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What better way to say “welcome to campus” than with a tasty Tarleton State-themed cookie? Two such treats — Texan Twinkle and Smokestack Snack — are debuting today in time for Week of Welcome.

The cookies were developed with Red Umbrella Bakery. Texan Twinkle is an almond sugar cookie with purple and silver sprinkles and purple Bavarian cream filling. Smokestack Snack is a brown sugar/cookies and cream blend with purple cheesecake filling. Both “bleed purple” when broken open to reveal their luscious insides.

“Tarleton State fans have a strong loyalty to the university,” noted Lindsay Hope, Tarleton Manager of Licensing and Trademarks, adding that marketing data identifies consumables as one of the fastest growing areas of college merchandise sales.

“A loyalty that strong deserves a treat — something exciting and unique for Texans to enjoy and be proud of.”

While the recipes were in the making, a contest to name the cookies was also in the mix. A form went out on social media to collect name ideas. From 162 suggestions, the “Final Five” were released in a poll that drew more than 1,200 votes.

“The marketing and communications team decided on our top names, and Red Umbrella separately decided their top names,” Hope said. “We then compared notes and found that we were mostly on the same page. In the end, we preferred names that combined Tarleton State spirit with a sense of what the cookie flavor is.”

Many suggestions invoked Oscar P and the Purple Poo. Hope giggled the most at Ooey, Gooey, Purple but not Pooey.

“It didn’t make the finals, but it made me smile.”

Desiree Garcia and Ruby Wideman separately submitted Smokestack Snack, and Dede and McCrae Allen together submitted Texan Twinkle.

Emily Thompson, owner of Red Umbrella Bakery, based the cookie creations on family recipes.

“A lot of our recipes, like the brown sugar/cookies and cream cheesecake one, are based off of my grandmother’s brown sugar cookie recipe, and we just kind of adapted it. The almond sugar cookie is one of our recipes that we tweaked a little bit,” she said.

“We had freedom to come up with whatever we wanted. When we started there was just going to be one cookie, and they couldn’t decide between the two, so they wound up having the brown sugar/cookies and cream and the almond sugar cookie.”

To narrow it down, Thompson baked sample batches for walk-in customers to try. Then she took some to Tarleton for a taste test.

“Everybody has been excited. We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback. The favorite so far seems to be the brown sugar/cookies and cream with cheesecake filling — most people are falling in love with it. The sugar cookie with Bavarian cream is also really good, and I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from kids. Little girls are really excited because it’s sparkly and shiny with all the glittery sprinkles on it.”

The cookies are substantially sized, for maximum sweet satisfaction. The Texan Twinkle is about 4 inches across, and the Smokestack Snack measures a whopping 5 inches. Thompson said they pair well with milk and are especially memorable warmed up and topped with vanilla ice cream.

She plans to have both in stock daily for a while, depending on sales.

“We may switch to just having them on Thursdays for a Purple Thursday treat in-store, but they will be distributed in a few places throughout campus, such as the Dining Hall and Oscar P’s General Store, and throughout town as well.” The cookies can also be preordered.

Gluten-free versions are planned. The bakery already offers gluten-free cupcakes, cookies and cake pops.

Thompson opened her storefront in 2021 but had been doing custom orders for several years before that.

“A lot of our recipes are from scratch, heavily influenced off generational family recipes. I always tell everyone that the best recipes come on yellow paper,” she said. “All of our cupcakes and other treats I have developed from the ground up. The Tarleton cookies were definitely a different experience, being a product for someone else, but we’ve developed new products quite a bit.”

Red Umbrella recently opened a new location at 2029 W. Washington St., Suite 220. Its signature feature, “the bar,” showcases alcohol-inspired cupcakes like margarita and Jack and Coke. There’s also a full dessert bar, with mini-cakes, cake pops, brownies, cookies and cupcakes. Saturdays feature cinnamon rolls, savory rolls and bacon cheddar rolls.

Never mind all of this delectableness, working with a local business just made sense to Hope when she went looking to cook up a Tarleton-themed confection.

“We love partnering with people who are part of the community, and Red Umbrella Bakery is our neighbor,” she said. “They regularly serve our students, fans and alumni. This venture supports small business while giving fans something fun to enjoy as they celebrate their Tarleton State spirit.”

It’s a pretty sweet deal for Thompson, too.

“It’s definitely been a fun experience,” she said, “and we appreciate working with Tarleton as a small business. It’s been great for us.”