The “Cookie Team” during our photoshoot day. From L to R: Allison, Maren, Annee, Dominick & Veronika.

Founded by Annee Martin, whose life and work have long been rooted in creating places of comfort, joy, hospitality, and connection, that is the heart of The Kindness Cookie Project. From innkeeper and chef to cookbook author, boutique owner, and founder of Ami Carmel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Annee has always believed in what she calls “hospitality for the soul.”

What began in the spring of 2025 as a simple invitation to share chocolate chip cookie recipes and stories has grown into something far bigger than we ever imagined.

With deep gratitude, we are honored to now have more than 100 contributors whose recipes and stories will appear in the upcoming book. Over the past year, recipes and stories have traveled from kitchens and gatherings across Italy, Hawaii, Texas, Florida, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and beyond.

The cookies have been baked, tested, shared, and enjoyed at community events, chambers, fire stations, police stations, hospitals, nonprofits, author fairs, retreats, offices, and homes where people gathered around something simple and meaningful.

And along the way, something beautiful happened. People connected.

The cookies are delicious, creative, nostalgic, comforting, and unforgettable.

The stories are funny, heartwarming, healing, inspiring, and sometimes miraculous.

What started as a cookbook has grown into a movement rooted in kindness, hospitality, storytelling, and human connection. Because the cookie is never really just about the cookie.

The cookie is the invitation.

The real gift is connection.

A homemade cookie can become a way to comfort someone, welcome someone, celebrate, apologize, encourage, or simply remind another person they are not alone. As we move into this next chapter, we invite you to join The Kindness Cookie Connection and help us continue spreading kindness one cookie, one story, and one act of love at a time.