Cookie Jar Café preps for holiday to-go orders

I was more than happy to make the trip to The Cookie Jar Café located in Dunlap, Tenn. From downtown Chattanooga, it is about a 45-minute country drive to the heart of the Sequatchie Valley with its rolling hills, farms of free-ranging cattle and rustic silos back-dropped against the magnificent Fredonia Mountain, just beginning to turn with and purples.

Chocolate Pie

The last time I visited the country café it was breakfast, and I'd resisted the temptation of ordering slices of pie. This time, it was after lunch and I was giving myself permission.

Inside the café feels just as rustic as tis surroundings. You can hear the clatter from the kitchen. Waitresses roll silverware at the long bar. Diners quietly chat over hot bowls of homemade soup like chicken baja, vegetable beef, or Wisonsin cheese complete with bacon and chives. The café features a different special soup every day throughout the winter season.

The atmosphere may be easy-going, but there is something electric in the air as the staff gears up for Thanksgiving Day orders. "There's somebody here until 11 at night and back at 5:30 am," said the owner Sue Ann Lockhard, in regards to the restaurant's busy season.

The Cookie Jar Café is currently offering bulk to-go orders of just anything you could imagine for a proper holiday feast. Roasted whole turkeys, turkey breasts or hams rubbed with the restaurant's special house-made seasoning. Any one of the down-home sides listed on the regular menu, like sourdough rolls, turnip greens, deviled eggs, fried okra, or the café's popular broccoli slaw made with broccoli, apples, raisins, and cranberries and tossed in homemade dressing, gravy, or spiced cranberry sauce infused with cinnamon, honey, and nutmeg.

Most importantly, there are The Cookie Jar's famous made-from-scratch desserts. "Closer to the holiday we'll start coming in at 3:30, 4 in the morning just to fill all the cake orders," Sue Ann told me. If German chocolate and red velvet cake aren't enough to fill your head with visions of sugar plums, perhaps the chocolate créme, pumpkin, and pecan pies will. There's also an assortment of cupcakes like white buttercream and wedding cake along with seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice and fresh apple stacked high with whipped caramel icing.

"Cupcakes are great, especially if you have lots of children around." said Sue Ann. I was suddenly feeling overwhelmed. I had no idea which pie, cake, or cupcake to order.

"What is the No. 1 seller?" I asked.

"The coconut pie," Sue Ann said. "But we've already sold out of that one today." I decided to go with the second best-seller: the banana torte. For holiday spirit's sake. I also ordered a slice of the café's seasonal pumpkin torte with crumbly gingersnap crust, a layer of cream cheese, a gooey layer of pumpkin pie filling, and a thick topping of Cool Whip.

The banana torte was easily my new favorite dessert. Its crust is crumbly and nutty flavored. The filling is sweet and creamy, almost like banana pudding but with more texture. The whole thing is heavily topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with pecans. I should never have waited to experience it. With its hunks of fruit and dairy based topping, it would have made the perfect breakfast pie.

Thanksgiving Day dessert and roll orders need to be placed by November 22. Meal orders need to be placed by November 15. Orders will be available for pick-up the day before Thanksgiving. "The store isn't open then because we'll need all the table space to lay out orders," Sue Ann said.

Even if you're handling your own cooking this year, The Cookie Jar Café is worth the trip, even if just for the drive. Bring your camera. And make sure you have room for dessert.