by Bonnie Williamson “What about desserts?” I asked. “If the world comes to an end, I’m going to want cookies.” That quote, which comes from young adult science fiction writer Susan Beth Pfeffer’s book, Life As We Knew It, could be the mantra for many people. Cookies and other sweet delights are essential to a happy life. Well, Perry Sanders has been doing his bit to meet those cravings for more than 50 years. Sanders, 57, is the proud owner and chief baker at Sanders’ Cookie Jar Bakery in Hagerstown, Maryland. He jokingly says he has had a hand in the Cookie Jar since childhood. “I began helping out when I was about eight years old. It was fun. Soon I was doing more than just helping out. I was rolling out the dough for cookies and cutting the cookies out,” Sanders says. Sanders comes by his choice of career as part of a family tradition. He is the third generation of bakers. His grandfather Preston owned a bakery in Aberdeen, Maryland. His father Don started his own business in downtown Hagerstown at 20 East Washington St. in 1965. Sanders briefly tried other jobs for about three years before returning to the bakery business in 1984. “It got into my blood,” he says. He worked with his father for about ten years. His father eventually decided to sell the Cookie Jar. Sanders took him up on the offer, purchasing the business in 1994. He opened up Sanders’ Cookie Jar Bakery at its current location at 13140 Pennsylvania Ave., in 2000. He’ll celebrate his 25th anniversary as owner of the bakery this year. Sanders describes the Cookie Jar as a “full-line” bakery. “We do just about anything you could want, not just cookies. We have such a wide variety. Decorated cakes, anniversary cakes, special occasion cakes, butter rolls, buns, doughnuts, pies, breads, and danishes. Ninety percent of the work is done from scratch. It’s all done on site. I do all the baking and most of the mixing,” says Sanders. Keeping things fresh is important at the Cookie Jar. Since no preservatives are utilized, customers should store their items properly to maintain freshness. All products other than those that contain pastry cream or whipped cream can be left at room temperature for two days as long as they are stored in airtight containers or under cake domes. After that, they should be kept under refrigeration if they are to be eaten over the next few days or in the freezer where they can be stored for several weeks in ziplock bags. Most pastries can be heated gently in the microwave. The Cookie Jar also uses its own recipes. “These are family recipes. We do things the old-fashioned way. The dough isn’t frozen like you find in supermarkets,” Sanders says. Sanders has nine employees who are talented bakers and decorators, but that doesn’t stop him from working long hours, starting early in the morning and continuing into the evening. “The hours may be long, but I still love the work,” he adds. Items featuring cinnamon are some of the most popular ones, Sanders says, like caramel cinnamon buns and glazed cinnamon donuts. Still, these are only two of the vast assortments of guilty pleasures at the Cookie Jar. In the pastry department, there are such items as apple, blueberry, cherry and peach fruit pie tarts; fruit turnabouts, a buttery pastry shell filled with fresh sliced fruit and pastry cream (have to be ordered in advance); apple dumplings; filled croissants, including a chocolate filling; apple, blueberry, cherry cream cheese, peach and pecan danish; cream puffs; eclairs; pastry pretzels with almond and cinnamon;...