Bob Courtois' personal specialty is his peanut butter cookies. But he also bakes a scrumptious white chocolate cranberry cookie that can postpone a diet.

Bob's wife, Patti Courtois, is the publicity coordinator for St. Peter's Church's upcoming fundraiser.

"Bob's peanut butter cookies are his best," said Patti. "He'll top them with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or a Buckeye. His recipe is a family recipe, and it's been handed down. He always says his special ingredient is love."

Bob's peanut butter and white chocolate cranberry flavors will be just two of an assortment of cookies baked with love available at this year's edition of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church's annual Cookie Walk. The community event and holiday fundraiser will take place in the church's Family Life Center at 10 Delp Road, Lancaster, from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 13.

The holiday cookies can be mixed or matched and taken home in small or large containers, and the cookies will be made available for sale on a cash-only basis. All proceeds from the event will benefit orphans at Busoka Lutheran Church in Tanzania, St. Peter's companion congregation in Africa.

"You have to be able to close the lids on the boxes," said Patti. "One of the (Tanzania Mission Committee) members will talk about why we're there. It's kind of a coming together of community members and the congregation. People wear festive clothing, and everyone is very upbeat. Sometimes, Santa Claus makes a surprise visit. Rumor has it that he will be there this year."

In addition to Bob's special homemade and handmade treats, the Cookie Walk will feature sand tarts, sugar cookies, gingerbread, jacked-up chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles and chocolate-covered Oreo Mint cookies, as well as a table full of gluten-free offerings. The cookies are displayed on trays and arranged on tables set up in rectangles to assure a good flow and maximum cookie visibility.

Careful confectionary consideration is advised.

"The ones that are brightly decorated go first," said Patti. "(The Cookie Walk) is a lot of talking and a lot of merriment. There's a lot of energy in the room. There's recorded holiday music playing. People are in a great mood. It's just a buzz."

Nearly 120 dozen cookies will be made available, donated by more than 100 St. Peter's congregation bakers, their family members and friends. Members of local Scouting America Troop 84 will be on hand helping out where they can.

"We ask members of our congregation to bake a double batch of their best holiday cookies," said Patti. "Some older people in the community don't want to bake themselves. People use them as gifts. Everyone has their reason for coming. It's an event that's worthwhile, and people can get some great Christmas spirit from attending."

Organizers of St. Peter's Cookie Walk are hoping to raise $4,000 through the event. The proceeds will be wired to Busoka Lutheran Church and will be used to directly support and educate about 60 orphans currently being looked after by the Tanzanian church.

"(Busoka church officials) want to be able to educate (the orphans) and give them a start," said Patti. "There's a cost for orphans to go to school. It might go toward that, or it might go toward shoes or clothing. We're very close to that church."

Through an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America initiative, St. Peter's and Busoka became companion congregations in 2006. Not long after, the Cookie Walk was conceived as a way to raise funds for Busoka's mission, and since then the cookie extravaganza has raised more than a total of $75,000 for the orphans.

That's a lot of dough!

"It's neat to see the grassroots growth of it; it's solidified in the community, and now there's more awareness," said Patti. "People want to be a part of it. It takes a village. It takes a village (in Tanzania), and while they're taking care of orphans there, it takes a village for what we do. We have the community's support."

For additional information, go to http://www.stpeterslutheran.org.