Clinton Bakery Making Sweet Treats


By Sonja Young

CLINTON - Dick Abbott thought he had retired from the bakery business when he handed the keys of Cottage Pastry in Fulton, Ill., over to the new owners in December 2002.

But when those owners ended up closing the business, the threat of losing the bakery's Dutch pastries that for decades have been available during the annual Dutch Days celebration ended up bringing Abbott back into the kitchen.

Abbott is serving as an executive consultant training Sweetheart Bakery workers in Clinton how to make the treats so they will be ready for those who want their pinwheels, banket and Dutch letters during the celebration that will be April 30 and May 1 in downtown Fulton.

It was a member of the Dutch Days Committee who approached Sweetheart's owners, Chuck and Brenda Thornton, to see if they would be interested in filling in the gap. Even though the Dutch pastries are a totally different pastry than those created by the Sweetheart bakers, the couple readily agreed to the challenge. The Thorntons felt that it was their responsibility to their Fulton customers.

But where to start? They had made a commitment to produce hundreds of dozens of pastries and didn't even have a recipe.

Calling on Abbott for assistance was the logical first step.

"This will be a joint effort," Brenda said. "Dick and Chuck will make the stuff, but Dick will be in charge. We are so thankful that Dick was willing to do something like this for the community he still lives in."

The Thorntons have a pretty long shopping list as the Dutch treats require ingredients they don't have on hand. Abbott says they are going to need 120 pounds of raisins, 10 pounds of cinnamon, 70 pounds of almond paste and at least 100 pounds of brown sugar. Dutch bakers also use a lot of apples.

Although parts of the recipes are prepared several weeks in advance, the real work starts about a week before the event. Abbott calculates that the team will be baking 500 to 600 dozen pinwheels, 300 almond-filled Dutch letters, 400 to 500 bankets (coffee cakes) and an ever-popular fried cake donut that is filled with ground raisins and cinnamon.

The pastries will be available the entire week of the festival but Abbott says the biggest sales will take place on Friday and Saturday. The Fulton High School Booster Club will be selling the treats at Township Hall, Fourth Street and 10th Avenue. The goodies will also be available at Sweetheart Bakery, 245 Main Ave.

Chuck Thornton is thrilled with the collaborative effort.

"We are going to count on Dick for the next 10 years," Chuck said. "The old generation of bakers, including my dad, have probably forgotten more than we have learned."

©Clinton Herald 2004

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