This Christmas, stores throughout the nation will get a taste of Covington County as 17,000 of Chrissie Schubert’s Treats’ sugar cookies make their way into HomeGoods stores.

Schubert said Monday this was the largest contract to date for the homemade treats business centered in Andalusia. HomeGoods, a division of T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s, has 400 stores nationwide.

“This is kind of a test run for us,” Schubert said. “The good news is that if the products do well in the HomeGoods division in their market, (the company) could put us in their other markets. We’re under their umbrella now, which is so exciting.

“A friend referred the buyer to me, who said to send some samples and they would consider it,” she said. “Next thing, we had a giant purchase order.”

Schubert said the order must be completed for shipment by Oct. 21. The cookies will leave Andalusia on tractor-trailers and will be sent to four distribution centers in California, Connecticut, Indiana and North Carolina.

Schubert said the company recently filled another order on a “much smaller scale” for both Von Mauer, a higher end department store comparable to Dillard’s, and for Swoozie’s, a nationwide gift store.

“These contracts make all the difference in the world to a small company like ours,” she said. “The first order is great, but it’s the second order when you start to turn a profit.”

The newest contract is just the recent “slice” of good news for Schubert’s company.

It is currently in distribution contract negotiations with a gourmet food chain and will be featured in the December edition of Southern Living.

“It’s a section called ‘Made by Southern Hands’ and it highlights top holiday gift items made in the South, and we’re in it,” Schubert said.

The magazine will hit newsstands in November.