What started out as a good gesture for a local fundraiser has now turned into a popular business for one Santa Clarita resident. Angela Schenone, who worked as a real estate agent for the last eight-teen years, recalls her story of starting the company, House of the Peruvian Cookie, and their plans for the future. It started with an idea to make cookies for her daughter’s birthday party and quickly grew to making cookies for other special events.
“Four years ago, I wanted to make alfajores for my daughter’s birthday. I wanted to make them really authentic, so I started looking at recipes” said Schenone. “We started playing with the recipe and we did it for four days. We did the birthday party and the whole family was impressed.”
When it came time to help a friend in need for a local fundraiser selling different homemade foods, Schenone thought selling the popular cookie might be a good idea. “She is a single mom with three kids, all my friends wanted to do a fundraiser to get her Disney tickets” said Schenone. “So, I wanted to donate three hundred alfajores, but I could only make one hundred and now I have two hundred in just dough. That’s when I started posting it and people started saying they wanted them.”
After noticing how successful her cookies were becoming, Schenone decided to pursue a spot in the Old Town Newhall farmers market. Eventually she was brought into the market and quickly became one of the most popular vendors. “Our first time we brought sixty dozen thinking that’s a lot of cookies. In thirty minutes, I had no more cookies” Schenone said “It’s for those that are not able to make it to the Newhall Farmers Market, House of the Peruvian Cookie offers delivery to all of Santa Clarita as well as customized cookies for birthdays and graduations.”
“The cookies are made fresh in our home kitchen with some help from the rest of the family. We make it from scratch, it’s a cornstarch cookie” Said Schenone. “It’s me and my husband, we both do the baking. I have a 13-year-old daughter, she sometimes chips in to help me do the special one and I have an 8-year-old, she’s the one that cut the threads for the bowties.” With all her success, Schenone still has her eyes on the future and growing her family business. “We are working on getting another license that allow us to distribute to coffee shops and restaurants” said Schenone, “Also a booth at the mall with the cookies already made, that’s my goal hopefully in less than five years. Having a place where we can make alfajores to distribute and The alfajor bakery, maybe that will be something many years after. That’s where I want to head to.”
The House of the Peruvian Cookie also has their own website, as well as a Facebook page and Instagram @houseoftheperuviancookie. Their website offers online orders where customers can pre-order their cookies and pick them up from the vendor. Their Facebook and Instagram post updates on events and sales.
