Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maria Reaume. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Maria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

As a child I began making cookies with my mom before I began kindergarten. It became such a beloved tradition making my mom’s handed down and her own modified recipes. They were always homemade and hand crafted Cookies were holiday treats, birthday additions, gifts, and always a comforting treat available in my mom’s cookie jar growing up.
My love of making and creating them never stopped and I always enjoyed the reactions of those who loved a good homemade cookie.
I have been conscious of eating as healthy as possible in recent years. I have been vegetarian and now vegan for over twenty years. With so many friends being gluten free and so much evidence of organic food without harmful additive, dyes and such being key to a healthy lifestyle, I decided to reinvent my cookie making to fit my beliefs.
Now I do only gluten free vegan cookies that also include organic ingredients. The best part is the challenge of taking my mom’s vintage cookies we all loved and making them as delicious with plant based butter, milk, egg free and a wonderful gluten free flour mixture.
I use two vintage inspired food colors only along with the natural vanilla which are also non gmo and naturally based for my buttercream sugar cookies.
I offer my buttercream cookies always in changing seasonal styles with no more than two other varieties of cookies at one time. This allows me to focus on the quality of the cookies
I’m very excited to have made these healthier sustainable choices and have gained many customers as a result
. I feel so much happier offering products I have always loved, inspired by wonderful memories without the harmful ingredients. They have that same nostalgic taste and not the guilt! Not to mention, doing something I advocate and believe in is quite rewarding

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

It’s pretty simple really I have always enjoyed baking and sharing with those I love. So starting a small cookie business just seemed natural. It started out as cookies in general of any kind. I would challenge myself to come up with new ones. Then it occurred to me that most people today are looking for healthier options to the things they always loved.
As I said before, I am vegan and passionate about its benefits so it was a simple decision. I became vintage, gluten free and plant based. The color pallet I chose is inspired by vintage 50’s and 60’s diners, nature, sunsets, and nostalgia.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I lost my cousin/best friend last year. He passed on the 11 year anniversary of my father’s passing It has been a year of learning and relearning how to grow around the grief.
Making cookies and being creative has saved my mental health in many ways and I especially keep going in his honor. He was my biggest cheering section.
Most days at first, I wanted to hide from the world and stop everything, but I always heard his voice saying “ don’t you dare quit”!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That you can not please everyone Some people were kind of mad at me or annoyed with my changing to a vegan gluten free, organic product.
That’s ok. There was a time when it would have bothered me , however I have to be true to myself and my beliefs
I have actually gained more customers and found by pursuing what I love, more happiness follows.

Contact Info:

• Website: Cookiecoven.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: Cookie Coven
• Facebook: Cookie Coven

Image Credits
Myself