Faces of the Fair: Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar

There are few State Fair foods more iconic than Sweet Martha's cookies.

The fair staple started modestly in a 9-by-11 stand built in Martha Rossini Olson's backyard and filled with rented equipment.

Now, years later, Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar sells about a million cookies a day from two permanent, go-to spots on the fairgrounds, identifiable by their bright yellow paint and lines of hungry fans.

Every night during the fair, the booths replenish their supply with nine pallets of ingredients. That's a lot of flour, sugar and chocolate chips.

While it's a must-eat once-a-year fair food for droves of Minnesotans, it's also possible to eat the sweet treats all year round.

About 14 years ago, Rossini Olson said, the company started selling Sweet Martha's cookie dough — which now include five varieties — into grocery stores. And last year, Sweet Martha's sugar cookies joined the mix.