Magical Girl Adventures

How to Choose Flavors That Sell for Your Home Bakery Menu

Diane — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:01:29 +0000

One of the trickiest things I had to do when I started Cookie Cazimi was figure out my home bakery menu.

I believe there should be a set lineup of flavors that your customers can always expect.

If they love something, they’ll happily come back for it. And when there’s something new, there’s their reason to swing on by and just take a look…

Whether you’re selling cookies like me or not, the hardest part is narrowing down which flavors will make the cut.

In this blog post, I’m going to go over what to consider when choosing flavors for your home bakery menu that will sell based on the principles I’ve found to be true through good ol’ trial and error.

Don’t Reinvent The Wheel

This is the most important principle that all other principles will adhere to when it comes to choosing flavors for your home bakery menu:

Stick with the basics. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

I’m sorry to say but Chocolate Chip was the best-selling flavor my first two years in business. AND I KNOW! You want to set yourself apart with an Ube Marshmallow or a Red Velvet Oreo.

But, people who discover you for the first time are already taking a risk. They don’t want to play double jeopardy.

In the future, they might take a chance! But only once they know you and your baking.

One time, I offered a customer a sample of my Chunky Matcha Strawberry Cookie (this was before Matcha started trending on TikTok), and she turned it down saying “No, I know I’ll like your stuff.”

Ugh, I literally cannot… Is that not the nicest thing to say to a baker?

But, this woman had come to my booth multiple times to get to that point. I’m sure the first item she ever bought from me was probably basic AF.

Customers will be more willing to try something new once they trust you.

So, definitely let your creativity flow! Just don’t neglect what’s going to keep the business afloat.

These are some of my boring, nothing-special best sellers:

Chocolate Chip
Oatmeal Butterscotch Pecan
White Chocolate Raspberry

When you’re building your home bakery menu, start with the flavors that everyone else is selling. Because they’re probably selling them for a reason (and the reason is money).

Channel Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel once famously said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory” to emphasize simplicity and minimalism in fashion.

In baking, I think changing one thing should be a philosophy to consider when curating your home bakery menu.

When I first started at the farmers market, a lot of people kept asking me if I offered Snickerdoodles because they didn’t like chocolate (a lot of people in my area don’t).

To their disappointment, I didn’t. And to be honest, I would have never considered ever making them if customers hadn’t constantly asked because I didn’t grow up eating Snickerdoodles so I simply didn’t care much for them.

And it’s important to me that both my customers and I like something, so a flavor has to both sell well and I have to stand ten toes behind it. So I didn’t just want to offer Snickerdoodles as is.

Lotus Biscoff® is a food brand that specializes in speculoos cookies, which are spiced Belgian biscuits. They later popularized Cookie Butter by pulverizing their cookies into a smooth, peanut butter-like spread, which is why many bakers refer to it as simply Biscoff.

Since cinnamon is the main spice in both Snickerdoodles and Biscoff, I figured they would be a perfect pairing!

I tweaked my base chunky cookie dough recipe to hold its shape without any add-ins. Then, I freeze portions of Biscoff to wrap with my new cinnamon-spiced vanilla cookie dough, roll in cinnamon-sugar, rest in the fridge (always), bake as per usual, and sprinkle even more cinnamon-sugar on top straight out the oven.

As of June 2026, Biscoff Snickerdoodle has surpassed Chocolate Chip!

Now, I still stand by sticking with the basics. Because people are always going to recognize the Snickerdoodle first and foremost. It’s familiar enough for customers to take a chance and try something a little different.

Popular flavors that changed one thing to an otherwise classic cookie:

Snickerdoodle → add a Biscoff filling
Double Chocolate Chip → add Mint Extract
White Chocolate Raspberry → replace White Chocolate with Ruby Chocolate

Cater to the Diehards

They say niches are where the riches are. That’s why you don’t want to sell to everybody; you end up selling to nobody.

Because not everyone is going to like a flavor. But, those who do will go to war for it.

Lemon anything sells really well because lemon people love lemon. They will always pick it.

While I chose Lemon Blueberry as the permanent lemon flavor on my home bakery menu, I’ve made Lemon Raspberry, Lemon Strawberry, and Lemon White Chocolate with equal amounts of great success.

Oatmeal Raisin is another flavor with a small but mighty fan base.

Granted, the haters are just as loud and honestly come in greater numbers. But, when I do offer Oatmeal Raisin, it still moves a decent amount because there’s always someone who just loves Oatmeal Raisin.

And when I was still experimenting with my flavor lineup, a handful of people asked for White Chocolate Macadamia, but I didn’t have room to put it in my home bakery menu at the time.

Then, in 2026, I decided to make it a permanent menu item. And I will admit: she doesn’t sell that well.

But, customers who love White Chocolate Macadamia always pick it, just like lemon people. In fact, they’re more dedicated than lemon people because they don’t ask questions or need samples.

Lemon Blueberry
Oatmeal Raisin
White Chocolate Macadamia

Not every flavor has to speak to the masses. Because you’re not selling to the masses.

Your customers are special and within that special group of people are an extra special bunch who don’t get spoken to a lot.

That’s why they’ll love you a little extra, too.

Desserts as Other Desserts

If you want to try something new but not unfamiliar, turn one popular dessert into another.

Right now, tiramisu-flavored baked goods are trending. I’ve seen so much content on tiramisu cookies, tiramisu cakes, tiramisu cinnamon rolls, tiramisu lattes… it’s endless!

Now, as a home baker, there are limitations to what you can sell due to cottage food laws.

But, that’s just how it is. You’ll stretch your creativity and you won’t have to offer more baked goods to your home bakery menu than you can handle because burn out is real, even with one specialty item!

For example, I have a Chunky Oatmeal Banana Walnut Cookie inspired by Banana Bread, which I can’t sell. As a legal workaround, I use banana flavoring instead. Which by the way, you shouldn’t be afraid of extracts and emulsions.

Of course, test them to make sure they don’t taste weird but don’t be adverse to them all together.

Dessert flavors I’ve turned into chunky cookies:

Oatmeal Banana Walnut
Cookies & Cream AKA Oreo®
Spumoni Ice Cream: Chocolate Chip and Cherry with a Pistachio Cream filling

This is a great way to not have to bake everything as a home baker. You’re saving yourself from burn out!

And your customers won’t get overwhelmed because analysis paralysis means no decisions get made.

Steal From The Rich

Take a look at your grocery shelves. That’s what people across America want to buy.

Remember, people trust what is familiar to them.

Now, one thing I did learn about my customers in particular: they don’t like nuts.

So, I didn’t jump on the Dubai Chocolate trend right away because… would they really buy a cookie with nuts now just because it has a fancy name?

The answer is yes.

Now, you don’t have to copy to a T. Just enough to be familiar!

The Dubai Chocolate Bar has a relatively thin layer of chocolate encasing a crunchy pistachio butter filling. As a cookie, I found my Double Chocolate Chip cookie dough to completely overwhelm the Pistachio Cream filling.

So, I settled on Chocolate Chip with almond extract and pistachio emulsion so the pistachio flavor could shine. And to my surprise, although probably to nobody else’s, the Chunky Dubai Chocolate Chip Cookie was a hit.

These are the copycat flavors that did well with my customers:

Dubai Chocolate (Chip): Chocolate Chip and Pistachios with a Pistachio Cream filling
Girl Scout Samoas® or Caramel deLites®: Chocolate Chip, Coconut, and Homemade Toffee
Snickers®: Chocolate Chip, Homemade Toffee, and Peanuts with a Peanut Butter filling

Concluding How To Choose Flavors for Your Home Bakery Menu

When it comes to choosing flavors for your home bakery menu, just be boring. Do the predictable thing. Be like everybody else.

Because at the end of the day, we serve people and people like familiarity. Once you are familiar to them, we can go a little crazy because you are the familiar thing now.

But, there are always going to be more customers. So, you’re always going to be new to a lot of somebodies.

Don’t be (a) strange(r).

How I Calculate My Home Bakery Prices and Handle Price Pushback

Diane — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:45:50 +0000

Home bakers struggle with pricing their baked goods. They’re always afraid it’s “too much.”

When you only bake for family, friends, and co-workers, you just consider the cost of ingredients. Now as a home baker, you have to think about labeling, packaging, insurance, fees, and labor.

There will be customers who scoff and ask you, “this much for a cookie?”

Yes and no.

In this blog post, I’m going to walk you through how I priced my chunky cookies at $6 and how I stopped getting pushback on my home bakery prices.

What to Consider When Setting Your Home Bakery Prices

Where you are and who you serve are major qualitative factors to consider.

Although I live in Southern Maryland where it’s pretty rural and farm-y, it’s close to Washington DC. So, a lot of commuters live here, meaning prices are driven up.

I recently heard that New York City bakeries have been charging up to $8 a cookie! So, big city means big prices — even when you’re an hour away from one.

Conversely, I have heard from home bakers in smaller towns say that there’s no way they could sell a cookie for more than $2 simply because of their economy.

So, there’s definitely nuance. But, I did set my prices to $6 a 3.5-ounce cookie out of nowhere.

I created a spreadsheet that helped me set my home bakery prices. This is what to consider:

Cost of ingredients used
Weight of ingredients used
How much of each ingredient is used to make 1 cookie
How much each ingredient costs when making 1 cookie
What is the total cost of your packaging and labeling material for 1 cookie?
How many cookies and I make per hour, including packaging and labeling?
What is my wage per hour? (Even if you’re not actually paying yourself)
What would be my credit card fees for 1 cookie?
What percent of the final cost do I want to set for overhead?
What percent of the final cost do I want to set for profit?

You also don’t want to set your final home bakery price to what you get because you might get $3.85 for your chocolate chip cookie, $2.49 for a snickerdoodle, and $4.73 for a double chocolate chip.

Also consider possible deals and discounts you want to offer your customers in the future. So, your final cost may be $5 or $6.

Which by the way, these aren’t my costs. I put in random numbers!

Anyway, onto the good stuff — how to deal with pushback on your home bakery prices.

Show! Don’t Tell.

Back when I learned how to write essays in school, it was drilled into me that you have to state the obvious all the time because you can never assume that the reader knows what you’re talking about.

For my farmers market booth, I tie these pink dry-erase pocket sleeves with my marketing copy to introduce my home bakery and products to passerbys because people don’t like being surveilled or harped on.

They just want to look.

And I simply make it easy for them to stand in front of my tent without nervous — “JUST LOOKING!”

I explain the meaning of my business name, the ingredients I’ve chosen to use, and the flavors I offer.

If I don’t tell my customers that Cookie Cazimi is about celebration, good luck, and opportunity, or that I use more butter for my chunky cookies than other chunky cookies typically have for better flavor, then they’re not going to understand why they should buy from me at all.

Customers want to have a sense of your expertise before experiencing it.

Generally, people know that home bakers love baking. But, then what? Why not go to another stand?

Show them who you are! Without talking to them… haha.

I highly encourage you to write some stuff up and hang up signs (and these acrylic signs on your table). They’re really effective!

Comparison is the Thief of… Uncertainty

On one of my last days at the farmers market in 2025, a man came up to buy a cookie because he really wanted something sweet to hold him over, but mentioned that that $6 is a bit steep for one cookie.

I pointed him towards the $4 items I had at the time, which were my 2-ounce ginger molasses and hot cocoa cookies.

Then he pushed back on me saying that, “well, these [$6 cookies] seem like a better bang for my buck.”

Which is the point! How funny that he sold himself to me in a way.

When customers have options, it gives them power to make a decision. Because people love feeling like they have options!

And yes, they could give you the old “I’ll come back after I look around” in hopes of finding a cheaper baker. But, that’s their prerogative and right.

At the same time, you’re also going to have customers who come back despite there being cheaper bakers because they love your stuff specifically.

More is More

I don’t believe in giving discounts from a place of desperation to make a sale. When my customers buy 5 chunky cookies, they can get 1 free.

And you know what? Not everyone is taking it.

I’ll have 2 sales a market with people taking advantage of it. Because devaluing your baked goods doesn’t make people want to buy more.

Give your customers free things because it’s fun and a gesture of goodwill. They’ll sort of feel rewarded for buying more. And it’s fun to be bad and eat a lot of cookies!

From time to time, I’ll run a gift-with-purchase deal for orders valued at $18 or more because I like to bake! And I wanted to make a lot of mini cinnamon crunch coffee cakes.

So, you can offer deals and bundles as one way to combat price pushback, but don’t go at it from a scarcity angle, okay?

What if it doesn’t clock?

The latest Justin Bieber meme plays through my head a lot.

The pop singer is confronting paparazzi for stalking him (because they are) and says, “You don’t get it. It’s not clocking to you. It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?”

I think it went viral because the statement doesn’t really make sense. But, that added to the memorability. Basically, he’s saying that they don’t understand and never will. And sometimes, that’s just what it is.

There will be people who simply won’t be your customers.

That is not a sign to lower your prices. Let them go.

There’s a saying in marketing that if you’re selling to everybody, then you’re selling to nobody.

Because if you’re marketing generic details that speaks to everybody, no one will feel like they’re being talked to specifically.

As a result, they won’t buy.

Just stand your ground. Whether you use my spreadsheet to calculate what to charge for your cottage foods or do it manually yourself, you know what you need to make on a baked good to not run yourself into the ground — financially and mentally.

And you know what? When I first started at the farmers market, I had the most expensive cookies. But, within the next few months, I noticed other home bakers charging $6-7 for their baked goods. Not because they realized they could “get away with it” but because I was there to show them that you can charge what you’re worth!

Because it costs more than just ingredients to run a home bakery.

Concluding How to Combat Home Bakery Price Pushback

As you can see, your home bakery prices aren’t really about the baked good itself. There’s so much more to consider when you’re selling to the public as a cottage food baker.

I know you’re not baking to become Bezos rich. I mean… there are better ways to do it.

You love to bake! And burnt out people are not good bakers. Charging what you’re worth will keep you going so you can spread deliciousness to your communities.

5 Lessons I Learned My First Year as a Vendor at the Farmers Market

Diane — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 22:02:22 +0000

I’ve officially completed my first year as a vendor at the farmers market!

A little background: I run a home bakery in Southern Maryland selling chunky cookies in a variety of flavors. I started Cookie Cazimi in May 2024, became a seasonal vendor at the oldest farmers market in my area by September, and then was accepted as a permanent vendor the following year.

When I first started vending, I only showed up once a month. Sales weren’t amazing, but I still managed to get two returning customers in just four showings — which felt huge at the time. And still is!

In 2025, I became a permanent vendor and showed up every Saturday for three months straight.

I always knew weekly markets would be hard on me, so when I could feel that I was going to burn out soon, I switched to a bi-weekly schedule, with an extra showing if there were three Saturdays in a month.

Even with fewer showings, it’s been a wonderful and profitable year! These are the biggest lessons I learned as a first-year farmers market vendor.

Make Your Customers Read

Every home baker stresses about pricing.

Yes, a lot of people can bake. Your customers can make cookies at home for $0.85 a cookie.

But, they’re not selling cookies. It takes time, money, and effort to bake 100 cookies, package and label properly, set up a tent and table, and stand there for 6 hours on a Saturday.

I sell my 3.5-ounce chunky cookies for $6 each. And I didn’t just make this number up! I calculated what I need to charge in order to have a profitable home bakery.

I heard everything:

“$6 for a cookie?”
“GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.”
“It’s just a regular cookie with more flour, right?”

Older shoppers were often the loudest. Some would scoff, stop mid-conversation, and walk away.

At the time, my display was pretty bare. Eventually, I bought pink dry-erase pocket sleeves and printed my schedule, the weekly menu, and these two pieces of copy that completely changed things:

Here’s the thing… you have to tell customers what’s obvious to you.

Of course you have a cute little thing with your business name. Of course you’re using high-quality ingredients and have spent hours tweaking your recipe to make it the best thing you’ve ever baked.

Of course!

But they don’t know you.

Customers want to support small businesses. But, they need to feel good about their decisions.

When you explain who you are and what goes into making your product, people become more open and confident about supporting you.

Once my marketing copy went up, the pushback stopped!

And I know it worked because I was honestly still scared to tell older customers my prices…

But, now they buy! Because I made them read about how much effort I put into my home bakery.

No One Likes Discounts

My chunky cookies are $6 each and I offer “Buy 5, Get 1 FREE” because there wasn’t much success with the “Buy 6 for $30.”

People don’t feel “value.” People feel “free.”

People love free stuff! I love free stuff! I know you love free stuff and I don’t even know you.

This definitely boosts my sales amongst families with children, but friends who only want 2-3 items on a nice day out at the farmers market don’t usually go for it.

And that’s fine.

Freebies shouldn’t make your home bakery business a success. They’re nice little boosts for your customers and a show of goodwill.

If you want to offer some sort of discount, think about how to incorporate the word “free” instead.

This is a benefit of pricing your baked goods well. I’m not stressed and burnt out from being overworked and broke.

Do it if and when you can.

Abundance Is a Feeling

When I first started, my set up was simple: a tablecloth, acrylic signs, and a cookie of each flavor I had on display.

A major issue I had was that people thought I was nearly sold out all the time.

“Is this all you have left?” No, they’re just not on display!

Other vendors suggested shelves or decorations to hold my inventory, but I’m not a decor person. And it turned out you don’t need decor to make your table feel full.

The biggest change I made was simply… putting out more product.

Showing three cookies per flavor instead of one instantly made my table feel more abundant and plentiful — at zero cost.

And it also helped with flow.

If someone bought a cookie, there were still two left on display. I didn’t have to stall while digging through storage as the next customer was walking up.

Good Photos Start the Sale Before the Market Opens

I used to take photos of my chunky cookies in my kitchen.

But, cookies are a generally brown and beige food and I have a brown and beige countertop… so everything was just brown and beige!

The cookies were visible, but there was no feeling.

Now, I take photos and videos of my cookies outside in the sunlight on a pink tray.

And the difference is wild.

Yes, it’s a little annoying hauling everything outside and back in. Cloudy days suck, but the payoff is worth it!

I just have a phone stand and a pink tray, but the most important element is the sun. Bright and harsh, which is not what most other photographers like, but I do.

Posting images on my local Facebook groups for my upcoming market events have been the best way for me to market my home bakery.

One time, five people told me they came to the farmers market solely because of my Facebook post.

You’re welcome, everyone else at the market! My photos not only create an experience, but other vendors benefit too!

Some People Will Be Rude — That’s Part of the Job

Like I mentioned earlier, people have told me my cookies are too expensive. It’s fine because they’re not my customers.

My customers understand the work that goes into what I do. They know I’m not getting rich, but I’m also not drowning.

Because no one wants cookies from a sad person.

I am not sad. I’m very happy with how this year went — and that energy translates into better food!

That said, I won’t pretend rude comments didn’t hurt. They did.

Putting yourself out there is vulnerable, and being shit on for it sucks.

You don’t think it’s worth the price? Fine. Think it and move on. You don’t need to say it out loud.

I talked it out with friends and journaled to make myself feel better.

Concluding My First Year Selling at the Farmers Market

There was a lot of trial and error my first year as a farmers market vendor. And I still have a lot to learn as I’ve only sold at this one farmers market so far, but I’m confident in my set up now.

I recently did a fall bazaar at a senior center, which ended up being a surprisingly fruitful day!

If you’ve been thinking about starting a home bakery or selling at a farmers market, I hope this gives you a little insight on what to expect in your first year as a vendor at the farmers market.

How to Start a Home Bakery in Maryland Part 3: LLCs, Taxes, and Permits

Diane — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:50:34 +0000

Congratulations on making it to the final installment of my three-part series on how to start a home bakery in Maryland.

Now that you know how cottage food is defined in Maryland and how to package and label your cottage food products, it’s time to get into the legal side of running your home bakery.

I promise it’s not much! Part of what makes starting a business so intimidating is not knowing what to do.

But, once you do, the process becomes less overwhelming and you can move forward with confidence.

Do I need an LLC to operate a home bakery in Maryland?

No, you do not need to file for a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to operate a home bakery in Maryland.

Many home bakers start as sole proprietors, which means there is no legal separation between the owner and the business.

Maryland does require sole proprietors to register with the state, which isn’t the norm compared to other states, but it is what it is.

You’ll also need to register a trade name (sometimes called a DBA, or “Doing Business As”) if you don’t plan on running your home bakery under your legal name.

The good news is that you don’t have to do everything at once. I didn’t start doing business as Cookie Cazimi until about three months after I started selling chunky cookies.

Personally, my Certified Public Accountant (CPA) recommended that I start an LLC. While a single-member LLC is generally taxed the same way as a sole proprietorship, it may provide additional liability protection and helps me keep my business and personal expenses separate.

The major con to starting an LLC is that I have to pay $300 to the state of Maryland every year just because they always need money! Boo.

Anyways, if you’d rather hire a third party to handle the paperwork, I recommend Northwest Registered Agent to file on your behalf.

You totally don’t have to though! In fact, their LLC services sales page pretty much outlines the steps you can take yourself. And a lot of people who offer this service professionally say it’s not hard, people like myself just don’t want to deal with it.

Also, it’s worth noting that I was told Registered Agents are useless. If you get this service for free, be sure to cancel once that year’s up.

What about the income cap for my home bakery in Maryland?

The $50,000 income cap per the state of Maryland has nothing to do with the type of business you have.

No one or entity can make more than $50,000 from selling cottage foods. If you sell other products or services, that does not count towards your income cap.

Do I need to open a business bank account for my home bakery in Maryland?

I can only tell you what I did and what my CPA advised me to do.

If you have an LLC, you can and probably should open a business bank account under that LLC. My bank also required an LLC formation in order to open a business bank account, so your bank may require the same.

If you are operating as a sole proprietor, your banking options may vary. Some banks may allow sole proprietors to open business bank accounts.

Regardless of your business structure, it is a good idea to keep your business and personal finances separate.

If you are looking to form a single-member LLC in the future, get into the habit of tracking your income, keeping receipts, and recording your business mileage.

Do I need to charge sales tax for my home bakery in Maryland?

I had a very hard time finding clear information on whether I needed to charge sales tax. And when I tried emailing, every response I got back was a literal copy and paste of the legal document that I already found and did not clearly understand!

Eventually, I was able to book an in-person appointment at my local Comptroller office in Maryland and finally got the answer to my specific situation selling cottage foods as a single-member LLC.

Based on what I sold and how I operated, I didn’t need to open a Sales and Use Tax account with the Comptroller and so I do not need to collect a 6% sales tax.

Your situation may be different, so I recommend meeting with someone at the Maryland Comptroller in-person if you’re unsure about anything.

Do I need food liability insurance to run a home bakery in Maryland?

As long as you’re following Maryland’s cottage food laws, food liability insurance is not required.

But, I highly recommend it, even if you have an LLC. Some farmers markets also require it.

Remember, an LLC will give you certain protections, but you’re not invincible.

Personally, I use FLIP because it’s affordable and a lot of home bakers in Facebook groups use it.

Concluding Part 3

And that’s everything I know so far about how to start a home bakery in Maryland!

Well, okay maybe not everything, but this is all the information I would give to myself if I had amnesia and were starting over.

If you’re looking to explore ways to sell your cottage foods, read about my experience as a farmer’s market vendor here!

How to Start a Home Bakery in Maryland Part 2: My Guide to Cottage Food Labels

Diane — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:05:19 +0000

Welcome to Part 2 of my three-part series on how to start a home bakery in Maryland.

Now that we’ve gone over what cottage food is, it’s time to go over how to package and label your cottage foods.

The public needs to know what they’re eating after all!

In this blog post, I will go over what you need to put on your labels in order to sell cottage foods for your home bakery in Maryland.

While the products you sell may be different, the labeling requirements will be the same.

Why do I have to package and label my cottage foods for my home bakery in Maryland?

Because the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) said so!

The Guideline for Cottage Food Businesses clearly states that “[a]llowable foods produced under the cottage foods regulation must be prepackaged at the cottage food business and labeled.”

So, I can’t just have my chunky cookies out in a case and put them in a little baggie like a coffee shop would.

I prepackage almost all my baked goods in these cellophane cookie bags and use printable stickers for my labels. I place these labels on the back.

For the front, I add white round labels on top of these large pink round labels with my Cookie Cazimi logo, a QR code, and name of the cottage food item.

Recently, I started offering mini chunky cookies so these pink charcuterie boxes have been really helpful and cute to boot!

In regards to how to label your cottage foods in Maryland, you have to include the following:

Business name
Residential home address you’re baking out of
Name of the cottage food product
Ingredients (and sub-ingredients) in descending order of the amount of each ingredient by weight.
Net weight, count, or net volume of the cottage food product. I personally use “Count 1” for my cookies because if you go by net weight or net volume, you will have to be exact.
Allergen information as specified by federal labeling requirements. If any health or nutritional information claim is made, you will also need to include nutritional information as specified by federal labeling requirements
The statement, “Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland’s food safety regulations” in a 10-point or larger font size in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background of the label

What are sub-ingredients?

What is butter? Is it just butter?

No, it’s made of pasteurized cream and salt, if you’re using salted butter.

On a label, you have to break everything down!

Flour is actually “Unbleached All Purpose Flour” and it is made up of “Organic Hard Red Wheat Flour, Organic Malted Barley Flour.” So, on your label, you would put:

Unbleached All Purpose Flour (Organic Hard Red Wheat Flour, Organic Malted Barley Flour)

And just keep going.

It’s a pain in the butt but that’s why I recommend keeping your menu small and niche down.

The last thing you want to do is set yourself up to burn out!

Do I have to put my home address on cottage food labels for my home bakery in Maryland?

If you don’t have a unique identification number, you have to put your home address on your cottage food labels.

How do you get a unique identification number? Just apply for one!

Go to the Cottage Food Business Request page and follow the instructions.

This process can take up to twelve (12) weeks. Although your experience may vary, I received mine in about a month.

What if I still have questions specific to my home bakery in Maryland?

If the FAQ page doesn’t answer any of your cottage food questions, email the MDH Food Plan Review at mdh.foodplanreview@maryland.gov for clarification.

I emailed them all the time when I first started my home bakery. Shout out to Ashley!

Concluding Part 2

Labeling your cottage food products can feel really intimidating because it gets into “official business” territory rather than the fun “I-want-to-start-a-home-bakery-in-Maryland” land.

And anything regarding the law can feel scary!

But, it’s not. While I am very Ron Swanson-like when it comes to the government, the government workers want you to succeed. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to your state’s health department reps.

In the final part of my how to start a home bakery in Maryland series, I’ll go over the legalities of running a cottage food business.

While there are no requirements other than the food item you’re selling is a cottage food, there’s always more to it.

But don’t worry. I’m here to guide you along the way!

How to Start a Home Bakery in Maryland Part 1: My Guide to Cottage Food Laws

Diane — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:40:14 +0000

The year I started Cookie Cazimi, I didn’t think I would start a home bakery in Maryland. But, life has a way of surprising you, even if you feel like you’re starting over in your 30s.

If you’re looking to sell cottage food and have been overwhelmed with information, this three-part series will break down how I started a home bakery in Maryland. And if you still have questions, I know where you can get those answers!

In this blog post, I will be going over how I navigated cottage food laws in Maryland, so that I knew what I could sell to the public and how.

What does Maryland consider to be cottage food?

In general, cottage food refers to what you can make and sell from a residential kitchen. Exactly what those foods are varies by state.

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) outlines what foods are allowed for cottage food businesses in the Guideline for Cottage Food Businesses but I’m going to breakdown the gist of it.

In the state of Maryland, cottage food is defined as “non-potentially hazardous/non-perishable” and can be “stored under normal conditions without refrigeration.”

Basically, you can sell food that doesn’t need to be refrigerated within 2 hours.

Breads, cookies, muffins, and bagels — anything you can keep on the counter is a-okay.

Highly acidic foods, like lemon, strawberries, and blueberries, and hard cheese, like cheddar and parmesan, are allowable as of writing this blog post.

Which, you might have noticed that the document doesn’t say this is “allowed” or this is “not allowed.” Instead it says “allowable” or “cannot be allowed.”

That’s because this is a guide, not a strict rulebook!

You can make whatever falls falls within the stated definition.

So, if you want to start your home bakery in Maryland selling focaccia, you totally can as long as you follow the guide and not include fresh vegetables or soft cheeses, etc.

What is not allowed under cottage food law in Maryland?

The Maryland Department of Health writes that “baked goods that require any type of refrigeration” cannot be allowed as cottage food. This includes toppings and fillings, like custards, meringues, and buttercreams.

Use of vegetables, meats, fish, etc. are also listed for those into baking savory foods.

I know it seems unfair but commercial kitchens undergo inspections and must follow additional food safety requirements, so they are allowed to sell more types of food.

In fact, I believe the intended purpose of selling cottage food in Maryland (and really any state) is to help fund the eventual move into a commercial kitchen and grow the local economy — or just make their landlord friends richer. I don’t know.

Of course, you don’t have to move or want to move into a commercial kitchen. I’m not.

I’m just saying that I think that’s part of the incentive and reason as to why cottage foods are limited for home bakeries in Maryland.

Oh, you also can’t make chocolate, meaning transform a cacao bean and doing who knows what to make it into chocolate. I don’t why the hell you’d want to do that, but you can’t.

You are allowed to use commercially made and available chocolate like a normal person.

What kind of fruit can I use for my cottage home bakery in Maryland?

Water activity and pH will tell you whether a food item is perishable or potentially hazardous.

So how is fruit allowed since there’s typically a lot of water in fruit? It’s the pH!

Fruits with a low pH of 4.6 or less are considered acidic. At these levels, bacteria growth is inhibited, which is why you’re allowed to sell cottage foods using apricots, apples, blueberries, citruses, cranberries, pineapples, pomegranates, raspberries, and strawberries — just to name a few!

Personally, I like to use commercially freeze-dried versions of these fruits in my chunky cookies because the moisture from my cookie dough will give the fruit a wonderfully chewy texture after baking.

And, also why foods like bananas, pumpkin, and zucchini are not allowed to be used in your cottage baked goods. You also can’t use freeze-dried bananas or powdered pumpkin because they could be reconstituted after baking. While this is only in theory, I did confirm this information with the MDH.

This is a bit of a sidebar tangent, but if you want to make a glaze for a lemon loaf, be sure to only use lemon juice and not water.

Water will make your glaze susceptible to bacterial growth because we’re increasing the water activity, whereas lemon juice is too acidic to let things grow even if there technically is water in the lemon itself.

What commercially made foods does Maryland allow in cottage baking?

Yes! You are allowed to use commercially manufactured food items as long as they don’t need to be refrigerated after opening.

I’ve used commercially made soft caramels as cookie filling and marshmallow fluff for a Hostess-inspired cupcake bar.

This also includes peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, cookie butter, and pistachio butter/cream — so long as the instructions or company tells you to store at room temperature after opening!

Are there any exceptions as to what I can sell as cottage food for my home bakery in Maryland?

Remember, the Guideline from MDH said that low water activity and/or low pH determine whether a food can be “stored under normal conditions without refrigeration.”

So if it can, then it is considered a cottage food that you can sell from your home bakery in Maryland.

So, how can you prove it?

Get it tested.

There are food laboratories that will tell you what the water activity and pH of your baked goods are.

While I’ve personally never sent anything out for food laboratory testing, I have heard good things about the University of Arizona and Midwest Laboratories.

You will send out what you want tested as a fully finished product. If you forget an ingredient, you will unfortunately have to get it re-tested since it could materially change the outcome of the product.

If you plan on switching out extracts, like vanilla for cake batter, as long as something is there, you don’t need to re-test for each flavor because you use so little and they’re commercial products that are stable at room temperature after opening.

So, if you have a cheesecake recipe that passes, you can sell cheesecake… although I don’t think that’s actually possible!

Concluding Part 1

The hardest part of starting a home bakery in Maryland is figuring out what you can sell as a home baker.

While Maryland outlines what is and isn’t a cottage food, there’s a lot of nuance!

Whenever I’m confused, I just ask myself, “does this need to be refrigerated?”

And that usually does it for me.

In part 2, I go over labeling requirements and how I package my chunky cookies.

If you’ve already got that covered, but haven’t gone out to the farmers market yet, read more about what I learned my first year as a vendor.

Naturally Pink Strawberry Cake with Yogurt Whipped Cream Frosting

Diane — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 01:08:25 +0000

My mom wanted a strawberry cake for her birthday and a strawberry cake she got.

This was so fresh and bursting with strawberry flavor! I blended fresh strawberries and cooked it on the stove to remove the water — that way I’m left with a concentrated strawberry flavor.

Usually real strawberry cake turns out gray and people add red food coloring (I found this natural red food coloring gel) but this one doesn’t require any

Super happy with how it turned out. There is leftover strawberry puree that I served it with. Soooo yummy!

The measurements for this recipe are a little bit wonky, but this is what I used. And you don’t have to be that exact — if you add 4 grams of white sugar instead of 4.10 grams… it’s not going to make a difference.

Naturally Pink Strawberry Cake Recipe

This recipe makes one 6″ round cake layer.

Reduced Strawberry Puree Recipe

Ingredients

197g Fresh or Frozen Strawberries
8g White Sugar

Method

In a blender, puree until smooth.
Transfer to a small pot and reduce until thickened.

Strawberry Cake Recipe

Ingredients

42g Sour Cream (room temp)
28g Neutral Oil
21g Egg Whites (room temp)
1.90 Salt
65.80g Cake Flour (sift)
9.45g Potato Starch (sift)
2.10g Baking Powder
0.40g Baking Soda
70g White Sugar
101.50g Reduced Strawberry Puree

Method

In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine the sour cream, neutral oil, egg whites, and salt. Mix until fully combined, then set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, potato starch, baking powder, and baking soda.
Whisk the white sugar into the dry ingredients until evenly combined.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Add half of the reduced strawberry puree and mix in until just combined.
Alternate adding the remaining dry ingredients and puree, mixing gently after each addition until the batter is just combined. Do not over mix.
Transfer batter into an oiled and parchment lined 6″ round baking pan.
Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 14-19 minutes, or until set. (Mine took 19 minutes).
Allow to cool completely. Set aside.

Don’t have the baking pan I’m using?

Here is the same Naturally Pink Strawberry Cake Recipe using my Cake Pan Converter Spreadsheet.

Yogurt Whipped Cream Frosting Recipe

This recipe frosts one 6″ round cake.

Ingredients

109g Heavy Whipping Cream
44g Greek Yogurt
9g Powdered Sugar (sift)
2g Vanilla Extract
0.40g Salt

Method

Place mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl) and whisk (or whisk attachment) in freezer for 5 minutes to chill.
In chilled bowl, whisk heavy whipping cream and greek yogurt together until slightly thickened.
Add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue whisking to soft peaks. Taste for adjustments.
Switch to a handheld whisk and whisk by hand to desired texture. If over-whipped and grainy, whisk in a splash of cream until texture softens up.

Frosting a different sized cake?

Here is the same Yogurt Whipped Cream Frosting using my Cake Pan Converter Spreadsheet.

Concluding the Naturally Pink Strawberry Cake Recipe

This naturally pink strawberry cake is such a winner! It tastes so fresh, like a real strawberry.

I hope you give it a try in whatever baking pan size you have.

WANT MORE CONVERTED RECIPES?

Check out the Recipe Library to see what other bakes you can make in over 25 baking pan sizes!

How I Treated My Keloids: My Experience With Injections, Laser, and Radiation

Diane — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 15:51:04 +0000

As of February 6, 2026, the last of my keloids has been officially treated!

We’re now waiting to see how it responds without treatment for at least 6 months, which I’ve gone at least 2-3 months without before, so my dermatologist and I are optimistic.

This is my 20+ year journey treating my keloids:

What is a Keloid?

A keloid is a type of raised scar that produces too much collagen beyond the original injury.

Keloids are more common in people of Asian and African descent and tend to develop on areas such as the chest, shoulders, jawline, and ears.

My History with Keloids

Jawline

I have suffered from severe acne since I was 11 years old and probably when I was around 15-16, I would casually pop the pimples along my jawline with my nails, which eventually formed into keloids.

I didn’t know at the time though as I thought they were cystic acne.

I remember a traumatic experience at a spa owned by an old Korean woman who insisted they needed to be stabbed and cut into because she thought it was cystic acne and that the core needed to be extracted.

Don’t trust fucking idiots.

But, the jawline keloids were the easiest to treat in my experience. Thank god!

Chest

I had a raised mole/birthmark that was removed via laser. It scabbed over and when it fell off, my keloid was born. Boo!

This is the one I was most embarrassed by because it was just there.

The keloids along my jawline blended in with the horrible acne, but one on my chest was front and center.

On the bright side, I always covered it up so my chest has aged gracefully with beautifully pale skin and no sun spots

Anyway, this area has the longest history because I just couldn’t get consistent enough treatment.

My Keloid Treatment Timeline

Before we go into the actual keloid treatments I’ve tried, this is my on-and-off history:

2006: Chest keloid formed
2007: Went to Korea for 3 months in the summer and got kenalog injections every week. Keloid would grow back because the US was not privy to keloid treatments yet.
2008: Went to Korea for 3 months in the summer and got kenalog injections every week.
2009: Went to Korea for 3 months in the summer and got kenalog injections every week.
2010: Jawline keloids formed. Went to Korea for 3 months in the summer and got kenalog injections for both chest and jawline every week. This time, the kenalog injections were done only on one side of my chest keloid, so when I went back home, the keloid grew beyond the side that was not treated as much.
2011-2014: I would get kenalog injections on-and-off at my school’s doctors’ offices but only to subside the itching.
2014-2018: US doctors finally started having the same answers as those in Korea! I was actually looking into cryotherapy, which is mostly done on the ears so I didn’t qualify. But, that’s how I found Dr. Pimple Popper‘s office before she blew up on Instagram. I ended up consistently seeing her Physician Assistant Erin Jensen, who now owns her own successful medspa practice now called The Treatment Skin Boutique, but Erin set up my treatment plan that I took over to my other doctors in the future. My jawline keloids were gone by 2018.
2019-2020: I moved to Washington DC and started going to Integrated Dermatology because they had the type of laser I needed per my so-far successful treatment with Erin. I saw the Medical Director at the time, Dr. Agnes Chang, and then started seeing Physician Assistant Nicole Masson in 2025.
2020-2022: I stopped laser treatments from 2020-2022 because of the pandemic. I started going to Nurse Practitioner Chanda Copeland of Advanced Dermatology to get steroid injections to subside the itching and treat the re-growth.
2022-2023: Once the world opened up again, I started getting injections every two weeks plus laser treatments every month. One side of my keloid was not responding anymore and so Chanda switched to a stronger type of injection. At this point, the keloid was flat, but we would keep “chasing” it because it would itch and grow in between appointments despite how aggressive we were.
2023: I got radiation treatment to “kill” the underlying keloid cells that were causing the rapid regrowth.
2023-2026: We were able to flatten out the keloid again and eventually stop injections! I continued laser every month and did the “weaker” kenalog injections as needed.

Fuuuu — writing this all out… it’s been a long time coming.

Keloid Treatments I’ve Tried

Kenalog Injections

Kenalog injections, also referred to as corticosteroid or steroid injections (not the bodybuilding kind!), reduces collagen production, which is why they’re used to treat keloids. This is what I solely used until 2014.

I’m used to needles at this point, so I don’t need numbing anymore. But, when I first started, I did. And please ask for numbing injections, not numbing cream; numbing cream doesn’t do shit.

Also, ask for kenalog injections with a Botox needle because they’re very thin. Some practices just use one type of needle, which if they do Botox, then you don’t have to ask every time.

This is especially helpful when you start foregoing numbing injections, which I’ll tell you why you would want to in the next section.

I will say that when you first start kenalog injections, you are in pain afterwards because you can sort of feel the collagen breaking down.

It’s especially uncomfortable and honestly hurts like hell along the jawline because your lower face just hurts so badly — almost like a burning sensation.

I remember one time just screaming and yelling my car because it hurt so badly. But, that’s only happened once.

Cortisone cream helped, but it didn’t take the pain away to make it not hurt.

Sorry to scare you a bit, but I would still do it again because… I was desperate to get rid of my keloids!

You also have to be careful not to get these injections done too frequently because it thins your skin and can even cause depressions since collagen is being targeted.

Thankfully, once you stop, your skin will typically go back to normal, which it did for me without the keloid getting worse (but this depended on the stage of treatment).

There were times it was a bit overdone and we had to stop, but after about 2-3 months, we’d be good again and resume treatment.

VBeam Laser

Vbeam laser is a type of pulse dye laser that helps get rid of redness by targeting the blood vessels. The blood vessels in your keloid “feed” it, so we’re basically cutting off the food supply!

2014-2018: As the keloids on my jawline and chest were flattening, Erin and I stopped numbing injections because numbing restricts blood flow; less blood vessels means less effective Vbeam laser.

That’s why using a thin Botox needle was very much necessary for my comfort because I was going to tolerate a lot. Thankfully, Erin is the type of medical professional who doesn’t disregard women’s pain (because shockingly a lot of female providers do just as much as the male ones).

2025-2026: As my keloid journey was coming to an end, I found that my chest keloid didn’t respond to Vbeam as well as before regarding the redness. At this point, my chest keloid was very flat and I found Vbeam was just a hair too much for my skin, which was fairly thin at this stage.

This next laser is what address my redness much better despite it not being designed for that!

Fraxel Laser

Fraxel is a non-ablative skin resurfacing laser, meaning it heats the skin to stimulate collagen, which I know is ironic considering keloids are caused by an overproduction of collagen.

By the way, there are non-ablative and ablative lasers; you can think of them as superficial and aggressive. You don’t want to use an aggressive laser with keloid-able skin!

Anyway, because the blood vessels in my keloid were essentially dying off, keloid collagen wasn’t being produced as much anymore, if at all.

At this point, I’ve had years of kenalog injections and Vbeam treatments that were addressing the keloid collagen, but they left my skin lumpy.

In theory, Fraxel would gently stimulate the area to smooth my skin and in practice, this was the case thankfully!

I switched off between Vbeam and Fraxel every other month.

Although at this point the keloids along my jawline were gone, I did use Fraxel to smooth out that area; I stopped all together around 2024 or 2025 since I was satisfied with its progress.

Towards the end of 2025 and into 2026, I would exclusively use Fraxel because I found my chest keloid would be less red by my next appointment compared to when I used Vbeam.

In my head, I think Fraxel would take off a layer of skin and some of its redness? Vbeam didn’t make it worse, but Fraxel was just much better.

This decision was played by ear and wasn’t something we had anticipated. But, if it wasn’t broke, we didn’t try to fix it!

Fluorouracil-5 Injections

Okay, the timeline is getting a little convoluted but Fluorouracil-5 (5-FU) was something we added into the mix in temporary place of kenalog injections.

I believe 5-FU was initially developed to stop cancer cells from reproducing. It’s great for keloids because it breaks down the collagen cells that are overproducing.

If you recall in my long ass timeline, I was in Korea and only the right side of my chest keloid was mainly injected back in the summer of 2014.

I really couldn’t tell you why. I was in a factory type of doctor’s office and I didn’t notice this was happening until the end of summer.

When I went back home, my chest keloid re-grew towards the left, where it wasn’t treated. As a result, when we flash forward to 2022 and 2023, the left side of my keloid was hard as a rock!

Chanda thinks the collagen produced there was tightly packed because of the new growth that happened nearly 8 years prior. But, it wasn’t responding to the kenalog injections anymore.

We were at a bit of a loss but luckily she was discussing this with a colleague who suggested using 5-FU.

AND IT WORKED! I don’t know who Chanda spoke with but she’s a real one and really saved us.

It softened that hard as a rock part of my keloid and eventually we weened off of it and switched back to kenalog injections because again, we don’t want to over treat and depress the healthy skin surrounding the keloid.

This is something to keep in your back pocket if you’re hitting a roadblock like I was.

But still, the chest keloid was growing back by the second week even though it was softer…

Superficial Radiation Therapy (SRT-100)

That’s when I looked into Superficial Radiation Therapy (SRT-100).

I was in a Facebook group about keloids and a lot of people were talking about Lexington Plastic Surgeons (LPS) who apparently specialize in keloid removal via surgery. The reviews were mixed.

Personally, I’m completely against surgery to address keloids. Of course, everyone’s keloids are different and some won’t respond to the treatments that worked for mine, but that’s just my belief.

I have gone to countless doctors who specialize in skin and scars over the years and they all are against surgery for keloids because they grow back worse (as can always be the case, but was especially so 10+ years ago) so that’s just what’s ingrained in me.

Some nurse practitioners and plastic surgeons have suggested it to me but I never considered it because they’re not experts. Sorry, not sorry!

But, an LPS office was close to me, so I set up a consultation because when I looked at their website, they called out radiation treatments so I was curious to learn more about it.

Basically, SRT-100 “kills” (lots of “killing” mentioned in this post lmao) the underlying cells of your keloid so there’s no regrowth.

I asked if I could just do the radiation with them and forego the surgery; and I could, but I would still have to pay the full cost of $10,000 and they don’t take insurance. GOODBYE~

After my consultation, I researched SRT-100 and found a local dermatologist office not only had it, but also took my insurance!

Thank you LPS for at least giving me this information, but I do NOT recommend them.

Surgery was also covered by my insurance at this provider, but again I refused it. I got three rounds of radiation and only paid $175 for all three treatments, plus my initial consultation and follow-up appointment.

Because I didn’t do surgery, the before and after wasn’t dramatic. The medical assistant was a confused, but the dermatologist said everything is good.

And they were!

Before radiation, my chest keloid would itch from regrowth after only a week or two, but after radiation, it scaled back to the typical 4 weeks.

This allowed my normal treatments to eventually to “kill” the rest of my keloid and the itching stopped all together.

Products that helped my keloids

Cortisone Cream

Back when I first started treatment, my keloid would itch all the time, even when things were progressing nicely.

Over-the-counter cortisone cream helped subside the itching as needed.

I stopped using it… a long ass time ago since I found a treatment plan that worked really well for me. But, it was very helpful when I did need it.

Silicone Patches

Silicone is an occlusive, meaning it traps moisture. For some reason, it’s great for healing scars and when you’re treating keloids, you can sort of control how it flattens.

Plus, if there’s regrowth, then you can similarly dictate how smooth it grows back.

To be honest, I was really bad at using silicone patches for the entirety of my treatment. Towards the end, I was much better at it because I’m at the end! Haha, so I’m more motivated and excited to do so.

There are silicone gels but I prefer non-reusable silicone patches because I never know when the gel has worn off and I think the pressure from the bandage helps. They also stick on better than the reusable ones.

Personally, I’ll keep them on for days before switching it out. And there’s maybe about one or two re-sticks too. I’m not too prescriptive about it.

And I guess you don’t even have to use it for most of the treatment? In fact, maybe I wouldn’t have done Fraxel, which we found addressed redness better than Vbeam towards the end.

Concluding my keloid journey

Towards the end, maybe there’s like a liiitle bump that Nicole and I are keen to get rid of with one more kenalog injection, but I think the silicone patch is doing it’s job for now.

If you recall, I’ve had acne since I was 11 and I haven’t been able to go on Accutane this entire time because of the laser treatments. So, I’ll be on that soon and in 6-9 months, we’ll see how my chest keloid is doing because… my jawline keloids have been long gone and never came back so I’m optimistic!

If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram @thedianecollective

Quick High Fiber Hoisin Noodles

Diane — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:45:01 +0000

Figuring out what to eat is the bane of human existence! Whenever I don’t feel like cooking but have to, I like to make these quick high fiber hoisin noodles.

Whenever I make pasta, I like to add heart of palm, which is the center of a palm tree? LMAO

The ones I get are in shreds and blend in with any long, stringy noodle. Add in a quick sauce, poach some chicken, and dinner is served.

Quick High Fiber Hoisin Noodle Recipe

This recipe serves 4.

200g Spaghetti or Fettuccine
338g Heart of Palm Linguine
7g Neutral Oil
White Part of 6 Green Onions – MINCE
6 Garlic Cloves – MINCE
64g Hoisin Sauce
30g Soy Sauce
14g Toasted Sesame Oil
14g Honey
Green Part of 3 Green Onions – MINCE

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Cook pasta of choice according to package instructions.
In a skillet with high sides, heat over medium-high. Add heart of palm linguine without liquid. Cook to evaporate excess water until lightly golden-brown.
Create a well in the center and add oil. Add the minced green onion whites and garlic. Cook until fragrant.
Add hoisin sauce, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and honey. Stir everything together.
Add pasta (and some starchy cooking water if drained). Toss everything together until sauce is evenly coated.
Serve with minced green onion greens.

Verdict on these Quick High Fiber Hoisin Noodles

I’m 75% sure I found this recipe is from the New York Times while scrolling YouTube Shorts.

The sauce is alright. The umami is strangely satisfying and I find myself taking random bites throughout the day, but it’s not something that blows me away and I can’t wait to eat it again, you know?

I will be making this again, but I’m hoping and am pretty confident that I’ll find a replacement soon.

Maybe I’ll go the Pad See Ew route next?

If baking is more your speed and how you came across my blog, then check out the Recipe Library where you can make my favorite baked goods in nearly every pan size!

How to Steal Like an Artist: Branding for Your Small Business

Diane — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 16:16:56 +0000

Branding is one of the first things people look into when they start a business.

To be frank, I don’t think you need to spend so much time on branding for your small business at the beginning because it’s going to change as you and your business grows.

But, it is good to have something, right? And we have to start somewhere because having no clue is also not good!

I want to share with you my experience with branding for my small business so that maybe you can skip a few steps.

Cookie Cazimi and Magical Girl Adventures colors are hot pink and baby pink. Before Cookie Cazimi’s were orange and yellow; Magical Girl Adventures former alias, The Diane Collective, was lavender and purple.

So, what happened?

Different for the Sake of Different

My home bakery specializes in chunky cookies, which are all over the Internet, but I’m the only one who does them in my small town besides big, bad Crumbl.

And as a result, my instinct was to immediately not go with pink. Not just because of Crumbl, but also a lot of bakeries I knew of used pink and I didn’t want to be another pink bakery.

When I became a vendor at the farmers market, I leaned on orange and yellow because I read that McDonald’s uses red and yellow in their branding as psychologically it makes you feel hungry.

And I thought those fiery colors would be fitting for the “cazimi” in Cookie Cazimi since it means “in the heart of the Sun.”

One day, I was working on some flyers and I asked my cousin, who works in design, to give me some pointers on visuals and spacing because I didn’t like what I was seeing but I also didn’t know what to fix.

And the more we worked on the flyer, the more she wanted to change the colors since she said the orange and yellow just reminded her of fast food and that it’s probably what was making things stay “off” for her despite the meaningful changes we made.

Suddenly, she said, “why don’t we see how pink looks?” because pink was my favorite color growing up and so that’s what she associates me with.

SHOCK HORROR!

Not really. But, while I didn’t want to be another pink bakery, I didn’t relent because:

Pink is a popular color for everything, like actually… who cares that there’s another pink business; they’re always going to exist. And it’s okay to be like every other girl.
My cousin isn’t into bakeries or sweets, so this suggestion came from a very unassuming and ignorant place. Her focus was just on “this would look great” instead of “this will make you stand out” because she didn’t know what was normal or even overdone in this space.

This made me realize that standing out isn’t the real goal. It’s about sending a message.

And the message isn’t “I’m different from other bakeries” because… what does that even mean?

Anyway, this is how we selected the perfect pink…

How to Steal a Color

Okay, so we decided on pink, but which pink? There are a million varieties of one color.

I’m going to just cut to the chase — We started looking at logos from big companies in completely different industries and just took what they used.

Now, we didn’t take everything and copy their entire color scheme!

But, if they have a pink we liked, picked that pink. Then, we plugged and played around in Canva until we liked what we saw because we had pretty much finished the flyer.

Now, if you don’t like the idea of stealing or copying, that’s totally cool.

You can skip that step and go straight to looking up HEX colors yourself and go with what you like.

Just don’t be afraid to do what other businesses in your space are doing like I was. Don’t stay away from pink for the sake of it.

Other businesses are doing it because it probably works. I mean they’re all in the game, right?

And to be clear, I do not endorse stealing from other small businesses because that’s not cool; we’re all trying our best here and working very hard.

BUT, BIG MONEY??? I don’t give a fuck. They already spent the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars on studying and marketing that pink, so I know it works.

And they probably treat their employees like shit and had a bunch of layoffs so… it’s fine (to me).

Sticking it to the man aside, it’s important to note that I only took that one element.

Because a brand is more than just one color.

Like, I don’t think you would know which pink I got from what company because the vibes with how I used this pink is totally different.

When we finalized our two colors, we just thought the flyer was perfect now because it said “PARTY!”

Because cookies are a fun food and parties are where you have fun. And what that company sold was… definitely not that, haha.

You take one thing and make it your own.

Step 1

I know I just explained all of this and we’re nearing the end of the blog post, so how the hell are we talking about Step 1?

Well, this is your Step 1 because I don’t want you to go around this big loop-de-loop that I did; and you might not have a relative who’s working in design to help you.

Decide what emotional experience you want to sell.

What meanings do you want people to attach to your business?

With Cookie Cazimi, my chunky cookies aren’t going to be an everyday food like bagels.

So, when we got that fun and festive vibe with the pinks, we felt like we were telling my customers that if you’re planning a good time, think of Cookie Cazimi!

I do want to mention that the decision to go with pink was based on my cousin’s personal association with me.

Because generally you aren’t always your target audience, so you don’t necessarily want to go with what you like.

That’s just a decision you have to make whether you are or not.

A few years ago, I had a spirit guide reading and my spirit guides told me that it’s important for my businesses to be a reflection of myself; otherwise, it’s not going to work out long-term.

I know it’s kind of funny that I’m taking business advice from some kooky lady, but her advice is working for me because while this isn’t my first business… it is my first successful one!

But, it might not be the right advice for you.

And I know of successful founders who say, “I was my target customer so that’s why it worked” but don’t be discouraged if you don’t feel that way.

There are many successful small businesses whose founder is not a part of their customer base.

You have a great product and you want to find the people who will benefit from it the most!

And if you’ve been wondering why The Diane Collective has the same branding as Cookie Cazimi, my cousin said that it’s just confusing to have two different brands.

She said that I want both to be associated with each other (and me), so they need to match.

I did like the mystic purple though… which ironically is the more overdone than pink bakeries, lol.

Concluding Branding for Your Small Business

Picking a color scheme is not that serious. At least, I don’t think so.

And I’m a Scorpio — meaning I take a lot of things seriously, so if I don’t think it’s serious, then it’s really not.

Because color is only a part of your branding. Branding is about the meaning customers attach to you!

The two main takeaways are:

Don’t be afraid to do what others are doing.
Steal like an artist.