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16 OUR YUCAIPA | APRIL 2016 By Natalie Palmer It's about time brownie points came with actual brownies! Even better, they're brownie cookies. Yucaipa native Margaret Muller has founded "Brownie Points" and since January has been presenting her top secret recipe brownie cookies to deserving groups that go the extra mile to help the community. So far, Muller has presented the cookies to the San Bernardino Police Department, the Yucaipa fire stations, the Yucaipa Police Department, the Colton SWAT team and the house band at Wildwood Calvary Chapel. The wildly popular brownie cookies come in plain, chocolate drizzle, and chocolate walnut, and have a special ingredient many refer to as "crack" because the they're so addicting. (Note: no drugs are actually used in the cookies.) The cookies are packaged in a box with the brownie points logo, and presented with a special letter letting the recipient know they are appreciated. Muller said she got the idea to spread some sugary love when her good friend Lisa showed her a picture of her fireman husband sleeping on a cement driveway with his backpack as a pillow. "I just wanted to do something nice for them to show them how much they are appreciated," she said. Muller said she had made the brownie cookies for years and everyone always loved them, so she whipped up a big batch up and delivered them to the fireman. The cookies were a huge hit, she said. She followed up that gesture by delivering the cookies to San Bernardino Police officers, two of whom she knew personally, who were first to respond during the San Bernardino Shooting incident. "They were so surprised," Muller said. "Police officers are used to getting grief instead of praise." At the beginning of the year, she decided to make Brownie Points official and created a Facebook page and began taking nominations for deserving recipients. "I like to make people happy and I appreciate people who give of themselves," said Muller. This isn't Muller's first venture into helping others. The single mother of two is also the founder of the Yucaipa Knots of Love, an organization that gathers over 100 ladies every year to make blankets and cards for kids in local hospitals for Christmas and throughout the year. "I want to be a good example to my girls and thank people who give of themselves," Muller said simply. The cookies can be sampled at Empire Grill, the restaurant housed at Empire Bowl in Redlands. Muller and her friend Jeff Robitaille just re-opened the new joint in March and in addition to brownie cookies, they make hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, fries, and pizza. Brownie Points cookie boxes can be ordered for anyone who needs a little pat on the back and can even be shipped. Orders can be placed by messaging Muller through the Brownie Points Facebook page. (Search: Brownie Points, Yucaipa.) Muller hopes to give out Brownie Points once a week so nominations are accepted on the Facebook page as well. Do Gooders Get Delicious Brownie Points