Plainfield mom turns passion for cookies into online bakery business

Heather Kratz of Plainfield loves cookies — and so do her customers.

Kratz, who’s baked since childhood, opened her home-based business, The Cookie Maker, 14 years ago and sells cookies — and only cookies — directly to her customers.

“I make four to five hundred Monday through Friday in preparation for markets’ online orders,” Kratz said. “During the summer season, there’s a lot of farmers markets we attend. We always sell what we make. We never have any leftovers.”

At Lockport’s Old Canal Days in June, her Monster Mash cookie was the top seller among festival-goers, Kratz said.

“They loved the Nutella stuffed inside them, along with the M&M’s and chocolate chips,” Kratz said.

“Fan favorite” flavors are chocolate chip with walnuts, cookies ’n’ cream, loaded churro, oatmeal delights and red velvet, according to her website, thecookiemaker.com.

Kratz said she also belongs to cookie baker groups on social media, which offer resources and support. For instance, if one baker receives an order that can’t be filled, another baker in the group might fulfill it, she said.

“I do take some customer orders. It depends on my availability,” Kratz said. “I also work with some party planners, who use me regularly for their sugar cookies.”

From hobby to business

Kratz grew up baking with her mother and grandmother.

“My mom actually let me help her make Christmas cookies,” she said. “One year, I got better at it than she did, and I just took over her mixer.”

Kratz said she was 10 or 11 at that time, and her father would “hire” her to bake cookies for people at his office. Kratz strictly made sugar cookies — especially Christmas sugar cookies — that people bought from her, often to give as gifts.

Eventually, Kratz called her service The Cookie Maker and launched a Facebook page for orders. At the time, Kratz worked under the “Cupcake Law,” she said.

The 2014 bill allowed home bakers to provide direct sales of their products as long as they met certain conditions — such as not exceeding $1,000 in monthly gross sales. So in those early years, Kratz saw The Cookie Maker as a “supportive hobby,” albeit a “hobby that I was able to get paid for,” she said.

“It gave me something to do while I was at home and the kids were younger,” Kratz said. “Then, I started to see people genuinely loved our products and wanted our cookies. The demand for them was starting to get high.”

Kratz said she was inundated with orders through The Cookie Makers’ Facebook page during the 2019 holiday season.

In January 2020 — before the Valentine’s Day rush — Kratz created a website, which simplified the ordering process.

After the Home-to-Market Act went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, Kratz started shipping cookies and selling her cookies to customers at fairs and markets. This enabled Kratz to expand and grow her business, she said.

Kratz said she had to self-certify her home kitchen as part of her application process through the Will County Health Department. She also needed a Certified Food Protection Manager certification.

But all these steps were worth it.

“I felt it was important to show my kids that you don’t have to go out and find a job out of the house,” Kratz said. “You can use the skills you have and create something awesome with that. ... I also feel it’s really important to have flexibility as a family if we can make this our sole income.”

Kratz said she even combines business with family by incorporating their love for camping with market appearances. Her children — ages 15, 12, 8, and 2½ — provide ideas on new flavors and varieties to bake, she said. The Cookie Maker website also has cookie rewards and digital gift cards.

Customer perks aside, Kratz’s focus is creating delicious cookies.

“I’ve always loved making cookies,” Kratz said. “So I feel sharing that love with everyone is probably what fulfills the passion I have for making cookies.”