Donna O'Brien Uses a pastry bag to adorn each Bambinos cookie with a swirl of frosting.
Bambinos cookie decorated with sprinkles.
A tray of Bambinos cookies. The cookies are described as between "a cookie and a cupcake."
Bambinos cookies can be sampled and purchased at Hy-Vee stories in the metro area, Ankeny and now 19 stores in the Des Moines area.
WATERLOO — Bambinos – lighter-than-air, melt-in-your-mouth sandwich sugar cookies topped with a thick swirl of luscious frosting and sprinkles – are in the spotlight at metro-area Hy-Vee stores during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Waterloo cookie creator Donna O’Brien calls them “the cookie stack that gives back.” The breast cancer survivor donates a portion of Bambinos’ sales to the Beyond Pink TEAM, a nonprofit organization providing support and education for breast cancer patients in the Cedar Valley and advocates for breast cancer research.
Now Bambinos are being sold in 19 Des Moines Hy-Vee stores. The cookies will be prominently displayed in stores, in ads and on social media, O’Brien said. If sales go well, stores throughout an eight-state area will be added to the distribution list.
“We were doing really very well before COVID-19 hit and giving funds to the Beyond Pink TEAM. We still did business, but people were more worried about necessities. Now we’re trying to get our lives back on track and move forward again,” said O’Brien.
Successful sales also will allow O’Brien to achieve her 2021 fundraising goal. “I want to match the combined donations that the Beyond Pink TEAM receives every year in one check from Bambinos,” she explained.
In January 2020, for example, she donated $3,500 to the Beyond Pink Team, and gives nearly 20 percent of her proceeds to Beyond Pink.
With the recent expansion into Des Moines, O’Brien plans to donate funds to the Can Do Cancer organization in Des Moines.
Bambinos sales have already doubled in Waterloo and Cedar Falls locations since the new displays were installed.
“Bambino” is Italian for “baby,” and the petite-sized cookie is O’Brien’s passion. She describes them as “upscale indulgences” with a unique flavor profile. Bambinos are baked, decorated and packaged in her Waterloo kitchen.
O’Brien was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in November 2008. She underwent a double mastectomy, six months of chemotherapy and reconstructive surgery in 2009.
She distracted herself by baking cookies. As each batch of cookies was pulled from the oven, O’Brien began to formulate a plan in her head to turn her cookies into a business that also could help others.
While undergoing chemotherapy, O’Brien noticed Beyond Pink Team volunteers assisting other breast cancer patients. Curious, she asked about the organization and was impressed by its mission, which includes providing grants to patients in need of financial and emotional support, transportation, child care and more.
She began donating cookies for Beyond Pink TEAM events and fundraisers and expanded into weddings, baby showers, parties and community events. Bambinos were shipped countrywide as Christmas gifts, as well.
She met with a Hy-Vee bakery manager who loved the cookies. That meeeting lead to meetings two years ago at Hy-Vee corporate headquarters. The cookies were launched locally in October 2019 for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Recent subsequent meetings have resulted in the large-scale launch of Bambinos into the Des Moines market.
Her sister Lorie Heuthorst spends her days baking cookies in the two ovens in O’Brien’s (licensed) kitchen while O’Brien is at her full-time job as customer relations manager at Martin Bros. in Cedar Falls.
“When I get home after work, I put on an apron and start decorating cookies. We go until 10 or 11 at night,” said O’Brien, who can pipe swirls on five dozen cookies in less than 15 minutes.
She also has hired more staff to keep up with orders. Beyond Pink TEAM volunteers pack the cookies in clear plastic containers, and O’Brien’s husband Joe and other family members regularly pitch in. O’Brien’s friend and colleague Angela Dark developed the Bambinos logo and marketing materials and manages a Facebook page that features “Faces of Hope” profiles of breast cancer survivors. Orders can be placed on Facebook, too.
O’Brien has several new products in the wings she’d like to introduce “when we get our feet on solid ground with Bambinos. The wheels keep turning, but these cookies are our fan favorites.
“This has been my passion since day one. I really want to be successful. I love the Beyond Pink TEAM so much, and I think we can do so much for them,” O’Brien added.
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October 04, 2020 at 05:30PM
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Bambinos cookies now being sold in 19 Hy-Vee stores - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
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