Meet Debbie Decker of Simply Baked Sweets in Atascocita/Kingwood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Decker.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Simply Baked Sweets became reality in 2015, when I retired from 15 years with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to follow my dream. I left a contracts administration job for a computer manufacturer years before when my three children were very young. I wanted to be home to participate in their school events and sports, and luckily we figured out a way that I could do that. I did stints as a caterer, sold crafts, and helped my husband with his oil related business during those years, but for the most part I was a stay at home mom to my kids. And I was always baking. Holidays, birthdays, most days. When my kids came home from school with their friends, there were hot cookies waiting for them more often than not. It was just what I did.

When my youngest was in high school, an opportunity came up with Anadarko and I decided to pursue going back to work. I loved my position there. I was given the opportunity to be creative which was very rewarding. I learned so much, and worked with amazing people. But as gratifying as it was, it wasn’t my forever. There was an idea inside me that I had to pursue before I was too old to do it, which was to open a bake shop. In hind sight, probably not the smartest idea to sink my life’s savings into a dream, but how do you know until you try? I gave it my all.

I came by the food thing honestly. My mother was great cook – the best pot roast in the country, and a sauce Bolognese that like no other. Thin, oniony Scandinavian potato pancakes that she would slave away all day to make, finely grating bags of red potatoes and onion with an antique grater passed down from my paternal grandmother into a huge bowl, and then adding just enough flour and egg until it came together into the perfect batter – there was never an exact recipe, just the right look and feel. My sibs and I would line up in the kitchen watching and waiting (maybe nudging and elbowing a little too) until she thought there was enough in the stack of pancakes that we could finally have one. We would slather them with butter and sprinkle on just a little salt, then roll them up and eat them – oh so good! We couldn’t get enough.

Mom’s most adventurous dessert was a strawberry pavlova that she created when she had the ladies in to play bridge one day. She worked so hard to make the perfect individual bowl-shaped meringues, and filled them with billowy whipped cream and sweetened berries. She and I shared the extra one she made as a taste test. I was in heaven! But she never made them again. Baking was so not her comfort zone. Birthday cakes came from a box mix or the neighborhood bakery. A few attempts at pies with apples or cherries from the neighbor’s trees, and sheer frustration set in trying to get the crust to cooperate.

The baker was my mom’s mom. I know, very cliche, right? Grandmas and sweets just go together. When I was growing up, it was just expected that any time you went to grandma’s house there would be something sweet waiting for you – always.
I adored my grandmother, and loved spending summers and holidays in her kitchen. My first memory in her kitchen was playfully making cookies covered with cinnamon and sugar out of left-over pie dough that our entire family looked forward to anytime she made pies. Those same cookies are still relished by my kids today. She passed on lots of her tricks to me that made for better baking. Simple things like rolling the dough instead of pushing it with your rolling pin, using the best and freshest ingredients available, toasting your walnuts and pecans to bring out the flavor, never overmixing your cookie dough after the flour was added – it all mattered. The main thing I was taught was to put your heart into what you created because you were baking for people you loved and it needed to be the best.

Christmas was my favorite time of year. I didn’t get to help her as much during the holidays because of school, but my grandmother would bake all month and we would be greeted at our Christmas Eve gathering with huge amounts of every kind of holiday cookie you could imagine, along with sweet breads, candies and pies. Of course we had to wait for the holiday meal to be eaten before we attacked the sweets. Aunts, uncles, cousins around a huge table passing platters of herb-roasted turkey, bowls full of buttery mashed potatoes and gravy, corn pudding, vegetables galore, and the most amazing parkerhouse and cloverleaf rolls you ever put your butter on. It was all there every year, and it was all beautiful and wonderful.

Fast forward to my own table and for years these traditions continued. My family grew up with meals similar to those prepared by my mother and grandmother. People around the table always included extended family and friends. There was always room for one more person. It was always a good time, and always satisfying to see everyone love what you had created for them. Happily my daughter has picked up our holiday traditions around her own huge table now.

Given my passion for baking, when I took the plunge to open Simply Baked Sweets, it was my intention to share what I loved with my neighborhood. After lots of searching, I leased a space between Atascocita and Kingwood, northeast of Houston. It was a former donut store that had nasty tile floors and only a mop sink, 2 hand sinks and restrooms. I drew up my own plans for a commercial kitchen and store front which were approved through the health department and the county engineers first time around. I hired construction personnel and went about the business of remodeling the store, and outfitting the kitchen. Sinks, stainless tables, ovens, a vent hood, storage, refrigeration, mixers, and all the little things that go with a commercial kitchen were installed. I knew nothing about what I was doing, but it all fell into place. The front of the store was remodeled with new flooring, paint, tables and benches, signs, artwork, and an antique case to display all of the wonderful baked goods. The store was beautiful. When the sign was installed over the front of the store it was the crowning glory. We passed all the inspections and everything was ready after about 3 months. Once I had hired a staff of bakers and customer service personnel, we were off and running.

We opened at a great time of the year. September 2015 was right before the holiday season, and the neighborhood welcomed us with open arms. I honestly don’t know how we got through Thanksgiving and Christmas because there was so much business, but we did it, and I was delighted.

The rotating menu was posted on a large roll of butcher paper hanging from the wall each week. Items included all kinds of cookies – from chocolate chunk with walnuts, potato chip, snickerdoodles, black & whites – the list goes on and on. We offered several flavors of cupcakes each week. We sold brownies and bars – lunch lady brownies, mocha brownies, pecan pie bars, lemon squares, Texas sheet cake. We had hand pies, and fruit pies and cakes, scones, croissants, danish, muffins… the list goes on and on. There were even a few happy accidents that ended up being some of our best selling products, like sugar cookie saucers. Everything was small batch, and everything was so good. People loved it.

The item that brought in the most business were iced, decorated sugar cookies. We sold so many at Thanksgiving and Christmas I was shocked, and could not keep up with the demand. People came into the store every single day looking for them. When Valentine’s Day rolled around, the phone rang off the hook with orders. This became a huge part of the business. People loved that the cookies were thin and not iced with hard royal icing, but with a soft, buttery icing.

Eventually I made the decision to close the store front in mid-2017. Although we had created a great client base, there was just not enough business to cover the overhead from the day to day operations and I was just spinning my wheels. I wanted so badly to just pick up the entire store and relocate it to the Heights area or somewhere in Houston that would be more conducive to this type of business. I decided to concentrate my efforts on the sugar cookies, which I could do from home, and then perhaps expand to a commercial location again should the stars align.

So now I make lots of sugar cookies for lots of different types of events every week. I miss my bake shop, and seeing my customers on a weekly basis. But I love creating delightful products for them when needed. Sharing food with people you care about is very satisfying. Handcrafted food lovingly prepared is work of art.

Remember that your table is your stage. And dessert is the finale to a wonderful show. Keep it simple but special. And bake someone happy, or give me a call and I will help you out.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Business was seasonal with inconsistent year round sales.. When it’s good, it’s great, but when business is slow, it took a lot to keep the lights on. Not enough foot traffic.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Simply Baked Sweets story. Tell us more about the business.
Simply Baked Sweets specializes in handcrafted iced, decorated sugar cookies for all the special occasions in your life. Birthdays, showers, wedding favors, gift-giving, or just because you need cookies!

Our signature cookies are touched with a hint of vanilla and citrus, and topped with our soft signature icing.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I was blessed to have worked for a wonderful company prior to opening my bake shop, which in turn provided a wonderful retirement program that allowed me to pursue my dream.

Pricing:

• Sugar cookies prices begin at $36 per dozen

Contact Info:

• Address: Located in Atascocita, TX
• Phone: 713.305.0358
• Email: debbie@simplybakedsweets.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplybakedsweets/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplybakedsweets/