has been published weekly for the past 30 years. You can read some of the back issues on Substack. (
) Or message me for any back issues you'd like to read.