More About Kathleen

Hiya Friend! I am Kathleen Pope, author, creator, photographer and publisher of The Fresh Cooky. I am so glad you found me, I have been baking and making real food with a healthy twist since 2017.

If you are looking for easy, tried and true recipes, you are in the right place! Each recipe is tested, and not only vetted by my family, but oftentimes by many friends and neighbors. After all, a girl and her family can only eat so many cookies!

How it all began

As a longtime digital scrapbooker, I started blogging as a way to collect my recipes, marry my love of photography and explore my inner graphic designer by creating free printables. Psst, when you subscribe to my newsletter you get FREE access to all of my printables!

After 20 years running my own promotional product and marketing business, I decided to chase my passion and dive headfirst into something new. And guess what? It’s become my full-time “dream job”!

I have always loved hospitality, encouraging others to be adventurous in the kitchen, to make it yours! I want to encourage people to slow down, make a simple home cooked meal, bake fresh goodies, and invite family and friends to the table.

My faith in God is what “feeds” me, read on for a more about our family, our values and our favorite recipes.

The Story Behind The Name

• So why “The Fresh Cooky” with a “Y” you ask? Well, I love fresh food, especially fresh cookies (yup, a cookie snob) and it’s my hope is to encourage others to try something new, experiment, make it yours!
• I LOVE to COOK! My husband will call me COOKY when I’m a whirling around the kitchen.
• And lastly, well I’ll be honest, I’m a little CŌŌKY, crazy and corny… and I’m okay with that!

Home Chef, Cookie Baker, Label Maker

A self-taught home chef, I have been making and baking regular and gourmet meals since I was young girl. I come from a long line of great cooks. I have done some private catering for weddings, dinner parties and luncheons, but my true love is having people in our home.

• My German paternal grandmother had 7 boys (that’s a lot of mashed potatoes!) and was a wonderful cook, her Pfeffernusse Cookies are legendary in our family.
• My maternal grandmother (also German) and I would make Buckeyes, and bake all sorts of goodies and pretzels.
• My mom, the ultimate kitchen inspiration! She encouraged us siblings to get creative, experiment, and bake our hearts out. From scratch, cooking with real, wholesome ingredients was her secret. We had a blast making pies and sneaking cookie dough together. Fond memories filled with floury fun!
• Mixing up my heritage, I’ve got a touch of Italian magic thanks to my maternal Grandpa! With Italian and German roots, I embrace both, but my heart dances for Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Grandpa Frank’s Secret Spaghetti Sauce, passed down from his 3 Denver restaurants, is my all-time favorite recipe!

Baker Training

I have been perfecting cookie recipes since I was a teenager, my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie has been tweaked and perfected for high altitude and sea level for over thirty years. E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E. asks for this recipe when I bake them, and my newer Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookies are giving my classics a run for their money. You cannot go wrong!

I also enjoy creating Copycat recipes; try my Copycat Crumbl Sugar Cookies, Panera Orange Scones, or this decadent (but easy) White Chocolate Raspberry Nothing Bundt Cakes!

Label Maker

I call myself a frustrated graphic designer because I love creating pretty things, and I like sharing! So you get to benefit! Try these recipes or creations below; they all come with a printable label free for you to download! Remember; when you subscribe to my newsletter you get FREE access to all of my printables!

• Christmas Gift Tags for DIY Gifts
• DIY Strawberry Lip Scrub
• From the Kitchen of Free Printable Gift Tags
• Lemon & Peppermint Antibacterial Hand Scrub
• DIY Sugar Scrub
• Homemade Golden Milk Spice Mix + Free Label
• Homemade Bourbon Vanilla Extract Recipe

Here at The Fresh Cooky We Value

• FAMILY | Family always comes first, and I love getting our boys in the kitchen!
• ORGANIC | All natural, organic, non-gmo foods are important to our family.
• EASY | Whether you are making your first meal or it’s meal 50,000, we make it easy with step-by-step pictorial instructions in each post. Our recipe card now features the ability to scale to your needs; cooking for two, you got it, cooking for 8, I’ve got you!
• TWEAKING | As in recipe tweaking, “Make it Yours“, if you don’t have a particular spice, leave it out, or swap with your favorite! Most recipes have tips for substitutions and variations.
• HEALTHY-ISH | I try and use whole foods wherever I can, many of our recipes are wholesome and healthy, but I will admit to using a boxed cake mix every now and then!
• GLUTEN-FREE | Our family is not gluten-free, but my brother’s family and many of my friends are dairy-free, so when possible, I give tried and true options to swap out for food allergies.
• HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING | I have mastered high altitude baking success; when it affects a recipe, I will let you know and give you the alternate measurements and temperature differences, but all recipes are delicious at sea level and everything in between!

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I love communicating with my readers and read every comment and try and get back personally as quickly as possible. Be sure to follow me on Social Media (see links below) and definitely join our email family.

• https://www.pinterest.com/thefreshcooky/
• https://www.facebook.com/thefreshcooky
• https://www.instagram.com/thefreshcooky/

I send a weekly email called Fresh Fridays with new recipes, seasonal recipes and a bit of encouragement! Join below!

A little family history

My husband, Brad, and I met and married later in life (read about how cinnamon rolls almost stopped our engagement!) and married in November 2000. He jokes that he married me because of my cooking!

We didn’t waste any time starting a family. By the fall of 2003, we had welcomed two boys into our family. They fight and are mean to each other, but I know that they love each other, deep down, like the core of the earth deep. Now that they are college students who love to cook and bake themselves, I love developing healthy recipes they can take back and make for their friends!

The picture below is just before I started the blog, keep scrolling for a bit more updated picture.

I’ve always loved being in the kitchen, it’s my happy place. It is truly therapeutic for me and I cannot quite explain it. I love making meals and treats that are wholesome and nutritious, mostly organic, sometimes decadent, interesting and practical for the everyday.

I’m not perfect, you don’t have to be perfect either!

Okay, here’s the scoop: I’m not afraid to rely on frozen meals to save the day when life gets hectic! Picture this: mac n’ cheese from a box, paired with biscuits (from a can), and voila, dinner is served! (Don’t worry, I even put out some honey butter and sliced cucumber because we’re fancy like that). 😉

I am an everyday, slightly overweight, normal, and occasionally hormonal mom, not a super mom. I get cranky, and snap at my kids and my husband. I need to ask for forgiveness….A LOT!

What I’m trying to say is, I’m not perfect, I don’t pretend to be and I hope you won’t either.

I love my morning time in God’s Word and praying while the house is quiet. I go to sleep early and get up before dawn, and I try and cook a hot breakfast every morning.

Walking is my jam! Whether it’s a solo stroll or hanging out with friends, my hubby, or my boys, I find it’s the perfect opportunity for “walking therapy.” When I’m not shaking up drinks, baking a scrumptious cake, or whipping up an easy weeknight meal, you’ll often catch me exploring the ‘hood or hitting the gorgeous trails of Colorado.

Marriage Mission Statement

During our engagement we were encouraged to come up with a marriage mission statement and I highly encourage others to do the same!

“We want our home to be a place of refuge, comfort and safety; that all who come into our home would feel welcome, comfortable, always make themselves at home, and never leave hungry.”

But most importantly, I love Jesus – I am not perfect at loving Him, but I love that His grace and mercies are new every morning and I try and extend the same to others all around me.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that a little of my joy and love of hospitality will leak into your life as well.