Who is Sensitive Briar?

Hello!  I am Netashe Schutte.  I grew up in rural Missouri near the Lake of the Ozarks in a one-room stacked-log cabin which I helped build when I was seven.  This adorable little dwelling boasted dirt floors, no electricity, no running water, and cracks in the walls which did little to keep cold and blowing snow outside where it belonged in the wintertime.  A cute outbuilding was perched on a little knoll behind the cabin…trust me, in the cold or the heat you did NOT want to tarry over getting your business done!  Oh, and I forgot to mention, I am the third oldest of thirteen children.  Needless to say, we were poor as church mice!  Trips to any store, even the grocery store, were rare occurrences, and a real treat when it happened.

Neither of my parents tolerated idleness in us kids.  That, coupled with the fact that if anyone got a Christmas gift it was of the handmade variety, prompted my mother to teach us to create.  I learned to knit at the tender age of eight, and a year later, once my mother was convinced I had that art licked, I learned to crochet.  I have been at it ever since.

Which brings me to the macarons.  I was well into my 30s before I ever tasted one of the lovely delicacies, and I was hooked from the first nibble!  However, what I quickly discovered was that macarons are not easily found in rural Missouri, even in most bakeries.  I found a source in Springfield, but they soon quit making macarons and focused on cakes and cupcakes.  I realized that if I wanted a macaron, I was going to have to make it myself.  When the start-up company I was working for closed its doors in October 2025, I finally decided to explore the world of macaron baking.  And I was transported back in time to when I was a young mother with unpredictable toddlers.  Because that’s exactly what baking macarons is like.  You never know which attitude you’re getting on any given day.  That being said, my macarons are not always flawless looking like you would find from a French-trained pastry chef, but my flavor profiles are ON POINT!