The Delicious Origins of Hoban’s Beloved Mushy Cookie

The mushy cookie, a staple of the Hoban cafeteria, has been around since the mid ‘80s, but does anyone really know its origins?

Kathy Backer, former cafeteria worker and inventor of the mushy cookie, is happy to see the tradition live on. As a mother of eight, a grandmother of 23 and a great-grandmother of nine, Backer always enjoyed cooking and often made large amounts of food at home as well. This made it a simple task for her to begin working at Archbishop Hoban in the cafeteria in 1980.

She quickly made the cuisine her own by bringing her signature stromboli and burger recipes to the menu. Hand rolling 50 pounds of hamburger meat once a week, Backer utilized her famous secret ingredient and ordered miniature burger buns from Massoli’s, a local bakery in North Hill.
Although it was difficult work, the whole kitchen staff helped out because the students loved the meal and Backer loved to make the children happy.

“I really enjoyed that job,” Backer said. “I loved the kids.”

1988 sports hall of fame inductee and 1968 graduate Don Zwisler was reminded of Thacker’s Burgers when eating Kathy Backer’s original recipe, and suggested the name “Backer Burger” for her outstanding contribution to the menu.
​
​“Put that on the board,” Backer said.  From then on, “Backer Burgers” decorated the menu each Wednesday.

With so many contributions made to the menu, one item reigns supreme: the mushy cookie. Every Hoban student and faculty remembers this tasty treat, originating in the mid ‘80s with Backer as the head of the kitchen staff. Previous to the mushy cookie trend, the already-formed dough was easily cooked before lunch periods and brought to the line for the kids to choose as a tasty dessert.

When removing one of the trays of the undercooked cookies, Tonya May, another kitchen worker, stated that the cookies looked very “mushy.”

“Put that on the board,” Backer said. Hence, the mushy cookie was born and began to thrive.

With concerns of salmonella arising, Backer researched ingredients to discover that no eggs or dangerous raw ingredients were used in the dough.

Seven of Kathy Backer’s children attended Hoban and often helped out in the kitchen. Backer’s son, David Backer, recalls working in the kitchen, sneaking the occasional snack.

“We used to eat them frozen and some of my friends would ask for frozen ones after they saw me eating them,” David Backer said.

Approximately 30 years later, the recipe has changed several times and Hoban has invested in special heat lamps to keep the cookies warm, but the tradition of the undercooked treat continues because of the fame it acquired when Kathy Backer brought the delicious treat to Hoban’s cafeteria over 30 years ago.