| Matt Conway
mconway@thereminder.com
Category:
CHICOPEE – Owned and operated by Heather Gagne, Cherished Cookie Creations embraces a personable approach to the traditional cookie.
Gagne said the business initiated from her desire to balance a busy lifestyle with work. “I am a stay-at home mom with young children, so I wanted a way to try and bring in income,” said Gagne. She said the idea for creating cookies spurred from making a batch for her youngest son’s birthday. After establishing a great recipe, the cookies became a major hit at the birthday party and inspired her to start her own business, according to Gagne.
From there, Gagne defined Cherished Cookie Creations as a home for custom decorative cookies. Along with traditional cookies like chocolate chip, Gagne said she uses a projector to recreate any design that customers could want into a sugar cookie. Whether its corporate logos, pop culture staples like Sesame Street, or special messages, Cherished Cookie Creations represent a limitless range of creative options.
Gagne explained that each batch of cookies is crafted through a labor-intensive process. She said she works on one batch for four to five days, including stocking up materials from suppliers, making dough, baking the cookies and using flood colors to decorate the designs. The decorative process is particularly detailed, as the cookies are required to rest for a day before more details can be applied to them, according to Gagne.
All of these steps are accomplished by Gagne alone, as she said she relies upon family to babysit for a night a week to focus on filling orders. While the work requires a sizable effort, Gagne explained that her enthusiasm for each creation remains the same. “I truly get enjoyment out of every order,” said Gagne.
For Gagne, she said the ultimate reward of her business is the positive feedback from customers. Parents regularly send her unboxing videos of kids enthusiastically seeing their decorative deserts, while other cookies have served as important staples during challenging times. Gagne shared her most affecting customer experience was providing cookies for a funeral service. “Whether it’s a sad or happy moment, the cookies always bring a sense of joy,” said Gagne.
As Gagne’s business continues to grow, she said she hopes to maintain a strong connection to her customers. “I don’t consider my customers [to be just] customers, they are family to me,” said Gagne. Readers can learn more about Cherished Cookie Creations at their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cherishedCookieCreations or contact via phone 885-4895.