Maegan Brown was a brand-new mom with no professional cooking experience when she first launched The BakerMama with a recipe for peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies. Today, almost 12 years and a thousand recipes later, she’s a bestselling author who just released her third cookbook, Brilliant Bites, featuring mini versions of classic foods. “I’ve always loved to cook and bake—I grew up in a family that valued that, where food was a big part of lives,” she says. “So bringing people together with food and entertainment is really important to me.”
But Brown is just as passionate about her other job—Mom. Here the Dallas mom of four opens up about raising kids, creating recipes and how parenthood has changed her.
Interview with Meagan Brown
DFWChild: How did you become The BakerMama?
Maegan Brown: Food was very important in my family growing up—we hosted a lot, had family meals around the table—and that was passed down to me. I love to entertain and I love to bake and cook. In business school we had this little 500-square-foot apartment, and we’d pack it with whoever wanted to come over. I’d make cake balls and piles of brownies and cookies. My husband would be barbequing all kinds of meat.
After we moved to Dallas a friend who worked for General Mills told me about an opportunity with Gold Medal Flour. They were looking for an everyday blogger and he thought I should apply. I had a 6-month-old at the time and I wasn’t really looking to get back into work right away but I had that itch to do something other than stay home with my baby. I had never blogged or taken pictures of food before, but I applied. I called it The BakerMama and created a mock blog. And they chose me!
The day I got the call my husband came home and I said, ‘let’s celebrate, let’s open a bottle of champagne!’ But I was also feeling kind of nauseous that day, so I said ‘actually, let’s take a pregnancy test first.’ Sure enough I was pregnant and we found out a little later that it was twins.
DFWChild: And you still took the job?
MB: I was so excited and passionate about this opportunity that I stuck with it. I prepped everything while I was pregnant to have three months’ worth of recipes ready when the twins arrived.
DFWChild: When did you decide to branch off on your own?
MB: Two years into it, I wanted to share more than recipes with flour in them. It gave me the opportunity to share what I was feeding my kids as they grew older. Truly everything I share is what we eat as a family, what we enjoy and what we entertain with. Like my family, my recipes have evolved over time.
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DFWChild: How do you come up with all your recipes?
MB: My brain just never shuts down when it comes to food! I love getting in the kitchen and having fun with different foods. I love grocery shopping; I find a lot of inspiration there. If I see something that sparks an idea, I have to buy it and I’ll immediately run home and try it. I have notes on my phone that I’m constantly adding to–I’ll be in the carpool line or I’ll be at a sports game and I’ll think of something and I have to make a note of it. I probably have hundreds of ideas in that note that I haven’t even gotten to yet.
DFWChild: What recipe is on repeat in your house?
MB: I make my Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Tortilla Soup almost every week, even in the summer. My kids eat it so well. Twice a week I make banana chocolate chip muffins. It’s the only thing my oldest will for-sure eat for breakfast. If I do not have those, he won’t eat breakfast and then here comes the mom guilt.
DFWChild: What do you hope your kids learn from The BakerMama?
MB: Find something you love and work really hard at it, but also know that balance is important. They see how hard both my husband and I work but we try to show them that there has to be a balance. Family is our priority.
DFWChild: What’s the most challenging part of having four kids?
MB: Quality time with each kid can be hard. I have this perfect idea in my head, and then life happens. You never know when somebody is going to have their moment or when a kid is going to need you most. When they were younger it was physically exhausting, and now it’s emotionally and mentally exhausting because they’re in such important stages of their personalities and experiences right now.
DFWChild: How has motherhood changed you?
MB: Before having kids I was much more structured. They really helped me to step back and be like ‘OK that’s not important.’ You truly have to prioritize where you want to spend your time and your energy. Sometimes I step back and say it doesn’t matter that that table’s all messy. I don’t need to do that extra load of laundry or organize all the shoes today. Or the carpool fell through and I need to go pick up a kid, so instead of that meal I was going to make tonight we’re going to get Chick-fil-A. I let it go and try not to worry so much about everything going as planned. I give myself some grace now.
Maegan Brown’s Favorite Things
The BakerMama shares her favorite traditions, recipes and restaurants.
Holiday Tradition
Piling into the car to go look at Christmas lights and making holiday themed snacking boards are among Brown’s favorite traditions with her kids this time of year. But most special is a horse-drawn carriage ride through Highland Park. “The whole town just lights up,” she says of the elaborately decorated neighborhoods. “You have some hot cocoa and just take it all in.”
Dining Out
When Brown wants a break from the kitchen and a special night out, she heads to Dallas’s Sister restaurant. “It’s a really thoughtful place and every time we go it never fails—it’s so satisfying and the experience is always special,” she says. The charred octopus, wild “boaranaise,” pesto fusilli and Moroccan spiced chicken are among her favorites on the menu.
And when feeling adventurous, Brown likes Namo, a West Village sushi spot with ingredients sourced from Japan. “We love enjoying their Omakase nights whenever possible or we just let our sushi chef guide us through the fresh selections on and off the menu,” she says. “The sushi is always seasonal, fresh and creatively served.”
Go-To Christmas Gift
With sprinkles, red and green M&Ms and adorably tiny gingerbread men, Brown’s Christmas Crunch Mix is a festive treat to make with kids. “And it’s great for gifting,” she says. “Put it in little tins or baggies.”
Add to Cart
While Brown bops around to different grocery stores every week (her favorite for browsing is Central Market), she has a newfound affinity for online grocery shopping. “I was anti grocery pickup or delivery for the longest time … I was worried that by not going into the store I wouldn’t be inspired to try something new or make something different. But a lot of the grocery apps suggest different ingredients based on what you like and keep your history of what you’ve bought before. It’s a mom-hack I should have started long ago,” she laughs.
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The Beauty of Boards
Brown’s Insta-worthy snacking boards and bestselling cookbook Beautiful Boards took off for a reason. “I think it changed the way a lot of people entertain and host, but it’s also so good for families,” she says. “We enjoy salad boards very regularly here at our house where everybody builds their own salad with a variety of toppings and just a big bowl of lettuce in the middle. And we do build your own baked potato boards where I put a pile of baked potatoes in the middle and a bunch of toppings. Everyone gets to make their own meal and own it. So with the kids I don’t have the pushback of ‘I don’t want what you put on my plate.’ I’m like ‘you put it on your plate.’”
This article was originally published in November 2023.
Top image courtesy of Kelsey Foster
