She leaves for work well before dawn. She spends hours kneading dough, dusting cookies with sugar, spice and all things nice, pinching the edges of pie crust and urging bread to rise.
And this time of year demand for her selection of cakes, pastries and other treats is so high, Chrissy Alexander can’t shake off reminders of her day, even when she settles back into the comfort of her living room.
“We go home smelling like giant cinnamon rolls,” she said with a laugh.
No wonder. From October, when customers seek out Halloween-themed cupcakes, through the end of December, demand for baked goods soars. The holidays — Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas — call for pecans, nutmeg, cinnamon and icing. Holidays account for almost 12 percent of all cookies consumed during the entire year.
The owner of Alexander Baking Co. always keeps containers of snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and other cookies on the counter. But after baking for three years in Lake County and a lifetime in California, she readies for the season with an array of everything from muffins to fondant.
“For Thanksgiving, people want pie,” she explained. “For Christmas, people want it all.”
Alexander prepares custom cakes and pies to order. But her display case is colored by made from scratch treats, ready for walk ins.
Her scones reach that magical point between dry and moist that made them an English favorite. In the chocolate orange version, Alexander deftly manages to mute the impatience of each, taming the flow of chocolate and bite of citrus into soft, genteel, complementary flavors. They speak of afternoon tea and the expectation that rises in children as the aroma of pastry swirls though a room.
Alexander’s vanilla bean scones are equally subtle. Her careful touch produces a rich and buttery bite.
Oatmeal raisin cookies melt away, leaving winsome traces of spice. In the famed cinnamon rolls, her restrained hand avoids the overt spice and cloying sweetness found in so many versions. Instead, the cinnamon huddles in the background, welcoming the faintly sweet, cozy savor of dough forward. But the warmth of the spice calls from the distance — a siren luring you.
Each bite makes you want more.
Of course, Alexander has been at this for awhile. She learned to bake as a child in Upper Lake, where her mother sold pies from home. She attended Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena and baked professionally in several California locations.
Once Alexander even worked the Academy Awards — the Oscars — alongside Wolfgang Puck. Her team was responsible for turning out chocolate replicas of the iconic statue.
“Winners got a Ken doll sized chocolate, the others got small ones,” she recalled with a laugh.
She opened Alexander Baking Co. three years ago, moving into the current space on Soda Bay Rd. in the Rivieras after the first year. It was her first stab at ownership — and an unplanned one, at that.
“When I moved back, there was nowhere to work, so I opened my own business,” Alexander explained. While she admits baking in volume can be a bit trying, it is nothing like throwing open the doors of your own space.
“That was the biggest challenge,” she said. “It takes a lot of effort.”
Alexander bakes and operates the business with the help of her husband Ian and one employee, Alexis Scott. In addition to pastries, muffins, cakes, pies and the lot, they began espresso service — a popular addition that often draws lines.
Alexander Baking Co. also provides goods for the grocery store across the road.
Oh, and there’s that whole holiday demand swing.
“We get slammed October through December,” Alexander said. “But it’s just been fun.”
How could it not be when the scent of cinnamon follows you around.
