Growing up, our favorite treats were always the ones made with love (and extra sugar) by Mom. But when you need to give mama (read: yourself!) a break in the kitchen, turn to these mom-owned bakeries in Dallas-Fort Worth.
These mamas each specialize in cakes, cookies, tarts, gluten-free desserts and many more treats that would be fabulous for your kid’s next birthday party, when you need cupcakes for the whole class, or just when you’re craving a sweet pick-me-up.
See below for more info about the moms behind some of our favorite storefronts, at-home bakeries, and companies specializing in mail-order cookie kits.
BIRD Bakery
Elizabeth Chambers has made a sweet life as the owner of BIRD Bakery and judge on competition shows like Cupcake Wars, Sugar Showdown and Chopped Junior. The newly minted style star has become something of a millennial Martha Stewart, thanks to her hilarious social media presence and easy-as-pie recipes.
Elizabeth splits her time between Dallas and Los Angeles with her two children, Harper and Ford. The Dallas outpost of BIRD Bakery is located in Highland Park Village and caters to local residents’ cravings for elaborate sweet treats as well as fresh southern fare adapted from her grandmother’s recipes. Try the award-winning carrot cupcake or an elevated take on a PB&J, made with jalapeno blackberry jam.
Dallas: 7 Highland Park Village; 214/780-0322
Society Bakery
Society Bakery founder Roshi Muns knows her way around an oven. Even before putting up her first bakery along Greenville Avenue in 2003, her homemade chocolate chip cookies were the perennial favorite amongst friends and family.
After various stints in different fields of work, the Dallas resident and Texas Tech alum finally took the plunge and turned her hobby into a real business after lots of encouragement from a former boss. Her motto is “Be good to your sweet tooth; be good to society.” And aside from bakery duties, the single mom enjoys every moment she has with her son, Henry.
Dallas: 3610 Greenville Ave.; 214/827-1411
Stir Crazy Baked Goods
“Just like grandma made, if what grandma made kicked @#!*.” The company motto at Robbie Werner’s Stir Crazy Baked Goods tells you everything that you need to know about this old-fashioned-yet-fresh take on baked goods. The Cowtown bakery gained a reputation for supplying custom sweet treats to local businesses, before transitioning into a brick and mortar experience in 2010.
In the intervening years, Stir Crazy has gained a reputation for unique cupcake flavors like avocado lime, citrus basil and garam masala. Putting basic vanilla and chocolate flavors to shame are Werner’s edible variations on Mom and Dad-approved Fuzzy Navel shots (peach schnapps and orange juice), tequila lime and Rahr & Sons Ugly Pug black lager. Werner lives in Fort Worth with her husband Adam and their three kids, Amaris, Paige and Asher.
Fort Worth: 1251 W. Magnolia Ave.; 817/862-9058
The Cookie Society
After finding success with her online cookie bakery that shipped nationwide, Marissa Allen and her husband Jeff Allen (former offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs) decided it was time to launch a storefront for The Cookie Society near their family’s home in Frisco. Almost right way, the pandemic hit and they were forced to close. But just months after they began selling cookies curbside, The Cookie Society became one of Oprah’s Favorite Things of 2020. “I’m tired just thinking about it,” says Allen of all that’s happened, “but it was the most exciting thing.”
Frisco: 9320 Dallas Pkwy, Suite 160; 214/618-0651
Unrefined Bakery
Mother-daughter duo Anne Hoyt and Taylor Nicholson are the brains behind this North Texas chain. Both lifelong bakers (Taylor admits to baking her first apple pie at 4 years old, while Anne was an award-winning baker by the fifth grade), the pair was inspired by their own Celiac struggles to open Unrefined with the mission to serve delicious desserts that, oh yeah, are also gluten-free, non-GMO, organic, soy-free and use unrefined sugars.
Drop by one of Unrefined Bakery’s six locations and you can also tuck into vegan and paleo-friendly sandwiches (made on bread, freshly baked in house) and organic, Fair Trade coffee. The mother and daughter have found a sweet recipe for their working relationship: one part total trust, two cups of total respect, a scoop of mutual admiration.
With everything that goes into Unrefined Bakery, you might forget that both women are busy raising kids of all ages. Anne is mom is three kids—son Barry, daughter Erin and her coworker Taylor. Meanwhile, Taylor has her hands full raising two children, 7-year-old Hoyt and 3-year-old Jack Preston. “[I’m amazed] at what she can accomplish at such a young age with so much on her plate that matter even more than our work—her family,” Anne says. “It’s a gift beyond words to grow this company with her.” Perhaps it’s no surprise, but Anne and Taylor plan to spend their Mother’s Day celebrating with each other and their family—not at the bakery.
Dallas, Medallion Center: 6464 E. Northwest Hwy., Suite 326; 214/414-2414
Dallas, Preston Center: 6055 Sherry Lane; 469/816-2414
Dallas, Uptown: 2222 McKinney Ave., Suite 180; 972/946-2414
Frisco: 3411 Preston Road, Suite 8; 972/668-2414
Fort Worth: 3250 Hulen St., Suite 130; 972/467-2494
In-store at Ekin Nutrition Rockwall, 559 E I-30 Rockwall; 972/722-6294
Hannah’s Gluten Free Bakery
Many moms say that they do everything in life for their kids, but Mesquite mama Larissa Wilson took it a step further, literally naming a business after her daughter. Both Larissa and Hannah were diagnosed with Celiac Disease, but it wasn’t until her daughter said that she wanted other people with the disease to be able to enjoy sweet treats that the mom began to experiment recipes and set up shop. In addition to a Mesquite storefront, Hannah’s Gluten Free Bakery is available at Dallas Farmers Market on weekends and for delivery across the Metroplex with a minimum $50 order.
Hannah’s Gluten Free Bakery serves home-style (and duh, gluten free) baked goods, from cupcakes and cookies to breads and rolls. While mom Larissa is the self-titled “baking guru” who has appeared on Food Network shows like Bakers vs. Fakers, the whole family is involved with the business—her husband Antonio Sr. is the “bakery muscle” tasked with deliveries, son Antonio Jr. is the official taster and frosting maker, and Hannah is the bakery’s flavor creator.
Dallas: 371 Jefferson Blvd., Suite A1, Dallas; 214/307-2886
Mesquite: 1830 Range Drive, Suite 102, Mesquite; 469/708-9864
Color My Cookie
The pandemic forced Nancy Major and her pastry chef husband Sam—parents to Catherine, Peter, Elisabeth and Andrew—to close the Tart Bakery storefront, but now their business has transitioned into two new ventures. Customers (or “Tartlets,” as they are affectionately called) can still get their hand on the not-too-sweet shortbread cookies through mail-order DIY cookie decorating kits. This way, you can skip the baking and focus on cookie decorating as an art activity.
Just order online to get your signature shortbreads (pre-iced to preserve their freshness and make for a smooth canvas for your creativity) with icing, edible watercolors, edible décor and paint brushes shipped to your home. Plus, each kit includes a link to an online tutorial to lead you step-by-step.
Sam Major runs the Dessert Unlimited arm, wholesale buyers looking for cakes, macarons, cake balls, mini tarts, molten cakes to wholesale buyers. Contact via hello@dessertunlimited.com or 214/258-5294 for questions.
Just Cake It
After my youngest daughter was born, Jamie Terry says she took some cake decorating classes and fell in love. She and her husband, who had experience working with his older sister’s cake business, decided to launch their home-based custom dessert bakery to assist with the high cost of healthcare for their son, Tory. He has spastic quadriplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. They specialize in wedding cakes but do all sorts. Check out more of their designs on Facebook here. Every month they provide a free cake to one local child or adult with special needs.
Based in Frisco. To order a custom cake, call 972/695-9704 or email info@justcakeitdesserts.com.
Be the Light Bakery
All moms are busy, but Nadia Sherwin has even more going on than most. She’s the mother of twins and triplets: twins Amari and Keona, and triplets Mila, Colette and Noah. She makes her home with husband Robbie in Wylie where Sherwin has not one but two jobs as a part-time preschool teacher and a custom cookie artist through her home business, Be The Light Bakery. After the kids’ bedtime, she begins her night owl job making custom cookies. She also offers cookie decorating kits and hot cocoa bombs.
Based in Wylie. To order, call 214/364-6100 or email bethelightbakery@gmail.com.
Sift Bake Shoppe
Amy Rodgers has been running her custom-order cookie company, Sift Bake Shoppe, out of her Richardson home since March 2015—a little over a year before her first child was born. After transitioning from her background in fashion (including 5+ years at Stanley Korshak) into her passion for baking, Rodgers has found success in the North Texas culinary scene. The baker specializes in detailed, hand-decorated royal icing designs for baby showers, birthday parties and bridal showers.
With a business and a child, Rodgers has impressively found a personal balance while staying on top of decorating trends for her roster of clients. Son Parker is her unofficial coworker at Sift. “If we give him a bowl full of cookie cutters and a spoon, he will pretend like he’s stirring up the ingredients,” Amy laughs. “I can’t wait until he’s old enough for me to actually put him to work!”
Based in Richardson. To order custom cookies, email siftbakeshoppe@gmail.com.
Cake Pop Couture
Rachel Sutaria fell in love with baking after the birth of her first child, Kaleb. “Growing up, my family considered baking as something you do on the side for fun,” says the former HR professional who is now owner of the Frisco-based Cake Pop Couture. “After having my children, I started baking more often and of course it had to be pretty!”
Year after year of elaborate dessert displays at her children’s birthday parties, plus encouragement from friends, inspired the mom to finally take the plunge into the baking biz. Her daughter Sophia, a self-described cake pop addict, hopes to follow in her mom’s footsteps one day and can often be found next to Mom in her matching apron and helping mix ingredients or roll fondant.
The Frisco mom draws inspiration from her kids’ interests, like Batman, LEGOs and Minecraft. (Overworked and overtired parents might identify with her edible ode to Red Bull.) “There’s not a particular theme that I prefer over another, however the look on a little girl’s face when she gets her unicorn cake pop is magical,” Rachel says. Though Cake Pop Couture specializes in these bite-sized sweets, Sutaria also makes hand-decorated cookies, cupcakes and cakes for events across Collin County.
Based in Frisco. To place an order, call 214/727-3371 or email rachelsutaria@gmail.com.
This article was originally published in May 2018.
Photography by Nick Prendergast
