Caroline Grace Merryman runs a thriving cookie business out of her parents’ home, baking upwards of 350 cookies a day. Starting her day at about 8 a.m., and sometimes not finishing until past midnight, baking isn’t Caroline’s only job. Caroline is also a student at UL, and she’s only 19 years old.

We met with Caroline in between her baking and school schedule to chat about her deliciously gooey cookies. Afterwards, we were left inspired and craving Caroline’s Cookies.

Caroline started baking when she was about 10 years old. She learned from box mixes, mostly cupcakes, sharing them with her junior high school friends. Last year, during quarantine, Caroline began focusing more on perfecting her cookie recipe and began making them from scratch. Inspired by the cookies of New York based Levain Bakery, she wanted to make gooey, more dense cookies. She found a recipe on Pinterest and from there she began experimenting with her own flavors. “There is a science behind it,” Caroline explains, “my cookies are more cake-like, so the amount of eggs and flour has to be just right.”

Caroline has come up with a system that works for her. In the morning she sets up her dry ingredient station and her wet ingredient station. Without giving away her unique recipe, Caroline tells us that after she combines the ingredients and rolls out the cookie dough, she rolls the dough into balls and chills some of the flavors before baking. Only able to bake a dozen at a time, each batch takes around nine to ten minutes. While the cookies bake, Caroline’s supportive mom helps clean up to get ready for the next batch of the mouth-watering treats.

Selling her cookies to the public was not something Caroline set out to do. With the help of her photographer brother, Caroline created an Instagram page merely to showcase her cookies. Within a few days, she had inquiries about purchasing her cookies. The young student had no clue just what she was about to get herself into, but she decided to offer her cookies for sale. On September 4, 2020, she began taking orders though her Instagram and by the end of the day she had more than 100 orders.

Excited for this new venture, Caroline was excited to fulfill those orders. However, on the day she planned to bake for her new customers, challenges would arise that would put her new business to the test immediately. Before the sun came up that morning, the young baker went bike riding only to fall off her bike and bust her chin. But a quick trip to the doctor for a couple of stitches and she was back on track. Nothing was going to stand in Caroline’s way of satisfying those orders for her customers. So, she got to work and much to her humble surprise, the orders haven’t slowed down since.

“I thought my first order of nine dozen that day was so much, but now I bake up to 30 dozen a day to fulfill orders,” says the shy young baker.

A few months later, Caroline set up a website for her orders. She opens ordering at certain times of the day during the week so she can keep herself on schedule for baking and school. The first time she opened her website, within 45 minutes she received two weeks’ worth of orders. Once a customer places their order on the scheduled day, Caroline begins baking and the cookies are ready for pickup from her home bakery later that week.

To keep it simple, Caroline offers four staple flavors and rotates two additional monthly flavors. You can enjoy Cookies ‘n Cream made with Oreo and white and milk chocolate chips; the always popular and traditional Chocolate Chip; Circus Cookie, which is frosted animal crackers, golden Oreos, white chocolate chips, and sprinkles; and Funfetti which is made with cake batter and rolled in sprinkles. For the month of February, Caroline offered King Cake and Red Velvet, both of which were wildly popular.

From the organic growth of her business, Caroline has come into her own, learning about business, coming out of her introverted shell, and meeting people across Acadiana. She is a vendor at the Lafayette Farmers’ Market where she is honored by the turnout. “I had customers lined up at my tent right at opening with orders already on their phones. And when I have people who remember me from the market, it’s just the biggest compliment.”

And this is what pushes Caroline to keep going. She is beyond grateful for the support she has been given and is still genuinely surprised by the outcome. She has enjoyed getting to know other small business owners and says her mother has a new respect for people who run their own business as she now sees firsthand the commitment and hard work that goes into it.

Caroline has collaborated with other bakers in creating holiday treat boxes and has done pop-ups at various boutiques and coffee shops around town. Follow her on Instagram or check out her calendar at her website to find out where she might be next. But make sure to show up early, she sells out quickly!

Against her parents’ wishes, Caroline would like to take off a couple of semesters to see how she can grow her business. She hopes to have a storefront one day and take her business to the next level. Surely mom and dad wouldn’t be against this idea, so they can have their kitchen back.

For aspiring business owners, young and old, Caroline assures, “it’s OK to fail and make mistakes. You just have to be willing to wake up and do better. Don’t forget why you started and don’t be afraid to dream big!”

Make a Breakout

Follow Caroline’s Cookies @eat_carolinescookies or order a batch of cookies for dessert tonight at her website at www.eatcarolinescookies.com