Today we’d like to introduce you to Corrie Miracle.
Hi Corrie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hey! I’m Corrie and the baker behind the cottage, home bakery, Mixing Bowl Cookie Co.
I’m a small, one-woman owned bakery based in Woodbridge, Virginia with a focus on custom designed sugar cookies, cake pops, macarons and cookie cakes!
What brought me to Woodbridge? Well, my husband is on the police force for the Prince William County Police Department, so it made sense to live where we work and I’ve grown to love the area ever since.
You might wonder how I got started in the kitchen. Let me tell ya, I was not a natural at baking. If it wasn’t a pull-a-part cookie from the freezer aisle in the grocery store, I couldn’t bake it. I’m always down to try something once, though!
I attempted baking sugar cookies back in 2019 on a random Saturday with my cousin- let me tell ya, those cookies tasted great, but boy were they ugly. Whenever you think of royal iced decorated sugar cookies, you always thing of these whimsical or cute designs. Not these, my friend. We named one “Bob the Blob”…. he was supposed to be a heart-shaped cookie with a smiley face. What he ended up being was a blob of icing with a sprinkle eye sliding off the left side of the cookie. From that day, I’d been bit by the baking bug! I devoured every video and tutorial and became a self-taught scratch-made baker for friends and family.
As with every hobby, word got out that I was makin’ custom cookies (and they weren’t so “Bob the Blob-esk” anymore), which had people asking if I’d bake for their baby showers and birthdays. I remember my very first paid order. It was for my sister’s co-worker and I was SO nervous. The theme was unicorns and I think I still have a photo of them somewhere. I remember giving them to her and being so worried she wouldn’t like them. To my utter and complete surprise, she loved them! I still was very nervous and very new at the business side of baking, but something happened in my life that made me focus on growing my bakery business and taking this thing seriously.
In 2020, my son was attending public school here in Woodbridge and the bullying was non-stop. Every day he’d come home with tears and a story how he was being picked on. The thing that really launched my bakery business determination was when a kid told my son to steal $1,000 from my purse that night or else he would bully him even more. My son came home sobbing because he wanted the money to stop bully, but he didn’t want to steal from me, his mom. And that was that. I told my husband that we needed to fix this. We crunched the numbers and if I could make this bakery thing work- we could put my son in private school and get him out of that situation.
My dedicated customers made that possible. Every single order, every single tag on social media, every single comment on my posts- all these things helped me put my son in a better situation and, you’ll be proud to know, he finished 10th grade on the A Honor Roll!
I’ve been able to grow an amazing group of clients who trust my with their big life events, for which I will be forever grateful. Just the fact that they trust me with their important moments means the world to me!
I wish I could take all the credit for my cookie decorating skills, but I’d be lying if I did. I am so thankful that the Lord helped me develop a talent that was able to be used for so much good. He has used this random Saturday Bob-the-cookie-Blob day and turned it into something so amazing for me and my family. To God be the glory great things He has done!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Cookie decorating has been a challenge that gets easier with practice and patience. I still have cookie design requests that have me stressing if I can execute it just right, but I’ve been able to overcome most of those over the years with time in.
Now, the business side of cookies always has a new challenge. Whether it an updated cottage law by the state or a change in the social media algorithms- there is never a dull moment!
I’ve enjoyed learning cookie photography and what makes cookies look best when it comes to lighting and staging, but even that has changed! Social media is more about video now and that’s been a whole new world of things to learn, how to speak, what to say and how to say it.
I’ve taken on new challenges like I do cookies. Slow and steady with patience and perseverance. I’m not going to become a professional videographer over night, but if I attempt something new in a video- that’s a step in the right direction and a win in my book!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m most known for sugar cookies (probably because I’ve been doing them for the longest) and absolutely love cute cookie sets like dino birthdays and baby in blooms. My sugar cookie recipe is what keeps people coming back, though.
When people think sugar cookies, they tend to think that it’s a hard cookie that isn’t really fun or enjoyable to bite into. My cookie dough recipe is heavy on the butter which give it a super soft bite and made with real vanilla and vanilla bean paste that give it the most wonderful taste. If you try my cookies, you’ll be back. I can guarantee it!
My decorating style tends to set me a part from others. I love super clean lines and simpler designs. I appreciate the aesthetic of sets that go together with matching colors throughout and designs that work together vs clash. Most people can recognize a Mixing Bowl Cookie Co set before they even see who posted it!
What does success mean to you?
Success looks different for everyone and can be different for one person throughout the different stages of life! It’s hard to define success in one sentence that encompasses everything.
At the start of my bakery, it looked like getting more orders.
Now, it looks more like making sure I meet my client’s needs and wants so that they feel super proud of bringing their cookies to their events.
Future success? Well, I’ll let you know when I get there!
Pricing:
- Custom Cookies begin at $78 a dozen
- Cookies Cakes begin at $50 a dozen
- Cake Pops begin at $53 a dozen
- Macarons begin at $36 a dozen
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.MixingBowlCookieCo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixingbowlcookiecompany/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MixingBowlCookieCompany/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mixing-bowl-cookie-company
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mixing-bowl-cookie-woodbridge
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mixingbowlcookieco
