MADELINE RAINERI | News Editor

For Nicole Simpson, owning her own bakery is more than just a dream. 

Simpson, a Lindenwood graduate, opened “Baked!” on Saturday on Central School Rd. in St. Charles. 

“I’ve been baking ever since I was a kid. My grandparents taught me and I’ve just always enjoyed it. I used to make wedding cakes and cookies at home, and cookies are my specialty,” Simpson said. 

And Simpson’s cookies are unique indeed. She puts her twist on classics like chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin by making them more than average. 

“Our specialty would be our massive cookies. The cookies weigh a pound. They go for about four or five dollars depending on if they have nuts in them, but they’re super gooey in the inside and crunchy on the outside which is just different than anything you can get anywhere else,” Simpson said. 

But cookies aren’t the only thing Simpson plans on serving from her bakery – they plan to expand their menu to include a wider variety of items. 

“Along with cookies, we do cookie cakes, custom cakes and aside from cookies we also do soups and salads and we will be introducing flatbread pizza soon, so it kind of goes with the name baked so we thought it would be a good choice,” Simpson said. 

Simpson’s name for the bakery is a clever hint at something she believes might be a new business venture in the future: baked cannabis goods. 

“So, [the name] is a little play on words, “come get baked,” it kind of works in two ways.” Maybe in the future, we might spread out if Missouri decides to legalize. That was my original idea, to be a cannabis bakery,” Simpson said. 

Baked! also hopes to continue expanding their business by offering classes for adults looking to celebrate a special occasion, where they can bring their own alcohol and learn to decorate both cookies and cakes.