A long-standing partnership between Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES and the Chautauqua Lake Central School District once again brought something sweet to fourth-grade students — sugar cookies shaped like New York state.
The annual New York State Cookie Project began about 25 years ago when former teacher Ed Carutis introduced it as a fun way to help students learn about geography. The project was later continued by Margie Weise, who collaborated with Culinary Arts students to bake the cookies each year.
Today, the tradition lives on under the direction of teacher Denny Morrison, who incorporates the cookies into his fourth-grade social studies lessons at Chautauqua Lake. The hands-on activity helps students identify major rivers, mountains, lakes, and cities across the Empire State — with frosting and candy pieces marking the landmarks.
This year, under the guidance of Chef David Caccamise, juniors in the Culinary Arts program at the LoGuidice Educational Center baked 45 sugar cookies for the project.
As in past years, the cookies were delivered to Morrison’s classroom ahead of Thanksgiving, where students eagerly decorated their edible maps.
For Caccamise and his Culinary Arts students, the project is about more than baking — it’s about giving back.
“It’s a great tradition that we always look forward to here at LoGuidice,” Caccamise said. “Not too long ago, these juniors were in fourth grade themselves, so it’s nice for them to be able to lend a hand for education.”
Morrison again expressed his gratitude to Caccamise and his students for continuing the sweet tradition.
The collaboration between E2CCB and Chautauqua Lake Central School was once again supported by a grant from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation.
