LeeAnn Clark serves two of her favorite things at her Sugar Mama Cookies shop in Marble Falls: smiles and crunchy, creative, culinary delights. Each of her carefully crafted confections comes with a side of happiness. Take one bite and your face will soon sport a great big Sugar Mama smile, accented by a crumb or two and a touch of royal icing.

“I love seeing the smiles on people’s faces,” she said. “I love that what I do makes people happy.”

Clark and a crew of seven bake gourmet cookies that look as much like works of art as sweet treats to eat. Her journey to a growing business in Old Oak Square began as a quest in a mother’s kitchen to find the perfect sugar cookie recipe — a flour-fueled adventure driven by the love of baking and the family she fed.

‘I love seeing the smiles on people’s faces,’ said LeeAnn Clark, creator of these sugar cookies. ‘I love that what I do makes people happy.’ Photo by Ronnie Madrid

More than 10 years ago, Clark cooked trays of cookies for her three children to take to their activities. The traditional sugar cookie recipe she was using at the time was dry and crumbly and left a bad taste in her mouth. After some recipe research, Clark spent a month testing and tweaking until she baked up a batch that wowed her.

In fact, it wowed a lot of people. Soon, cookie requests rolled in for parties, children’s activities, and events.

Next, Clark obtained a cottage industry license from the state of Texas to commercially bake in her home. Demand soon pushed her to rent a commercial kitchen — a good move that put her in touch with a fellow baker who taught her the art of cake making and decorating.

In 2016, Clark answered the constant question of “Are you going to open a retail shop?” with a place in Old Oak Square in downtown Marble Falls. Last year, she doubled the square footage to keep up with the demand for Sugar Mama Cookies’ treats. She serves a variety of cookies as well as cupcakes, cakes, lemon bars, and more.

Making the jump from at-home baker for fun to small-business owner wasn’t Clark’s plan. She was quite happy baking for the love of it, but her kids encouraged her to go pro.

“They told me, ‘You love doing this, so go for it,’” she said.

Clark smiles when she thinks about the joy she gets out of baking cookies and cakes.

“It’s easier to wake up every day when you do something you love,” she said. “This makes me happy, and why wouldn’t you do something that makes you happy?”

Sugar Mama Cookies is located in Old Oak Square at 307 Main St., Suite B, in Marble Falls. Call (512) 547-2033.

daniel@thepicayune.com

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