From Hutch to Household Name: The Rise of Baker Aaker

Since launching her cottage bakery earlier this year, Tori Aaker has been delighting Northern Colorado with sourdough loaves, cinnamon rolls, baking mixes, and what many now call the best chocolate chip cookie they’ve ever had - aka "The Number One". Around here, most people don’t even say “Tori” anymore—they just say Baker Aaker.

In this cozy conversation, Heather and Tori talk about what a cottage bakery actually is, how Tori set up her porch hutch, and why her background in photography, design, and branding made it easier to launch quickly. They also get honest about pricing homemade goods, baking at altitude, the joy of feeding people, and the freedom to try things without having to stick with them forever.

Whether you’re a home baker, a small business dreamer, or just someone who loves a good cookie, this episode is a warm invitation to try, taste, and enjoy the season you’re in.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What a cottage bakery is and how the Colorado cottage food law works for home bakers
• How Tori’s upbringing—watching her mom cook for hundreds at church events—shaped her love of serving people through food
• The story behind the now-famous “number one cookie” and the neighbor who insisted she start selling it
• Why the biggest challenge isn’t always pricing, but deciding how much to bake and what sizes to sell
• Baking at altitude in Colorado (including Tori’s tip to slightly reduce butter in cookies so they don’t spread)
• The hidden time cost of cookies versus other baked goods
• Tori’s favorite kitchen tools, including those magnetic measuring spoons and restaurant-style sheet pans with lids
• How her background in photography, branding, and web design made Baker Aaker quicker and easier to launch
• The emotional side of pricing your work and facing imposter syndrome when you sell what you can “just make at home”
• Tori’s fast-start personality, why she’s had multiple businesses, and her permission slip to stop something when it’s no longer right for your season
• Encouragement for kid (and grown-up) bakers: reading the recipe, trying again when it doesn’t work, and learning from mistakes

Where to find Tori / Baker Aaker:

• Website: bakeraaker.com 
• Instagram: @bakeraaker 

Catch more of the story @thanks.for.doing.that.podcast! 

Transcript

Introduction to the Podcast

[00:00:00] Heather Winchell: Hey, there you are listening to Thanks for doing that, a podcast celebrating people and ideas that make this world a better. Place. I am Heather Winchell, your host and chief enthusiast, and I'm on a mission to bring you conversations that encourage, inspire and delight. So stay tuned for another episode where we explore the things we do, the reasons we do them, and why it matters.

[00:00:44] Welcome back to the podcast. 

Meet Tori Aaker: The Baker Behind Baker Aaker

[00:00:46] Heather Winchell: Today I am joined by Tori Aaker, and though there are actually many different directions we could take in this conversation, because Tori is skilled in a variety of areas, I've asked her to join me today to talk about her work as Baker Ker, and that might sound familiar. If you heard my episode with Laura Moore a couple of weeks ago.

[00:01:05] Since starting her cottage bakery earlier this year, Tori has been delighting people all over northern Colorado with her sourdough bread, her assorted baking mixes, and her homemade treats. And if you follow me on social, you have likely seen my midweek runs for her chocolate chip cookies. They are literally the best I have ever had.

[00:01:26] So Tori, thank you so much for joining me today. Let's dive in with a bit of insight into what life looks like for you right now. Thanks for having me. I 

[00:01:35] Tori Aaker: am Tori Aaker, hence the name Baker Aaker, which is, you just can't miss a, a good play on words right now in life. I am, um, full-time mom and I also am a website and brand designer, and I recently started Baker Aaker, which is a cottage bakery, and I set a variety of baked goods out on my porch, and people come and pick them up as they please.

[00:02:00] Heather Winchell: I'm curious whether the little hutch that you put everything in, is that something that's been in your family or is that something that you sourced specifically for your bakery? 

[00:02:09] Tori Aaker: It is something that I, um, sourced specifically for this. I actually bought it from a friend off Facebook marketplace and I was like, that is perfect.

[00:02:17] Um, I kind of knew I wanted to have a kind of shelf style hutch on the porch. Um, we have a covered porch and so it's just kind of worked out perfectly. It has a little. Um, storage underneath and then some shelves where I put everything and it just actually is like the perfect size. So 

[00:02:33] Heather Winchell: it's been great.

[00:02:34] Yeah. It well, and it's super cute. It's a, it's a great addition to that porch. Okay. So I would love to just know when did you start baking and was there a person in your family or outside your family that taught you. 

[00:02:47] Tori Aaker: I've been baking for quite some time. I don't know if I would give it a specific date that I started, but yeah, I would say everyone in my family, kind of the women especially, have set like an example of like baking and making things homemade.

[00:03:03] My mom. Has done a lot of volunteer work and part of that was making meals for hundreds of people for different church events, um, and managing events just with like a lot of people. And food was always kind of like the crux of those events. And so I really grew up helping her a lot. Just put those events on and going to Sam's Club early in the morning and getting a huge crate and walking through the store and looking at serving sizes and ingredients and checking out the list.

[00:03:31] So yeah, I just kind of always grew up like serving people through food, which I guess I never really like. Thought of in depth. But yeah, we, we love to host and have people over quite often, and so I'm always like, what am I gonna make? What, what dessert can I bring? Or I always like kept frozen cookie dough in the freezer just to have on hand at any time.

[00:03:53] So it's really just kind of been a part of. Like my life, family hosting and stuff. So, 

[00:03:59] Heather Winchell: you know, you said that for your mom it was like preparing meals for large groups of people. Are you fine to stay in the niche of baking or have you ever considered doing more cooking or like larger, larger meals and events and things like that?

[00:04:11] Tori Aaker: For right now, I am just gonna stick to baking, but I do love a good food prep session. I do like to bulk make freezer meals to have on hand. So, yeah, in the terms of what I can do as a cottage baker, it's uh, pretty limited as to like what types of things I can offer. So if I wanted to go above and beyond that, um, it would change my, like licensing and certifications that I would have to get.

[00:04:38] Um, but right now baking feels manageable. I don't think anything else would feel manageable for this time in my life. Oh, 

[00:04:44] Heather Winchell: totally. I am curious what your go-to freezer meal is Like, what, what could I go pull out of your freezer and make tonight? What kind of food is it? That's a great question. 

[00:04:56] Tori Aaker: I don't even know if I have anything in there right now.

[00:04:59] Um, besides cookie dough. So I would say anything that like can go into a crockpot. Yeah. Which is like so simple. Um, okay, I'll tell you this. Uh, chicken thighs and 5 0 5 green chili sauce. It's like our go-to burrito bowl meal and it's a crowd pleaser, fan favorite. My kids ask for it every single week. So that's a good one to have on hand.

[00:05:24] Although it doesn't, like, it's only two ingredients, so it's not really like you don't really need to have it in the freezer, but you know, 

[00:05:29] Heather Winchell: it's just nice just in case. Oh, totally. 

[00:05:31] Tori Aaker: Yeah. 

[00:05:31] Heather Winchell: Yeah. So then would you just like put the chicken and the sauce in a bag and freeze it all together? Yeah. Okay. Cool. Cool.

[00:05:39] Mm-hmm. Okay. So then that brings me to my next question that is related to our discussion. 

Starting a Cottage Bakery

[00:05:43] Heather Winchell: So could you kind of define what is a cottage bakery and how did you decide to go that route? Sure. 

[00:05:51] Tori Aaker: Um, a cottage bakery is basically a certification that you go through to get, um, and it basically allows you to bake and sell from your home without having to go through the health department and come and have them do inspections and all of that.

[00:06:04] So you basically go through this class, which for me was put on through the Colorado State University Extension Program. They're the ones who do the training and they kind of. Are the means to share all the information that the state regulates as far as like sanitation, things you can and can't serve, or make different rules and regulations, how your label has to be laid out, information that has to be on there.

[00:06:27] And I. So, yeah, that is the, the cottage kind of like portion that allows you to do that from home. And I, I kind of chose that because I was like, okay, that feels manageable, that I could do all those things. I can do it from home, which I like because I've always worked from home and I also do a lot of. A lot of things with my time, and I'm no newbie to owning a business, so I was like, sure, I could do that.

[00:06:54] Let's try it out. Feels fun. Seems fun. I like baking, and I just had this one cookie recipe where everyone who had it was like. This is so good, like you should sell this. One of my neighbors specifically was like, you seriously need to sell your cookies? And I'm like, I don't know who would buy it. And he's like, no, actually, like please do.

[00:07:15] So I was like, okay, fine, I'll try it. So I got the certification, um, it costs like $50 and then I just kind of sat on it for a while and I was like, I'm, I'm too close to the holidays to make anything of this right now. So maybe next year when, when it rolls around, I'll try it again or just go for it. And so then earlier this year.

[00:07:33] In July, I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it. I'm going for it. So first weekend of August was my first time having a, a setup. 

[00:07:40] Heather Winchell: Wow. That's hard to believe because like, as I said, we, we talked about you on a previous episode and in that episode we acknowledged that it's kind of a household name now. Like, and honestly as, as our friend, our mutual friend was talking about you, she, like, she just thinks of you as Baker Acre, not even by Tori.

[00:07:59] Um mm-hmm. And so, yeah, it's just, it's wild to think that it's, that it's only been a few months because I, like I said, I just, I know several people that I enjoy. Your product was the one recipe, the number one cookie. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. It is so good. Like listener, I'm so sad you cannot experience this cookie in this moment.

[00:08:18] Okay. Well that seems pretty straightforward and shout out to the extension program. They have so many cool things. Mm-hmm. What are some words that would describe what the process has been like for you? Has it been smooth? Has it been clunky? What would you say? 

Challenges and Joys of Baking

[00:08:35] Tori Aaker: I would say for me personally, the hardest part has just been figuring out like.

[00:08:40] How much to make every weekend, which we can talk about that a little bit later too. But I think the process overall has just, maybe the clunkiest part is like, where am I going to keep all this stuff in my house? But everything else I, I feel like, has been pretty easy and simple because as I said before, I'm not like a newbie to business and like starting things and doing packaging and stuff.

[00:09:03] So. It's really been pretty smooth overall, I think, and I think just a lot of that is because of my past experiences. Seasoned entrepreneur. 

[00:09:14] Heather Winchell: Yeah, that's great. Well, and I hope that we can dive a little bit into some, what some of those other ventures have been as we talk. But before this conversation I kind of put out there on social like, Hey, do you guys have any questions for me for Baker Acre?

[00:09:27] Uh, and I cannot tell you how many people were like, can you give us the recipe? And I was like, you know, I'm not gonna ask for the recipe. A girl can't reveal her cards. But I am curious if any of the recipes that you use are family recipes. I would say no. 

[00:09:44] Tori Aaker: Okay. The Cinnamon roll recipe is one that my friend gave me, so that's probably the closest to like a specially kept recipe, uh, that I have.

[00:09:55] She was like, you may not share this with anybody, but I've, I've had it from her for like five years or so. It's just so good though, so, right. I can't ever try anything else, and I have tried other things and it's just not as good, so I'm like, why am I wasting my time experimenting when I just like, just stick with what you know and what's good, so.

[00:10:10] Heather Winchell: So it doesn't sound like any of the recipes you currently use came from like your own upbringing, so there's no like emotional connection to any of them? I don't think so. Okay. Alright. 

[00:10:21] Tori Aaker: I'm gonna say no. I did make some apple butter snickerdoodles the other day and the apple butter was from my mom and that was my great grandma's recipe, the apple butter.

[00:10:33] The cookies. I was like, let me just see if anyone out there has an apple butter cookie recipe. So, mm-hmm. They were quite good, but I need to try 'em again 'cause they weren't exactly 

[00:10:42] Heather Winchell: as I would want them, so. Okay. Yeah. And I guess to that point, how do you settle on the recipes that you use? 

[00:10:49] Tori Aaker: I do a lot of testing, um, recipes.

[00:10:51] So I just kind of like search the internet and just find stuff that either like I'm craving or I've had before or, um. I know that I've made something by someone and it was good, so this next one may be good as well. So I definitely try everything before I put it out or even offer it. My neighbors aren't my taste testers or if you happen to pop by my house and I have something.

[00:11:16] But yeah, lots of, lots of testing before it goes out to anyone. 

[00:11:21] Heather Winchell: Yeah. What product would you say has had the most trial and error? I have tried a lot of, 

[00:11:27] Tori Aaker: a lot of cookie recipes. Just wondering if there's anything out there that's like better or that would be like worth my time to like make it, if you know like a lot of people are like, oh my gosh, like this cookie is better than crumble, and I'm like.

[00:11:39] Thank you is also a different style of cookie. Right. But like still Thank you. And then some people have asked me, can you make stuff like X, Y, and Z, like a crumble? And I'm like, well, I could, but like you could also just go to crumble because 

[00:11:54] Heather Winchell: I'm gonna charge you the same price, you know? Right. So, yeah.

[00:11:58] Have you found that it's been a more difficult thing as prices have gone up so much on like, just different goods that you would use in baking? Has it been hard to find like, good price points? Um, I don't think 

[00:12:14] Tori Aaker: that I've had a huge issue with price points. I, I started like, you know, July, August, and so the prices right now have just kind of remained steady a little bit, um, since I started.

[00:12:24] So that hasn't been like too bad. I think that this is an interesting topic and uh, because as someone who makes something and sells it to other people, pricing your products is really hard. It's same with like pricing your services because, because you can do something for yourself, you don't see the value necessarily in.

[00:12:48] Charging a certain dollar amount for something. And that is, that's probably like the hardest part. And it really just like depends on, on everyone's perceived value of a product, right? So if I'm selling a cookie for like $4, you may be like, oh my gosh, that's so expensive. But the other person who doesn't wanna make it for themself doesn't have the ingredients or the time.

[00:13:08] They're like, absolutely, take my $4. So the pricing is interesting there. I have made some adjustments on things, um, after seeing what sells and what doesn't. I also think maybe even harder than pricing actual product is how many products and what size should I sell this in? Sure. Because I've, I've. You know, made a loaf of pumpkin bread and sliced it up and like, no one's coming to my house for like one slice of pumpkin bread.

[00:13:35] Sure. The one slice of pumpkin bread is always an add-on. They're gonna come to my house and they wanna buy the entire loaf. 

[00:13:41] Heather Winchell: Right. So 

[00:13:42] Tori Aaker: that, I think that is probably trickier than, like, I feel pretty good about like prices and profit margins, trying to keep everything within a certain. Range. Um, but yeah, I think that the serving size is probably harder than the pricing.

[00:13:56] Heather Winchell: Yeah, I can imagine. I think that the number one cookie is worth ev what you pay for every bite. It is so good. Um, Tori, do you have a favorite recipe to make? 

Favorite Recipes and Baking Tips

[00:14:10] Tori Aaker: A lot of people have been asking me that lately, actually. I don't know if I do have a favorite one. I really do enjoy like baking and cooking of all of all kinds.

[00:14:18] Um. So, yeah, it's really just fun to kinda like I am, I am a very like, visual person and like I love to see the process from start to finish. So really anything that I am gonna like make, no matter if it's like sourdough, which takes 24 hours or like a cookie dough I whip together and like five minutes, it's, it's just kind of fun to watch the whole start to end.

[00:14:42] So. I, I like it all. I would say I don't think I have a favorite at this point. 

[00:14:48] Heather Winchell: Okay. Or, or no cookies that you're like, oh man, that one's just like, so time intensive or requires, you know, I don't know. 

[00:14:55] Tori Aaker: Um, you know, cookies in general are really kind of like time intensive because they all have to be the same size and then.

[00:15:02] The D, the dough has to like chill and then you bake. I bake like six on a pan at one time, so if I'm making like a whole bunch, it just takes a while. I think probably the cookies are the most time intensive thing, but like they always go quickly, so yeah. 

[00:15:17] Heather Winchell: Totally. Can you yourself still enjoy one of the cookies or you just kind of over it?

[00:15:23] Like have you had so many that. 

[00:15:25] Tori Aaker: I still enjoy stuff from time to time. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I, I, I don't have, like, if I'm making a, a lot of stuff, everyone's like, oh my gosh, how are you not like 500 pounds? Like, you eat this stuff all day. And I'm like, I just make this all the time. It's like, not in, it's not as enticing, you know, like, sure everyone loves like cookie dough and so I definitely have to try that, but like.

[00:15:49] Once a cookie comes outta oven and I'm like, Nope, nobody touched this. This is not for anyone in this house. 

[00:15:54] Heather Winchell: Oh, I bet that is hard with your kids. Is there, is there any kind of product that your family, like secretly hopes is leftover after the weekend so you guys can enjoy it? 

[00:16:05] Tori Aaker: Um, my husband's a cookie guy, so he loves the, he loves the number one.

[00:16:11] I think the kids are cookies or cinnamon rolls. 

[00:16:15] Heather Winchell: I love the sourdough bread and I'm always so sad when there is no more sourdough bread available. Mm-hmm. So I think, I think that's the thing that I would be excited for. 

[00:16:27] Tori Aaker: Yeah. I don't, I'm not, I'm not sad if there's sourdough leftover. 'cause then I'm like, well, we can have that.

[00:16:31] Heather Winchell: Yeah. Okay. So tell me about your baking vibe. Is it like by yourself? No distractions. Is there music playing, like just around your family? How does that look for you? 

[00:16:45] Tori Aaker: So I have two young boys, seven and nine. And, um, when they're at school is the best time for me to be in the kitchen, uh, just so things are like undistracted and I'm not like forgetting, did I already add the teaspoon of salt or do I need to add another one?

[00:17:03] So the vibe is generally I like to be by myself with no one else. Like my husband works at home, so he's normally upstairs, but. Just me in the kitchen is great. Um, and yeah, I will normally put on a podcast or music and then just kind of get all my stuff prepped first before I start adding things together.

[00:17:26] Does take a little bit of, you know, planning ahead and like getting your butter to room temperature and stuff like that, so making sure I have all the ingredients that I need 

[00:17:36] Heather Winchell: also. So, yeah. How important is that? How important is it to like have an egg at room temperature, for example, or what? What's at stake if your butter is not at room temperature?

[00:17:51] It just kind 

[00:17:52] Tori Aaker: of like makes your dough mixture, process mixing everything together, like a little easier if your butter is at like room temp. But a lot of people will make cookies with cold butter specifically. So I think anything goes, I would just say if you're gonna make the cookies, don't melt your butter because then you're just gonna end up with a slop or spreading mess.

[00:18:12] But I mean, it'll still taste good, so that's not a problem. But yeah, it's, I don't know, I think once you're just like. Used to getting that stuff out, then it's just like easier to do that. Or sometimes I will not have butter at room temperature and I just like put it in the microwave for a few seconds, just just start the process a little bit.

[00:18:33] Or I just cut it up into cubes so it like blends easier. So, 

[00:18:37] Heather Winchell: yeah. Have you. Have you had an incident of like adding too much baking soda or forgetting to add the salt or so anything like that? Have you had any mishaps? Yes, 

[00:18:52] Tori Aaker: of course. I think last weekend I was trying to batch some cookie dough ahead of time and I was like, I'm just gonna do a single batch here and a single batch here.

[00:19:02] And then I just like got ahead of myself and wasn't thinking and put like too much baking soda into this container. I was like, oh no. Oh no. Okay. So I then ended up doubling everything. So I had way too many cookies and then one time I forgot the salt in the sourdough. And that's an absolute disaster if you do that.

[00:19:22] Yeah. 'cause the dough is just so sticky and it's. Almost impossible to work with. So don't forget the salt. 

[00:19:29] Heather Winchell: Yeah. Did you just have to throw it away or did you bake it? And would that even taste good? I, I realized 

[00:19:35] Tori Aaker: that, I forgot it because it was so sticky. I was like, what is the problem? And. I was like, oh yeah, I never put the salt in.

[00:19:43] That's too bad. And I tried to like do as many mixing in of the salt after the fact and like working with it, but it was so difficult to work with. So I still baked it and I still, I was, I, I prefaced it with everyone who was going to come in close encounters with the bread that like this. Is not how it should be.

[00:20:04] So like, don't judge me too hard. But like the kids who were eating it just like didn't care and they ate it anyway, so. Oh, that's 

[00:20:10] Heather Winchell: great. I was like, this bread is only for the kids because 

[00:20:13] Tori Aaker: they won't mind. 

[00:20:14] Heather Winchell: Yeah, totally. Do you have any favorite kitchen gadgets that you use? Um, I am a kitchen 

[00:20:22] Tori Aaker: appliance junkie.

[00:20:23] Okay. So I love all kitchen appliances. Everyone will tell you that. My favorite one. That's a good question. I really like my teaspoons that are magnetic, that stick together. Oh yeah. If you don't have them, highly recommend. They just like to all, you know, state, uniform, and, Hmm. Besides that I got, um, when I started this, a few new baking sheets from the restaurant supply and.

[00:20:52] Definitely can't put those in the dishwasher or else they lose their stick. 

The Convenience of Baking Sheets with Lids

[00:20:55] Tori Aaker: But I really use parchment paper on them every time, so that's not a big deal. But the thing with those is that they come or they make a lid that you can buy extra to cover the baking sheet. And so when I'm making cookie dough, I'm putting it into the refrigerator with its lid on it, and they all stack nicely and they're just a nice thing to have.

[00:21:13] That is so nice. Yeah. Yeah. Instead of just covering it like Saran or something. Right. Then the lids are really right. They make everything feel really fancy, but they're really not that fancy. They're just a lid. It's plastic, but it's just nice, so, 

[00:21:28] Heather Winchell: oh yeah. 

Leveraging Marketing and Design in Business

[00:21:29] Heather Winchell: Okay, so maybe let's pivot for a minute and talk more about the other elements of owning your own business and maybe even the ways that that kind of like touches other ventures you've had in business.

[00:21:38] Um, I know like you said, you have a background in marketing and design. Can you share a bit about that experience and how you have leveraged it in this endeavor? 

[00:21:49] Tori Aaker: Yeah, 

[00:21:49] Heather Winchell: so 

[00:21:49] Tori Aaker: I, um, have been a business owner since probably 2009 or 2010. Um, I started as a photographer, which plays into this, and then in the last five years have pivoted into more brand and website design.

[00:22:06] And as I was saying earlier, I think all of those things have, have helped me be able to do this. On the side, but also do it well and quickly because I'm not like, Hmm, what am I going to use for like my website? Or how are people gonna order from me? I already knew what I wanted to use. I already knew how to use all like the tech side of everything.

[00:22:27] And then obviously being a designer, like designing packaging and I already had a thermal printer and there's so many things that I already kind of like had set up. That really took away a lot of like the resistance or maybe a, a slower start. So, and I had, you know, been making this cookie and sourdough for like probably a year or two at this point.

[00:22:51] So it was no, um, like I already had my recipes that I wanted to use and I already just knew everything that I wanted to use on the tech side. So that really helped. I think it still helps and it just really helped everything go quickly. So 

[00:23:04] Heather Winchell: you really have leveraged your. Skills and your eye in photography?

[00:23:10] Well, because I think, I don't know, it was probably in August that I saw this video for the first time, but it's like. A fork cutting in 20 of your cinnamon rolls. And it's like, it takes an incredible amount of willpower to not just be like, uh, can I come get one right now please? Because it just makes it look so good.

[00:23:30] So well done, friend. Um, you, you certainly make it look appealing, um, and it, and they are actually very delicious. So it's not just the looks, but, uh, what would you say has been. 

Rewards and Challenges of a New Venture

[00:23:42] Heather Winchell: Most rewarding about this, you know, new venture and what has been most challenging? I think the most rewarding thing has 

[00:23:50] Tori Aaker: been just like how happy it like makes people, I mean, obviously kind of back to what, when I was like, okay, this, I can do this for myself.

[00:24:02] Is anyone going to buy this from me? Like if you can make cookies, just make cookies. Like go ahead and. DIY that you know, like I don't need to go to a bakery to buy all this stuff. I'll just make it at home. 'cause I'd have little stuff again, not everyone is like that. And so seeing like the people and like, oh my gosh, these are amazing.

[00:24:21] Oh this is like so good. I'm like, thank you. I do you really mean it. You know? So that kind of like imposter syndrome always kind of like, um. So that is rewarding. But then at the same time I'm like, Ooh, is anyone actually gonna like buy this? I don't really know. And sometimes people don't buy stuff. And so I'm like, Hmm, well not gonna do that again.

[00:24:40] So it's just really like the things that are good are really good. And if you get feedback, that's amazing. Um, and then if you don't get feedback, you're kind of just like questioning like, did I do something wrong? Did I mess this up? Did I forget? To add the salt? Did they think it was bad? You know, like, sure.

[00:25:01] There's just so many things, which I know not everyone is gonna like, leave you feedback, obviously, or I don't know. It, there's just, I mean, really just all aspects of like owning a business and like really putting yourself out there obviously comes with some self-doubt a little bit. Yeah. So it, it's rewarding to feel like.

[00:25:23] People love like what I'm doing and it like makes 'em happy. And it's so simple. It's like cookies, you know? Like it's not life changing. I mean, but they really are. 

[00:25:31] Heather Winchell: The number one cookie is life changing. I'm joking, but I mean, it is very good. Yeah. 

[00:25:37] Tori Aaker: Yeah. So, yeah, I kind of, everything that goes into it I say is, is rewarding.

[00:25:44] And then also like, all right, well. You know, it's also, this is like a low risk, like there's not a, there's not a lot at stake here. It's, again, it's a cookie, so just like if someone doesn't like it or whatever, I am like, well, I. It's not the end of the world. Right. So, 

[00:26:02] Heather Winchell: although, you know, I, from just to kind of observing from afar, it feels like you've had a lot of invitations into, I mean, even larger events, like there's been a couple of events over the past, I don't know, six to eight weeks where people have, like you have been one of their premier offerings at their big function, right?

[00:26:21] Yes. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. So that's good feedback. 

[00:26:24] Tori Aaker: Yeah, that is good feedback. And it's also good marketing, so, 

[00:26:28] Heather Winchell: yeah. Yeah, yeah. 

Advice for Aspiring Bakers

[00:26:30] Heather Winchell: So I have a couple of kiddos in my family that really enjoyed baking, and I'm wondering, baker Acre, what advice would you give them as they develop their skills and want to try new things?

[00:26:41] Tori Aaker: I would say that if you find a recipe and you really wanna make it, then just like go for it. I would say follow all the instructions as you go. Uh, read your recipe before you start. That's big because sometimes that will, that gets in the way if you don't follow or know what you're doing. You know, like getting stuff at like room temperature, sometimes that does make a big difference in things.

[00:27:03] Um, like making dough and stuff like they like to be warm. Things like that. So, um, yeah, if something sounds good, I would just say try it. Look at a few different recipes also before you try, unless it's like a family one and you know it's legit. 

[00:27:20] Heather Winchell: Yeah. So a couple of weeks ago, my 12-year-old came home and he was like, mom, I heard about this thing called a lava cake from my teacher, and it sounds like the coolest thing.

[00:27:30] Can we please make this? And I was like, sure, we can try that. So he sourced a recipe, sourced all of his ingredients. And you know, he did a great job. I think he did read through the recipe. I think he was pretty diligent to like do everything it said, but sadly, those lava cakes did not quite turn out as he was hoping, I think.

[00:27:49] And you brought, I mean, I don't know, have you tried lava cakes? I don't 

[00:27:53] Tori Aaker: know if I ever actually have, 

[00:27:55] Heather Winchell: it's basically like a little cake, but on the outside it's cakey and well done. But then on the inside it's, you know, when you bite into it, it like oozes all of its stuff. And sadly, we just could not get ours to be nice and cakey on the outside and oozy on the inside.

[00:28:11] They were just kind of. Boozy, but I was proud of him for going for it, like you said. And I think next time we'll probably scope out a few different recipes before we just dive in and commit to one. So that's good advice. 

[00:28:22] Tori Aaker: Yeah. It's always worth another try. 

[00:28:24] Heather Winchell: Yeah. 

[00:28:25] Tori Aaker: I, I always too like to read the reviews on recipes and just see what people say.

[00:28:31] Being at altitude is kind of a different thing with baking as well, because. Things that just are act a little bit differently, so that could also come into play. I always have to reduce the butter amount in recipes so that the cookies don't spread specifically for cookies. Um, if it's in like a normal bread or something else, that's normally not a problem.

[00:28:50] But 

[00:28:51] Heather Winchell: wait, so those things you learn as you go. Yeah. So at high altitude you reduce butter, and that's helpful. Huh? For, yes, for cookies specifically. Yeah. Good to know. Okay. Just by like a tablespoon. Okay. Okay. Mm-hmm. 

Holiday Baking Plans and Offerings

[00:29:05] Heather Winchell: Um, have you, you know, at, at the time of this conversation, we're kind of headed into the holiday season.

[00:29:10] I'm curious whether you are going to try shortbread. 

[00:29:14] Tori Aaker: Um, it, I've been researching it, yes. Okay. Yep. We, I actually went to Scotland in ninth grade and we had a lot of shortbread over there and it's so good. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, I, I'm not like super adventurous, I guess with like cookies and stuff if I have to make like a large batch.

[00:29:34] Um, but it's probably something that I would definitely try, so, yeah. 

[00:29:38] Heather Winchell: Very cool. Yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited to hear that. Well, great. So I guess the last question I would have for you before we kind of transition to some just kind of fun questions is how can people find you and are there any offerings you have that you ship?

[00:29:55] Yes. 

[00:29:56] Tori Aaker: My website is baker acre.com and Acre has two a. Same with Instagram, baker Acre. I do ship within Colorado. That's part of the cottage law is that you cannot do inter. Interstate transit, um, or transportation. So nothing basically can go out of state, but I can ship with instate and I have a lot of things that are great for gifting, um, even if you're not here, getting the fresh things.

[00:30:22] Um, I do a lot of dry mixes, so I do the cookies as a dry mix. Um, so pancake mixes, granolas and stuff like that. So those are really fun and giftable items and easy to send in the mail. Yeah. 

[00:30:33] Heather Winchell: And you also had, did you already say the dried fruit or. The dry makes. Oh yeah. The dried citrus. Yeah. 

[00:30:39] Tori Aaker: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:39] Heather Winchell: Yeah.

[00:30:40] Really cute embellishments. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay, cool. 

Fun Questions and Personal Insights

[00:30:44] Heather Winchell: Now I'd like to just close with a few fun questions. If you and your family could have only one condiment in your house at any given time, what would that condiment be? 

[00:30:55] Tori Aaker: I think, um, as 

[00:30:57] Heather Winchell: a collective family, um, I'd probably say Chick-fil-A sauce. Okay. Yeah. Uh, my son begged me to buy some of that the other day.

[00:31:09] Tori Aaker: Yeah. 

[00:31:10] Heather Winchell: What would be the close second? Yeah. 

[00:31:12] Tori Aaker: Gosh, I don't know. Oh, uh, hot sauce. 

[00:31:15] Heather Winchell: Hot sauce. Okay. Okay. Yeah. More for you and your husband, or is your whole family? 

[00:31:19] Tori Aaker: Nope. Good with hot sauce. Actually, for my husband and the kids, I like never put hot sauce on anything and they're just like, oh, I need some hot sauce, mom, can you get me some more cholula?

[00:31:28] Hmm. 

[00:31:29] Heather Winchell: Oh, that's so funny. Uh, what was the last thing you were curious about? Gosh, which credit card could get us the best miles? Hey, there you go. Did you figure it out? 

[00:31:42] Tori Aaker: No. I have got recommendations from friends Buthuh. Yeah. I'm like, we need, we need some, some better airline miles. Fly with a family of four now, because this gets expensive.

[00:31:52] Heather Winchell: Oh, I hear it. Yeah. We were, you know, looking into some things for a spring break for a family of six. It's just like, ooh. It's crazy. That's a big number. Yeah. So when you figure out that card, let me know. Um, okay, so let's say you are going to put out a limited supply. Baked good. Inspired by a hero of yours, what type of treat would it be and what would be some of the key ingredients?

[00:32:18] Tori Aaker: That's a great question. I, I feel like I don't have much like fandom or stardom or like hero type things. Mm-hmm. I always think that like homemade bread is like a really, I. Cozy, homey, you know, happy feeling for people to have. And like whenever you have homemade bread, you know how fast it disappears, maybe probably faster than like the cookies.

[00:32:48] So I have, I have toyed with that idea a little bit of doing more of like a, not sourdough, but like another. More like a homemade bread type, um, situation, which I do kind of wanna have on the menu in like the future. Especially like for the winters, people are making more like cozy soups and stuff, so. Yes.

[00:33:09] I forgot the other part of that question. 

[00:33:11] Heather Winchell: Oh, just key ingredients. Like if there was a, like, you know, a, a historical figure in your mind, if there's like ingredients that, you know, like maybe, maybe like some kind of inspiring woman and the ingredients would have some like kick or spice to it because she's like feisty or, you know, just like that.

[00:33:26] But if nothing comes to mind, that's fine. Nothing comes to mind. But if you did offer more bread, that would be very exciting. I, I'm kind of, sorry, not sorry, but I. Whenever we do get a loaf of your sourdough, I kind of don't share it. I kind of tell my kids, it's just for me. 

[00:33:46] Tori Aaker: Hey, there are no rules. Yeah.

[00:33:48] Okay. So that's fine. Yeah. I tell people all the time, I'm like, you can try this. You don't have to share it with your kids. Like, yeah, just don't let them see. 

[00:33:58] Heather Winchell: All right, Tori. 

Shoutouts and Final Thoughts

[00:33:59] Heather Winchell: Well, now I would like to invite you to give your own shout out. Who would you want to tell? Thanks for doing that, and why? Uh, that's a 

[00:34:07] Tori Aaker: great question.

[00:34:09] I think because I've had a business in the past and been local here and connected with so many business owners, I mean, mostly I guess like business owners would like come to mind. Any, any small business owner at Fort Gones really, uh, coffee shop, bindle. Okay. Have you had them on? I have not working on it.

[00:34:29] Oh man. I, I think that, that they'd be awesome. I'm a huge Bendle fan, but also now a bread fellow. But when I was like a young entrepreneur and single, I would literally go to Starbucks every single day and take my laptop and work and edit photos and you know, just do whatever to sit to be around people because I.

[00:34:51] I only went to college for two years, so then after that I was like solo and not like in a normal school schedule where I had to be anywhere. So Starbucks was kind of like a social place for me, um, to go and like work around people. And the owner of Binal used to work at Starbucks. Um, and so I, you know, kind of chatted with him like casually over the years as a barista and now seeing like Bendle and everything that he has started and he and his wife and their family and everything I'm like.

[00:35:21] There's like, it's grown a lot, but it still feels like that small, cozy, hometown feel. And I just think everything is delicious. I think they have the best baked goods for like a coffee shop. That's my like, guilty pleasure is is spindle. Yeah. And they're baked goods. 

[00:35:36] Heather Winchell: That is a solid shout out. Yeah. And actually I did have one more question come to mind just because you have had such, um, varied experiences in having your own businesses.

[00:35:47] I just as like something to leave the listeners with, Tori. Is there any kind of, I don't think mantra is quite the word, but is there anything that you, like coach yourself in to keep going or like anything that's been meaningful to you to like persevere in starting or maintaining your own business or just kind of like any advice you hold closely or anything like that that, that you would offer?

[00:36:10] I 

[00:36:11] Tori Aaker: am like a fast start type of personality. So if I wanna do something or have something I like order it away, I make the decision right away, or I start on it right away. Mm-hmm. I don't put too much thought into things, I kind of just go for it. Mm-hmm. And that's like the complete opposite of my husband.

[00:36:29] So there's a little bit of tension in that sometimes. So I would say make sure if anyone else is involved or if any, if it affects anyone else closely that they're on the same page as well. Or at least like know what you're doing or what you're up to. And also because I'm a fast start, sometimes things that I do can be a fast stop.

[00:36:49] Um, 'cause I. I'm like, okay, I've done that. I am happy with the result or not happy with the result. I wanna keep doing this. I don't wanna keep doing this. And so that is kind of part of the reason why I have had so many businesses because I'm like, oh, I could do that. Oh, I could do that. Ooh, I'm gonna do this now.

[00:37:06] Which is kind of how this started. So as much as it's great to like start with something and stick with it, it's also okay to stop something and not do it anymore if it's. If you don't want to. Yeah, that's great. Obviously, obviously weigh your decision, but like if there's not a lot at stake, if there's not a lot on the line, then just like move on.

[00:37:25] Heather Winchell: Yeah, 

[00:37:26] Tori Aaker: so I that's, yeah, I have done that many times and I'm like, if I don't wanna do it anymore, I'm not gonna do it and it's not a big deal, so let's. Let's move on. 

[00:37:37] Heather Winchell: Yeah, that's great. That reminds me of something that a season one guest said, um, with Skylark Golf, he just said, you can do things, you can try things.

[00:37:45] Just, just try it. Just do the thing. And then like you're saying, and if it doesn't work out, that's okay, but it's good to try things. Cool. Yep. Okay. Well, Tori, I end all of my episodes with a haiku that I've written as just kind of a fun expression of why I wanted to have you on the show and just a little something I like to leave you with.

[00:38:05] So I have a haiku for you. Leveled up classics mixed and baked to perfection. Thanks for doing that. Thank you. You're so welcome. And thanks so much for joining me.

[00:38:28] Thanks for doing that. Is presented to you by the apiary, a place for beholding and becoming. And thank you for joining us for today's episode. Before you go, I have a couple of invitations. If you found it meaningful, could I invite you to take two minutes to rate and review the show? I also invite you to help me create an upcoming episode of thanks for doing that by nominating someone or suggesting a topic.

[00:38:54] Let's link arms to call out the good and the beautiful that we see around us, because I really believe that finding delight in our divided and difficult world. Could make all the difference.

[00:39:17] I.