Senior starts cookie bakery and delivery service

If anyone is craving warm, homemade cookies, made and delivered on the same day, senior Alyssa Hoffman is the person to call.

Hoffman recently started a cookie selling business called “Alyssa’s Cookie Delivery Service.” Students can request cookies for $7 for a half dozen or $12 for a dozen.

Students can contact Hoffman by text, call or Facebook message to place cookie orders. The customer tells Hoffman what kind of cookies they want, how many and when they would like them delivered. She then gives them a time estimate and brings them straight to their door. 

“I try to deliver them while they are still warm,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman has always had a passion for baking, she said. 

“I’ve always enjoyed baking. So throughout my life people have told me to open a bakery,” she said. “But I’m still in school and staying in Spokane and so it’s not the best time to open a bakery. So this was an easier way to still bake and have a business and make cookies for people.”

Hoffman’s delivery service started out like any other cookie and lemonade stand, she said.

“This weekend I was trying to get my house mates to have a lemonade stand with me because it was supposed to be sunny,” Hoffman said. “We are always complaining about not having money and so I set one up on the end of my street and it was really slow and boring. So I went inside and decided to come up with a new idea to make [cookies] for just Whitworth so that it’s easy to deliver.”

Many students were familiar with Hoffman’s cookies before she started her business and her classmates know her for bringing cookies into the classrooms.

Senior Matthew Aldridge first experienced Hoffman’s cookies during his sophomore year when she handed them out in her dorm and to her friends.

“Oatmeal raisin is my favorite because I can eat a lot of them and still feel kind of good about myself,” Aldridge said. “I had about four yesterday in about 10 minutes.”

The business has been receiving rave reviews.

“I like that you can request styles or flavors, I think that’s pretty cool,” Aldridge said. “I like the authentic, homey feel that you get. There’s a better connection with another human cooking cookies for you than just buying cookies at Safeway. And they taste better, which is a plus.”

Hoffman also has gluten-free recipes which she sells for $15 per dozen. 

“The peanut butter, chocolate chip, oat gluten-free cookie was my favorite,” junior Paige Brandon said. “Usually gluten-free cookies aren’t very good and these were super good. They are really oversized so it was really nice that you weren’t overpaying. They were still warm out of the oven.”

The delicious taste of homemade cookies is not all that impresses buyers. Hoffman bakes many of her cookies using her own ideas and experimenting with new ingredients.

“That’s really impressive that she just makes them on her own,” senior Kody Davis said. 

Hoffman has a special routine to get in the mood to bake. She likes to look at blogs and cookbooks to refer to certain recipes. She then uses those recipes and adds a personal twist to make them her own. While she bakes, she listens to music and eats food, both of which depend on her mood.

Along with her studies, baking cookies has always been a part of Hoffman’s life routine. She tries to prioritize her school work so that it will be done by the time an order comes in, she said.

Cookies are only one of Hoffman’s many specialties. She bakes other things such asbread, cake and cinnamon rolls. Hoffman has learned to cook other foods since living off campus. She enjoys using fresh, quality ingredients such as fresh citrus and herbs. However, she likes to make cookies the most, she said.

“Cookies are my favorite baked good, especially because I don’t really like cake,” she said. “But because I live off campus, I’ve gotten a lot more into cooking as well as baking.” 

She also likes to specifically bake cookies because they are fast, delicious, can be made in a huge variety and they’re portable, she said. 

Although baking is a passion of Hoffman’s, she is not certain where it will fit in with her career or if she will pursue it as more than a hobby, she said.

“I originally was an elementary-ed major but then I switched to communication because it was more general and I could have more options and take more directions,” Hoffman said. “I don’t know if I want to open a bakery but I know that whatever career I choose, I will incorporate baking into it and do both.”

Hoffman said she regards baking as a bonding experience.

“It’s a way to show people you care and bring people together,” she said.

Call (253) 468-5905 for Alyssa Hoffman’s Cookie Delivery Service.