GUILFORD -- From the traditional sugar cookie to baked sweetness with potato chips and pretzels inside and seemingly everything in between, Red Rooster Gourmet Cookies has something for everyone.
With over 200 flavors and more than 40 menu items, including the Signature Rooster which has cranberries, white chocolate, butterscotch and semi-sweet chocolate, owner Kim Welch has been serving up her gourmet cookies in Guilford since 2007.
Welch left her family's insurance business to follow her passion.
"I wanted to go to pastry school when I graduated but I was pushed toward the insurance field, said Welch. "I was just like, you know what, I just want to try this."
A hot spot near the Guilford green, Red Rooster offers many popular cookies like a customer favorite, the 'Crunchie Munchie', which is a combination of cereal and snack foods.
"Potato chips, pretzels, rice krispies, caramel, chocolate and a little sea salt on top, it's very good," said the owner.
It's evident by a steady flow of customers into this hidden bake shop that is anything but ordinary.
Said Welch, "Some people come in and they feel like this is like my homemade kitchen, it makes people comfortable."
Welch was born on a farm with all sorts of animals including a rooster, which she says used to follow her around. As she got older, she found that she was born in the year of the rooster and they are also good luck and they make you think of a farm. That helped spur on the name Red Rooster which has now become synonymous with gourmet cookies in Connecticut.
"You are bringing joy to people. They smile when they come in," said Welch. "To me, that's the fun part, that makes it worthwhile."
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