Sweet Dreams

When you are asked to write about a million-dollar-plus cookie empire born in the Midwest, it’s not an assignment to turn down. Sampling confections named Peanut Butter Blossom, Red Velvet Sprinkle or Rainbow sounds sinful, delicious and, well, joyful. Coupled with the idea that someone handcrafts them just an hour from Indianapolis, in Howard County, Indiana, I envision Dorothy Gale of Oz covered in gingham, flour and candied confetti.

I swoosh north up the highway, past multi-storied office buildings, cloverleaf on-and-off ramps and uninspired McMansions. Then acres of farmland surround me, full of green stalks of corn and low-lying soybeans, while the bluest picture-perfect sky arcs overhead. One right turn, down a road bleached nearly white from seasons of snow and sun, leads me into charming Greentown, known for its regional glass collectible museum of pitchers and plates. As much as I want to learn more, I have a rendezvous with sugar.

I am excited to meet Brenda Coffman, cookie queen of America’s heartland. Coffman is the CEO and mastermind behind Blondie’s Cookies. I had watched Coffman on YouTube in a 2012 episode of “Shark Tank.” Barbara Corcoran was clad in vampire red while Coffman wore sunshine, exuding kindness and intelligence and speaking with a Midwest twang. As she passed around her wares, one “shark” made an unnecessary comment that she seemed like a cartoon. As if that’s all the flyovers create: fantasies or comics.

Coffman is neither fictional nor a caricature; she is a true blue, hardworking cookie maker whose dream was born amid a family tragedy.

All that comes through when I meet her—energetic and petite with a blonde updo and a logoed shirt—and her husband, Mark, and niece, Anna, at the recently purchased building, about 50 yards from their baking factory and original administration space. The newest acquisition, a former chain sandwich shop, will become the new headquarters for Blondie’s Cookies. They plan for the space to include a retail outlet, events space and a place to craft bold recipes. A small corner already offers an assortment of goods, with Blondie’s trademark sunny box and faux blue ribbon to package them up. A family business, Mark bustles around, and her niece sits listening to us chat.

They had just moved in earlier in the year. The brick main room holds folding chairs circled by eight large round tables, as if a wedding reception had just occurred. Along the wall hang three Indiana license plates emblazoned with the word “cookies.” There are the requisite offices and a stainless-steel kitchen where Coffman creates sweetened dough recipes.

As she begins to tell the story of Blondie’s Cookies, from its name (a family consensus) and humble beginnings, she speaks about her family tragedy. Before entering the food business, she studied dance as a young girl, pas de deuxing into her teens, gracing the barre in Chicago and Indianapolis. She was good enough to pirouette into an apprenticeship at the National Ballet of Canada. But before she made it north, a drunk driver killed her father. She gave up training, and the dancing side of her drifted. In her grief, she restarted an old hobby, one that she did with her mother: baking. Her eyes tear up as she tells me this. While the shock and loss of her father ended one future, it opened another.

Blondie’s Cookies was born in 1984 in the most unexpected of places: college student housing. Coffman, studying business and science, and her husband, Mark, an engineering student, resided in a student flat at Indiana State University. To make ends meet, she started selling homemade cookies. The first batch consisted of simple chocolate chips and snickerdoodles baked in their apartment oven. She sold them to other students for a dollar. The cookies were large.

“Eight inches in diameter,” she recalls with a laugh. “I could only get four cookies on the tray.”

As word spread, professors, deans and scholastic administrators started asking for the product as gifts and at parties. It was the start of a small business that would shape Coffman’s future—and sweet tooths throughout the Hoosier state.

With no Friday classes to worry about, she designated that day for grocery shopping, gathering ingredients to fuel her cookie business dreams. She scoured the shelves of the local Kroger for the best ingredients. With science as one of her majors, she purchased pure cane sugar instead of sugar-beet-derived crystals. “I wanted to bring a commitment to using quality ingredients to Blondie’s Cookies,” she says. “I wanted no earthiness, only sweetness.”

She worked with her chemistry professor, a behind-the-scenes ally, experimenting with how her chosen ingredients interacted. Mark, her steadfast partner in this cookie adventure, chimes in, laughing. “I remember her bugging the chemistry teacher constantly for extra credit and advice.”

Coffman wanted a perfect cookie the same way she had wanted to dance an ideal pas de chat. Confections and their tasty wholesomeness evolved amongst the background of a university, where thousands attended. By their first Christmas in business, parents, teachers and staff were asking if they could order holiday cookies. Without skipping a macadamia nut, Coffman filled orders, personalizing each box with a Christmas tree stamp.

“Our first Christmas, which was our junior year of college, we sold so many that [we] had to stay up for two nights to fill the orders,” she remembers.

As demand grew, the Coffmans leaped to open the first Blondie’s Cookies retail store. And so, on September 3, 1985, the debut location opened in Coffman’s hometown of Kokomo. A second store was launched in Anderson, quickly followed by the third in Muncie. For the next several decades, Coffman expanded the footprint of Blondie’s Cookies to additional Indiana malls and locations, becoming a favorite destination in the state’s cooking landscape. Eventually, they opened—and closed—shops in Florida, which Coffman refers to as “the mistake in 2009.” She says, “Of course, there was the housing bubble. And no one was interested in cookies then.”

Appearing on “Shark Tank” helped with national recognition and cemented a statewide status. Still, they didn’t secure a deal. (Not one “shark” specialized in food, rather building their fortunes in real estate, tech, fashion and sports.) Despite the disappointment, the exposure boosted their mail-order division. As a company, Blondie’s Cookies sends hundreds of packages each week across the country. Still, the bread-and-butter continues to come from the retail stores serving customers seven days a week from seven Indiana locations.

From those small-scale beginnings in their dorm, the Coffmans grew a successful business. When the first Blondie’s opened, their product line consisted of 11 cookie types and one brownie. Today, they make over 20 varieties of cookies and three types of brownies baked daily. As a couple, they celebrate four decades of marriage, a powerful statement of commitment with all the sugar highs and lows in a relationship.

They recently introduced their newest product, Chewies, and an extension of gluten-free offerings. Local charities receive unsold products from each location at the end of each day.

With multiple store locations, Blondie’s Cookies provides a testament to the power of a well-made cookie and passion for quality. As they look to the future, their goal remains clear: bring delicious tastes to neighboring states so that even more cookie enthusiasts can enjoy a bit of the Hoosier hospitality. 

• Visit BlondiesCookies.com for store locations, hours and fundraising opportunities.

COOKIE MINISTRY
 

Blondie’s Cookies created a mission at the beginning of their baking business to always give back. They view their charitable endeavors as a “cookie ministry” to share love and support with their community.

One of their long-standing partnerships is with the Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic organization dedicated to providing meals to the homeless in Indianapolis. This collaboration exemplifies Blondie’s commitment to supporting organizations impacting local communities in their locations. Additionally, they support various Indiana schools devoted to emotionally and physically challenged students, including Bona Vista in Kokomo, emphasizing their dedication to special-needs education.

Their involvement with charitable organizations goes further. Blondie’s Cookies actively works with Second Helpings, an initiative associated with Ivy Tech, to distribute surplus products from events.

When asked about their motivation, Brenda Coffman emphasizes the importance of giving back to those less fortunate and participating in annual nonprofit events such as Zoobilation benefitting the Indianapolis Zoo and Rev Indy, with proceeds donated to Indiana University Health’s statewide trauma system; Rev Indy takes place the first weekend in May, which is the launch of the Indianapolis 500 month of events. They attribute their philanthropic efforts to being blessed with the opportunity to start their business.

Blondie’s Cookies believes in making a positive impact, ensuring their delicious confections also bring joy when someone needs it the most.