Cookie Pairing Update

After seeing a lot of success with beer and cookie pairings around town I have continued to reach out to a lot of different places to do some pairings. They’re always a lot of fun and putting together the pairings is always a really great way to get to know my product better.

This week I have a first time pairing at Joyride Brewing. This brewery is in a great location, right next to Sloan’s Lake so you can go for a quick run and grab a pint after! Their beer is also delicious with a pretty large variety to offer beer drinkers every day. Working with the head brewer, Dave, to put together a really solid pairing has been a great time and I’m hoping they want to do more pairings in the future!

Thursday, January 11th from 6-8pm you’ll be able to come to this really underrated part of Denver for four cookies and four tasters just for $12! It’s a great weeknight event to get friends together and spend a couple hours eating and drinking. There’s also some really great restaurants in the area that you can check out before or after the pairing.

 

So, which pairing will I see you at?!

Who’s ready for 2018?!

Alright. We’re two days into the new year, how does that make you feel? Personally, I spent all of the first day in bed, cuddling with my lovely and eating a bunch of junk food. We both told ourselves that we would get our shit together at the beginning of the year but we needed one day of doing absolutely nothing together so we chose January 1st. We both have really busy lives and that usually means we eat dinner really late, equating to pretty unhealthy options, drinking more and sleeping in way longer than we should.

So we did the “smart” thing and started the year off by not leaving the bed, shoving cheez-its and Chinese food in our faces and attempting to watch an entire season of Breaking Bad. I’m not upset at all and today I feel refreshed and ready for the year.

I’ve had a lot of new ideas for Good Sugar Baking. The problem is trying to weed out the ones that won’t work and keeping the ones that will work in my mind. I have A LOT to learn and now that Good Sugar Baking is my sole form of income it’s time to do the learnin’ and growin’!

Side note, look at these real cool buttons! Feel free to ask me for one.

What’s up with January, then? Some sweet, new photographs of delicious cookies and whatnots. With professional photography I will be adding a REAL online store so all of you can purchase cookies at your leisure, making it so easy for you! I will also be upgrading my packaging to something extremely cool for all of my accounts. Which takes me to accounts. The beginning of the year is going to be a lot of cookie samples going around town to get the name out there more.

Of course the thing that keeps me really excited about this opportunity is still giving back to nonprofits. Starting January I switch to a new nonprofit, one that a good friend of mine chose and it’s one that I’m very excited to be partnering with. The National Park Foundation has been going through some changes and could use some help! So every pairing, every cookie, everything that Good Sugar Baking sells will give a percentage back to The National Park Foundation. 

Check out the schedule for upcoming pairings:

January 11th: Joyride beer and cookie pairing

January 17th: Zuni Street beer and cookie pairing

January 18th: Great Divide beer and cookie pairing

January 24th: Westfax beer and cookie pairing

February 2nd: De Steeg’s 5 year anniversary beer and cookie pairing

Preparing for a New Year

Resolutions are a big thing for most people. Lose weight, be healthier, think more about others, etc. I’ve participated in resolutions almost every year with things such as try a new fruit every week, hike a new area once a week, write every day…and it always works for the first month and then everything falls apart. Did you know there is a day just for ditching your resolution?! Stay tuned for a really fun cookie event on that particular day!

This isn’t about resolutions though. Earlier in November I decided I needed to make some big changes in order to see success in the future. As some of my friends and family already know, I’ve decided to leave my full time job in order to give 100% (and more) to the bakery.

2018 is going to be a big year.

This is my last week working full time at Zuni Street Brewing. It has been a long time coming just because I am constantly working, whether it’s at the brewery or on the bakery, and I’ve found that I do need sleep to be functional and I also like having friends which I’ve slacked on keeping up with lately. I NEVER want to be that person that forgets about plans with friends, misses important family events or makes my boyfriend feel insignificant in my life. As much as I love being a small business owner, I love my friends and family even more. After all, they are the reason I can call myself a small business owner.

Bartending at a brewery has been a really, really great time. I have learned so many things. From working at Denver Beer Co and gaining so many great and amazing friends that I plan on having for the rest of my life, to ending my bartending career at a new brewery in Denver that has helped Good Sugar Baking grow so much. I cannot thank any of those people enough. I’m sad to leave Zuni Street Brewing because the people there are some of my favorite. I’ve never been a part of such a welcoming, weird and fun group of people.

I have had a lot of people ask me, “what’s next?!” and that’s a good question. I will still be picking up shifts at Zuni Street (as long as they let me!) but most of my time and effort will be in Good Sugar Baking. I have a lot of really exciting ideas coming up. I plan on blogging more, having a super solid online store, gaining more sales and catering events, partnering with more breweries and other stores, getting better packaging and eventually hiring people so I can focus on the areas that I’m the strongest in.

So, as I say goodbye to full time bartending, make sure to visit me either today (Monday) or Friday at Zuni Street Brewing. This is a huge step for me and I want to make sure I keep in contact with everyone! I love all of my coworkers and regulars and don’t want to lose anyone.

All of that being said, feel free to reach out to me for any of your cookie needs. I’m available for catering, pairings, staff parties, holiday parties, gift packages and whatever else! Let’s talk. Reach out to me at goodsugarbaking@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone.

HEY!

Hey everyone! It has been tooooooo long since I’ve posted a blog. It’s hard running your own business and doing everything on your own. Speaking of which, if anyone knows of a good accountant or CPA, send them my way, their help is much needed!

Anyways, what has Good Sugar Baking been up to?! Preparing for the holidays, mostly. I’m gaining traction with beer and cookie pairings happening all over town every week. I’m also getting my name out there with silent auctions and community events, meanwhile still selling cookies to breweries. It has been pretty great.

Since the holiday’s are coming up, I’m going to be focusing on catering events, holiday gifts and whatever else. So if you have any events coming up that cookies can be a part of, please email me at goodsugarbaking@gmail.com. Need gifts? Cookies are so good!

New cookies are always happening too!!! My smores cookies went over so well at my good friends’ wedding that they are now a thing at pairings. I also have some Thanksgiving cookies coming out that will be SO GOOD.

What else is there?! Let me know what ideas you have for the upcoming months. How can we work together to benefit our businesses or anything else?! Please reach out to me whenever!

Don’t forget that a percentage of every sale goes to Foundation for Foster Children. They’re a great nonprofit!

Thank you Minds Matter of Denver!

Seeing as how it’s almost the end of September, I want to give a HUGE thank you to Minds Matter of Denver. They have been the nonprofit for the past couple of months and have been awesome to work with! I’ve loved this partnership and hope that we can continue partnering together in many ways for many years.

Stop by Zuni Street Brewing this Thursday from 5-8pm for live music, limited supply of sample cookies and $1 of every pint sold is going to Minds Matter!

Good Sugar Baking has seen a lot of growth within this quarter. From adding more Beer and Cookie pairings, gaining more accounts, creating new cookies and meeting many new people, it has been an incredible time. A lot of that has happened because of the ability to partner with great nonprofits around the world. Minds Matter does substantial work not only in the Denver community  but across the country as well. I’m excited to see them grow more and more. I can’t wait to get them their check for all of the work they have helped Good Sugar accomplish.

Now it’s time to announce a new nonprofit for the next quarter!

This nonprofit comes from one of the Kickstarter backers. It’s perfect timing because they are located in Florida and have been dealing with some of the hurricane. The nonprofit is Foundation for Foster Children. You can learn more by going to their website: https://foundationforfosterchildren.org/

I will be writing a post shortly to tell you more about Foundation for Foster Children!

September Events!

Can you believe it’s September already?! I can’t. I can’t even get over that it’s September and it’s STILL SO DAMN HOT OUT. In Colorado it is anyways. Or it’s because I’m constantly baking so it’s just actually always hot.

Anyways, this month is going to be a good one! I always love September. It’s a great month to have a birthday, to celebrate your pup’s birthday, to travel and to make more connections. I’m lucky enough to be going to Chicago over my birthday with some of my very best friends! Cubs game, Riot Fest, all the beer and all the food! I can’t wait.

Besides that, next week I’m busy getting dirty in a brewery for a change of pace. I’m brewing a cookie beer with Mockery that will be released during Great American Beer Festival at the beginning of October. It’s going to be a good one!

Wednesday, September 20th will be my monthly beer and cookie pairing at Zuni Street Brewing.

The next day is a beer and cookie pairing at Great Divide, a first at this location and I’m pumped!

Thursday, September 28th is a special end of the quarter event with my partnered nonprofit. From 5-8pm at Zuni Street Brewing a $1 of every pint goes to Minds Matter. 

A week off and we’re into October already with a beer and cookie pairing at Mockery (releasing the cookie beer as well) with a Great American Beer Fest beer and cookie Thursday the 5th at Zuni Street!

It’s a busy month as always, make sure you come find me at an event and say hi!

Seedstock Beer and Cookie Pairing!

This week!!! Don’t have anything to do on Wednesday?! Then you have to come to the beer and cookie pairing at Seedstock Brewery. This brewery has been open for a short period of time, but they’re pumping out the beers and making a good name for themselves.

Which is why I’m super excited to have a beer and cookie pairing there!

I’m also SUPER EXCITED that Mile High Brass Band is going to be playing during the pairing too. These guys are fantastic musicians and include two of my favorite Denver people.

(Photo Credit: Kelly Maxwell)

Come check it out from 6-8pm. Make sure to hit “going” on the Facebook event page to secure your pairing!

Here’s the link: Hump Day Beer and Cookie Pairing

Back to School Time!

Can you believe that summer is basically over?! Everyone’s heading back to school, vacation time is winding down and I’m already thinking about what to do with the upcoming seasons.

What’s really cool is this means lots of meetings, lots of events and lots of stress for many people. Good thing there’s a bakery in town where a percentage of every sale goes to a nonprofit (here’s to you, Minds Matter!).

Speaking of Minds Matter, what a great time to be partnered up with such an outstanding nonprofit. They help prepare students for their future by providing them with the necessary tools to success. It’s a perfect time to be aware of everyone’s future!

I’ve been able to fulfill a couple of back to school cookie needs and would love to get some more! Remember that not only do the kids need cookies but so does the staff, so whether you’re a teacher, parent or just want to give some sweets, keep Good Sugar Baking in mind! You can reach out to me here to place a cookie order.

Happy Monday!

Account Spotlight: Mockery Brewing

“For beer drinkers looking for creative & delicious brews, Mockery Brewing is the innovative producer of damn good beers that break the rules in all the right places.”

Mockery Brewing has been one of my go to breweries since they’ve been open. They have always been putting out really fun, experimental and innovative beers in a setting that’s warm and welcoming. I’ve gotten to know a few of the people there just from working in the industry and I’m ecstatic that they wanted to carry my cookies. When they first opened they were carrying cookies but evidently health inspectors didn’t like that. Good thing I have all the licensing and other jazz necessary so now they can have cookies again!

Anyways, their cucumber Berliner Weisse is such a refreshing and tasty beer, just one of the many that I’ve come to enjoy there. Although I don’t know either of the owners, I’m assuming they are some pretty cool dudes just because of how amazing their brewery is.

This Friday, you can find me at Mockery with cookie samples and to party for First Friday!

Seasonal Cookies

You know what one of the best parts about starting a bakery is? Coming up with new recipes. Although I’ve had a lot of these recipes for a long time, so they’ve been around for awhile, now I get to experiment with them more and more.

I am finalizing one of my cookies: White Chocolate Lavender. This one is fantastic! With a chocolate base, white chocolate chips and hints of lavender it’s a great cookie for the summer. It has so many delicious flavors going on in it; the lavender isn’t overpowering and who doesn’t love chocolate?! To be quite honest I have a hard time coming up with recipes that don’t include chocolate because chocolate is just so damn good.

Now I’m thinking of a Fall seasonal cookie. I’ve had a lot of good ideas and have been doing my best to stray away from pumpkin because I think it’s overused and not original at all.

The other day I was at one of my favorite breweries, Spangalang, chatting with one of the bartenders and we were brainstorming some ideas. A gentleman sitting next to me threw out the idea of pecans. Pecans aren’t my favorite, but I do think of the Fall when I think of them. I’ve also been having a hard time not having a butterscotch cookie…so it sounds like there could be something there!

What are some of your favorite seasonal flavors that you’d love to see used with a cookie? I’m always open to new ideas and love including everyone in the cookie baking new idea process!