The moment the doors are opened to the shoppe, one can breathe in the heavenly aroma of cinnamon rolls. Packaged in clear containers are individual sizes and pans with four jumbo cinnamon rolls. All looking too good to eat with the cinnamon peering through the melted frosting covering the baked, plumped dough. On these below freezing, wintery days doesn't a hot cup of flavored coffee and a cinnamon roll make your mouth water?

Sandy's Sweet Shoppe is a local stop for a sweet tooth fix. From a child's Easy Bake Oven to a licensable kitchen, Sandy Tietjen has specialty treats that has her customers coming back for more. After working behind the scenes in assisting her daughter, Nikki Felmlee, at The She Shed and selling freeze dried candies there, Sandy has returned to the kitchen with all ovens on.

She began baking birthday cakes for family with her Easy Bake Oven when she was a little girl. As she grew up, she would spend time baking with her grandmother, Elsie Schleif. Sandy would add ingredients as directed by her grandmother. There weren't recipes to follow with designated measurements, Elsie would say to Sandy "Okay. A little bit more. A little bit more. Okay, that looks good." Isn't that the way our grandmothers and great-grandmothers baked, or cooked, and the results were scrumptious.

When Sandy was 12 years old, her grandmother died and Sandy didn't have any written recipes from her. However, some of Sandy's baked goods resemble what Elsie had taught her. Sandy still uses the cherished, wooden, rolling pin she inherited from her grandmother.

Other delectables Sandy makes that seems to be a favorite of her customers are the decorated, frosted sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies and the moist mini-bundt cakes which are swirled with a different flavor each week. A colorful, fun looking cookie Sandy calls a "crinkle cookie" is rolled in powder sugar before baking. When they come out of the oven, they are not smooth, but have a crinkly appearance. The strawberry flavored one is red and the pistachio flavor is green. For a different contrast, she makes chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips. "One of my favorites is the white chocolate macadamia cookie," said Sandy.

One winter, Sandy joined dozens of others from the area to go to the fruit trucks that roll into town from different farms. She purchased several crates of peaches and strawberries. Time was of the essence, so she busied herself making peach and strawberry jam which she sells. "So, it is literally farm-to-table." said Sandy. Apple, grape and wild cherry jellies have also been added to the offerings.

Sandy previously operated New Horizons Healthy Lifestyles where she sold more health-conscience foods in her café and she was a massage therapist. It turned out people have cravings for sugary desserts rather than their healthful alternatives. This was indicative to her sales receipts, so she decided to give consumers what they want and changed the delight options to accommodate them.

New Horizons Healthy Lifestyles, and The She Shed, were also located in the same building she owns, and to which Sandy's Sweet Shoppe is now located. And so, in searching for the shoppe's locality, it is worthy to note the store front on Central Avenue still reads The She Shed. This may be updated in the near future to reflect the change.

Instead of working in a licensed kitchen, like Nikki had, Sandy has elected to produce products under Nebraska's cottage food law using her building on Central and working from home.

To work within the cottage laws the shoppe has pickup hours which differ slightly from having normal operating market hours. The advantage with this is consumers can pre-order from the weekly menu ahead of time. And, conveniently, there are delectables on site that can be added to any previous order or for anyone who walks in to pick up something tasty.

Sandy's Sweet Shoppe doors are open on Thursdays and Fridays from

7 a.m. to 2 p.m. "Ordering ahead of time early in the week is preferred, especially for holidays and cookie platters," suggested Sandy. Flavors of some of the products change weekly, so the menu can be seen on Facebook where she can be messaged with orders or by calling her at 402-879-1100.

Skittles, Jolly Ranchers, Nerds and saltwater taffy are enjoyed by many. Freeze drying candies changes its chewiness by removing moisture from the candy causing them to expand into a light, crunchy candy concentrating its flavor. Sandy is continuing her line of freeze-dried candies along with her baked goods, and jams and jellies. In the future, she is considering adding cakes to her fares.

Sandy Tietjen

With a purchase of Sandy's Sweet Shoppe delicacies, customers are welcomed to help themselves to a free cup of coffee. There are a variety of flavors like mocha, chai, cookie dough and four different caramels, caramel pecan for example, and more to choose from. There are also tables if customers would prefer to stay a while to relish their indulges.