The Cookie Kit: The Joy of Decorating Cookies
Hailey Belcher, founder of The Cookie Kit, has always loved to bake as a hobby. “It’s always been a passion of mine,” she says. “I’ve made a few wedding cakes for friends, and I made my own wedding cake and some birthday cakes for friends.” She never seriously considered turning her hobby into a business until one of her social media posts about creating cookie kits took off. “I just kind of put some feelers out, and asked if anyone would be interested in a Halloween cookie decorating kit,” Hailey says. She started The Cookie Kit in October 2020. The idea is a product of Hailey’s passion for baking and her passion for families enjoying time together at the table. Before she knew it, her business began taking off as the holidays grew closer. “It just kind of exploded from there, and more people wanted them than I could make,” she recalls. Once she did a few orders for cookie kits, she began receiving requests for custom cookies as Christmas grew closer. She started her business making as many cookies as she could at home and soon decided that there was enough business to open a brick and mortar store.
The official location for The Cookie Kit shop opened December 4, 2021. The store is located at 1466 Smokey Park Highway in Candler, NC. While it has been an exciting adventure for Hailey and her family, she experienced some challenges along the way. Before opening, her store location was severely affected by the floods that occurred a few months prior, delaying the opening of her shop. “I lost my ovens, refrigerators, display cases, everything,” she says. She has been working on flood restoration, and there is still work that needs to be done, but she is excited about having her own business location to share her passion with the community. “This is a new experience for me, to have cases full and have cookie kits ready to take custom orders,” she says, excitedly.
Hailey’s cookie kits include everything you need to decorate cookies, including baked cookies, icing and sprinkles. Customers simply buy the kits and sit down to enjoy the fun part of decorating them with their friends and family.
Hailey believes family time is irreplaceable, and she hopes to be a part of that by providing her cookie kits to others. “We lost my brother to cancer, and I just think family time around the table is invaluable,” she says, tearfully. “Especially during COVID when people couldn’t go out to do things and didn’t have any activities to do.” For Hailey, spending time with those who are important to her takes the stress and the mess out of everything going on in the world. She loves seeing other families experience that. “When I created those first Halloween cookie kits, people started tagging me and posting pictures of them sitting down and laughing together, and it’s so nice to see that in a world full of craziness,” she says.
Soon, she will have chairs and tables set up where people can come into the store and sit down to enjoy cookie decorating workshops. Hailey is excited about the future of The Cookie Kit and is looking forward to helping families and friends make memories around the table with their very own cookie kits for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and any other special occasions. “You only get so many birthdays, so many anniversaries, and it’s such an honor to be a part of that!”
Written by Rosa Linda Fallon