SOUTHINGTON- A lifelong stress-relieving activity has made Rachel Tedeschi a hero with her family, especially her children and their friends. Now Rachel hopes to cash in on that activity, making old-fashioned homemade cookies.

Family and friends have been telling her for years that she should be selling her baked goods, but she just thought they were compliments and didn't take it too seriously.

"I've always been intrigued by anything food-related," Tedeschi said. "People have said, 'Oh, you should sell these.' I have three kids so I always thought, 'That's not going to happen.' " In addition to being a mother of three, Tedeschi also works as a real estate broker.

She has been cooking both meals and treats for her family as long as she can remember. Her cookies have become a huge hit at PTO bake sales.

Thalberg School PTO member Dawn Miceli said people specifically ask for Tedeshi's cookies whenever there is a bake sale.

"All the people there are like, 'these things are awesome.' I don't think people take the time to make home baked goods like our mothers or grandmothers did," Miceli said. "Rachel bakes for my family quite often. We are always blown away by the taste and the texture of the cookies . She makes nice old-fashioned cookies the way my mom used to."

When Tedeschi sent a batch of treats from a new recipe to her brother earlier this year, he called her up specifically to again suggest she seriously consider going into business selling her treats.

This time, she did give it serious thought, and Rachel's Cookies and Treats was born.

On Tuesday afternoon, Tedeschi sat in the kitchen at the Grab A Chef restaurant, wearing an apron with her logo on it and samples of her treats in front of her.

"There's something warming and soulful about cookies .

They make people happy," Tedeschi said of deciding on the cookie business out of all her cooking endeavors.

"When was the last time you had an old-fashioned homemade cookie ?" She wanted one more summer to spend with her children before immersing herself in the new venture, but after getting her official documents ready over the summer she is ready to go full force with her all-natural cookies .

Tedeschi sought out the owners of the Grab A Chef business to seek assistance in having a location for baking.

Grab A Chef, which has several areas set up for people to make meals to take home, seemed like a fitting location.

The owners, Kevin and Kelly Gravel, knew Tedeschi a little bit through school functions at Thalberg School.

Kevin Gravel said he was immediately responsive to the idea of Tedeschi's renting time in his business to run hers, and he was completely sold when he tried one of the cookies .

"As big as this town is, it's still a small community," Kevin Gravel said. "When she approached us, having once been in the same predicament ourselves, we said sure."

Kevin Gravel said his only real concern about having Tedeschi using his kitchen is the weight he may gain from having such delicious treats around.

Tedeschi is now accepting orders by phone, but she is hoping to have her Web site ready to take orders online soon. All orders are handmade by Tedeschi as they come in, ensuring freshness.

She is the only employee right now but if things take off, she would love for Rachel's Cookies to become a family operation. She gets some help right now from her daughter Isabella, 12, with packaging the cookies and tying bows on the bags.

Her husband and two sons, Noah, 10, and Luke, 8, love the taste-testing side of the operation. Noah especially likes the chocolate chip cookies while Luke likes the molasses sprinkles. Her husband, Anthony, likes the oatmeal cranberry white chocolate chip cookies .

Aside from her immediate family, Tedeschi has an extended network of taste testers, including Miceli's husband, Joe, and son, Jake.

Tedeschi seems to never have trouble finding volunteers to taste new recipes.

Cookies are a big part of her business, including standards like chocolate chip, peanut butter and the oatmeal cranberry, but she also has some old Italian recipes that have been handed down through her family.

Besides cookies , she also makes candied pecans, vanilla granola and biscotti.

For more information, including pricing and how to place an order, visit her Web site at www.rachelscookiesandtreats. com.

rrathsack@record-journal.com (203) 317-2227