About five years ago, Bremen resident Kim McClain was baking gingerbread cookies, in her warm coastal kitchen, with a group of students enrolled in the Jobs for Maine’s Graduates program. (McClain’s job was to assist the students in developing life and work skills.) Surrounded by students (some of whom were lobstermen) and the tantalizing smell of freshly baked gingerbread, McClain suddenly had a bright idea.
“Why not bake life-size gingerbread lobster cookies and ship those to lobster-lovers all around the world?” she thought.
That was the beginning of the Original Gingerbread Lobster Company, which has now become her livelihood. Since its inception, McClain’s cookies have been shipped to almost every state (including Hawaii and Alaska). The cookies have also been shipped to Japan, India, England, France, Italy, Scotland, Argentina, New Zealand, Iraq, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
She said that a number of Peaks Island residents who spend their winters away are among her best customers. They send lobster cookies to their friends on the island at Christmas and throughout the year.
“It’s a way to keep in touch with their island neighbors,” shared McClain, who added that some of her other regular customers and even businesses have sent their entire Christmas list with addresses to her. “It’s become a traditional gift for some customers. People ask, `Are we getting another lobster for Christmas this year?’ ”
McClain remarked that a number of elderly persons also give her a list of people to whom she sends cookies for birthdays and holidays. “They send me a check for a year,” she said. “Then I send the cookies on the appropriate day. It’s a service for older people.”
“The cookies are double-wrapped for freshness and each cookie is packaged with a big bow, a wet nap, paper seaweed, a bib that tells how to eat gingerbread lobster and a personalized gift tag,” commented McClain. “I don’t use any preservatives but the cookies stay tasty for a long time. I use lots of freshly-ground spices.”
Her lobster cookies have been presented as retirement gifts by banks and as closing gifts from real estate companies. The cookies have also been used as promotional items by hotels or bed-and-breakfasts. McClain suggests dunking the gingerbread cookies in hot chocolate, coffee or cappuccino. She said the cookies are also delicious when topped with coffee ice cream or other favorite ice creams.
Another popular item produced by the Original Gingerbread Lobster Company is a three-foot lobster cookie, which is displayed on a plank and may be served at wedding receptions, business conferences, library events and art openings.
“It makes a great conversation starter,” she said. “It’s made from five or six pounds of gingerbread dough. It’s very three-dimensional.”
Some of McClain’s other specialty items include a crate filled with small gingerbread lobster cookies, gingerbread starfish cookies, gingerbread scallop cookies, gingerbread clam cookies, and gingerbread sand dollar cookies; a lobster trap full of gingerbread seashells; a North Atlantic Salmon cookie and a Maryland Blue Crab cookie (each made from gingerbread dough). She does many specialty orders throughout the year and will also do those for Christmas if she gets enough advance notice.
“I shipped out more than 1,000 lobster cookies last Christmas,” said Kim. “I start getting orders for the holidays in August.”
Kim says she’s been baking most of her life (recalling that her grandmother taught her to bake when she was just a child). She added that her entire family has always enjoyed not only fishing but also the water. Kim’s late husband (Daniel J. McClain) was the art director for Field and Stream magazine. They lived in Connecticut for a number of years before moving to Maine.
McClain can be reached by email kim@gingerbreadlobster.com or by calling (207) 529-4040.