Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Higgins
Hi Joy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi. I’m Joy and am the owner/head baker here at Baked by Joy Leigh. I originally started baking items for the purpose of selling back in the 80s when I was in middle school and was in love with the Swatch Watch… the Boston Celtics version. I needed to make some money so I started selling cookies. I hopped in the car one afternoon after school and asked my mom if we could stop and get ingredients to make cookies. She said, “Sure. Why do you want to make cookies?” “I have orders to deliver tomorrow”, I replied. Mom then asked, “How many dozen do we have to make tonight?” To her astonishment, I replied, “22 Dozen”. Since then, whenever I needed money for items or school trips, I would bake and sale THE cookies: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.
One day a friend asked if we ever thought about selling our baked goods to the masses. My husband and I looked into it thinking our town wouldn’t allow home kitchens but to our surprise, our county was very supportive of small businesses. When we found that out, we decided to give it a try. We didn’t want to say “what if” later down the road. Family Secrets Bakery, LLC was born.
We use family recipes and recipes we have created/revamped/improved for our menu. THE Original was created by my mom and we’ve added recipes from my grandparents and great-grandparents, like the Nestor pie crust recipe or the linzer cookies made by Grandma Phillips. Recipes from my husband’s side of the family include items such as the Anise Biscotti, Irish Soda Bread, and Nana Achille’s Chocolate cake.
We spent 7 years doing the Farmers Market circuit in MA before we relocated to TX years ago. Due to COVID and a change in my husband’s job situation, I decided to start offering our baked goods again, starting out small selling to friends, family, and coworkers and now to the community.
Here in TX we are a Home Cottage Law Bakery. That means our kitchen is not inspected by the State Board of Health or by a local health services department. There are certain rules we have to follow under the cottage laws and there are certain items we cannot offer to the public. We are ServSafe and Allergen certified and do our best to prevent cross-contact but please note, that we are not an allergen-free bakery.
Even though we can’t offer items that require refrigeration like cheesecakes, we ARE still using family recipes and keeping to our mission of making our products with as many organic and local ingredients as we can, no preservatives, and environmentally friendly packaging.
Since we aren’t a brick and mortar store (yet!), items are made-to-order and some items are only offered seasonally. We don’t just have baked goods laying around the kitchen (thank goodness, or I’d eat them all the time!) for last minute purchases. For most of our baked goods, we do ask for a day or two notice before you’d like your items. Our decorated sugar cookies take time between baking, icing, and decorating. These cannot be done in 48 hours so we ask you give us a heads up at least 2 weeks before needing them.
Our slogan is, “A little lovin’ from the oven”, and we love creating our items for you.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting a business isn’t always as easy as it sounds but since I went through this before I knew what to do and not do. Filing the paperwork for the name of my business and the LLC took some time as I had to research to make sure the name I wanted wasn’t already registered or being used. What I originally wanted was taken so decided to add my name to the title.
Being a cottage baker here in TX, there are some things I didn’t have to file for like I did living out of state and that made it easier on some fronts. There are some regulations that cottage bakers have to adhere to like certain foods can’t be made, interactions with customers, and not being able to sell items to a local coffee shop that make things frustrating but until the laws for cottage bakers change, I’m doing my best to be in compliance. Last year we (Texas Cottage Bakers) did try to get things for SB 572 changed like increasing the cap that cottage bakers can earn, being able to remove our home address from the labels, and being allowed to offer some currently restricted foods but the session never got around to hearing our case.
Once I got all the licenses I needed for the business, the hard part came in setting up a website and growing a community of followers here in Texas. Tackling a few items at a time makes it more manageable and less stressful, especially if you work a full-time job and are starting a small business on the side like me. I started with the original items then slowly started adding more items to the menu. Some items are only offered seasonally as I like to incorporate as much local ingredients as I can; other items are offered year round.
I still struggle with what to offer when I’m doing a vendor market and if I am baking enough or too much for the market. Getting the community to respond to pre-sells is also another struggle. Unlike other craft vendors, I can’t have items baked months in advance so I like to know how much I need to make for holidays so I don’t over bake and then have items left over but those around my serving area are more last minute purchasers so it’s hard to know what to offer.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Baked by Joy Leigh originally started back in the 1980s when I started selling Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, a recipe my mom created. Since then, we have added many family recipes to our menu along with creating new ones.
We are a cottage bakery located in Liberty Hill, TX, which means we don’t have a brick & mortar store (yet) but we are ServSafe and Allergen certified. Our items are made-to-order, from scratch and contain as many local and organic ingredients as possible. Our items are never frozen and are made within 24-48 hours of ordering to maintain freshness.
We offer a wide variety of baked goods from gourmet oatmeal cookies to biscotti, from sweet breads to cinnamon rolls, from pies to everyday cakes. Recently we have added custom sugar cookies to our menu.
We offer baked goods that appease your sweet tooth cravings and make your taste buds happy.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We are located on Social Media such as Facebook and Instagram. We are trying to get into TikTok but being a one-person show means not enough hours in the day to do all the new social media platforms or trends. Support from the community like visiting our SM sights, interacting with our posts, recommending us to friends and family members looking for baked goods, giving us a review, will help gain exposure.
Anyone looking to collaborate with us can reach out to us at joy@bakedbyjoyleigh.com
Pricing:
- Cookies start at $15 depending on the type of cookie and amount.
- Scones start at $18 depending on type and amount
- Sweet Breads start at $7 depending on type.
- Muffins start at $18 depending on type, size and amount
- Custom Sugar cookies start at $55 per dozen and are based on design and use of metallics and other features
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bakedbyjoyleigh.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bakedbyjoyleigh
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bakedbyjoyleigh
- Other: https://linktr.ee/bakedbyjoyleigh
Image Credits
Image Credits: Joy Higgins, Baked by Joy Leigh
