I fancy myself a competent baker. I have nothing on Rebecca Barron of Barron’s Bakes in Longview, TX. I came across her sugar cookies on Instagram and was completely blown away by her ability to turn cookies into works of art. Originally from Liberty City, Rebecca attended Dallas Baptist University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in Healthcare Management. Not the typical path to becoming a “cookier” as they are called in the cookie community. After some time in the corporate world as a practice manager for a busy urology practice in Tupelo, MS. Rebecca and her husband moved to Ft. Worth where he completed his Sports Medicine fellowship at TCU. When the opportunity arose for the couple to relocate to Longview and be closer to family they were pleased to do so in July of 2018.
Rebecca had a reputation around the office for baking the best chocolate chip cookies and upon greeting us at the door of her home we were welcomed with a fresh batch. From the first bite I could tell she made the right decision to get out of the office and into the kitchen full time. She has a gift. The cookies were exceptional. As I watched her prepare frosting so she could demonstrate her magic on freshly baked sugar cookies we talked about how she got into baking. While both her Mom and Dad cooked it wasn’t until she moved out on her own that she started baking regularly. Her husband and 3 year old nephew are her self appointed taste testers. I selflessly offered my services if they become unavailable.
While baking is a passion, doing the dishes is admittedly not. Armed with 3 KitchenAid stand mixers and restaurant quality baking racks her kitchen and office look like something out of a TV show on the Food Network. Spotless and organized, Rebecca takes great pride in the quality of her cookies. Just as important are the flavors. Her cookies are more than just a pretty face, they taste delicious. Buttery, light and baked to perfection, even her chocolate sugar cookies are right on the money. She takes existing recipes and tweaks them until they are up to her standards. A snickerdoodle sugar cookie is currently in the experimentation phase.
I had to know how on earth she is capable of decorating a cookie to resemble a museum quality painting. Her simple answer was she loves to draw. Along with an App she uses on her iPad, her creations are all original and while they may be inspired by her customer’s requests, she is the one that brings the vision to life. She has been asked to bake for all occasions. One of the most memorable was for an 11 year old girl’s birthday party. Her Mother explained that her daughter was very interested in true crime stories and Rebecca managed to make crime scene cookies for the party that were impressive and surprisingly appetizing considering the theme. Blood splattered cookie anyone?
She enjoys the freedom gained from working for herself but it is not without its challenges. For one thing it can take 2-3 days to bake and decorate 1 dozen cookies. Her attention to detail and quality of ingredients is apparent in her stunning finished product. There is a learning curve when it comes to all the tools and tricks involved in decorating but Rebecca likes challenging herself and will be attending a cookie retreat in Lagrange, TX. She will hone her skills, meet people she has only communicated with online and hopefully come back even more energized and excited to continue her craft.
She candidly shared that she has at least one baking fail per week which made me feel slightly better about my own cooking let downs. We talked about the cottage food industry restrictions and being allowed to only sell directly to consumers in person. This limits her to Farmers Markets and direct orders as she is not allowed to ship orders. However, the recent law that passed will enable her to sell in “Pop-Up Shops” which will give her more exposure and encourage partnerships with other local businesses. Rebecca’s future plans include selling at the Longview Farmers Market beginning June 29th. When I asked the obvious question of the possibility for a store front someday she said she is open to the idea but for now she is learning as she goes. Barron’s Bakes is still a relatively new business that was hatched at 3 am when Rebecca had a vision of how all the elements would fall into place, even designing her own logo.
One of the best things about Rebecca and her motivation as both a business owner and member of our community is her dedication to spread kindness. In fact, “Friday Happy” is written on her over-sized wall calendar. Acknowledging that everyone has their own struggles she uses Fridays as a marked time to get out and brighten someone’s day with free cookies or a gift card. I love Rebecca’s commitment not only to making delicious cookies but also to making a difference. We need more people like her in the world and I hope you follow her on IG @barronsbakes and FB @Barron’s Bakes to keep up with her work. Find her at the Longview Farmers Market and contact her to make your next event even more special with custom cookies and sweet treats.
