For as long as I can remember I have loved being in the kitchen. In fact, I started an unofficial baking business called Season's Eatings out of my parents home when I was 9. With a little help from my mom (and Word Art), I whipped up a brochure for friends and family that included items like chocolate chip cookies, banana bread and pumpkin bread to name a few. While life has taken me in a different direction since then, one thing has remained the same and that is the steadfast joy it brings me to bake treats for others to enjoy.

Since graduating college in 2014, I've spent my career in various corporate roles, mostly centered around Supply Chain. While I'm incredibly thankful for each of those opportunities and value the learnings that have come with them, lately I've found myself searching for something more. Something motivating, that inspires me and that I'm excited about. While I realize this is a radical shift from the corporate world, I see it as a step towards a more fulfilling life. Anytime someone asks me what I'm passionate about or what I want to do in life my answer is always, without hesitation, baking related. So here I am, giving it everything I have to see if I can turn this passion of mine into a thriving business!

Now, you might be wondering how I came up with the idea for Nips or Chips and the answer is actually quite simple. Growing up, anytime I’d make chocolate chip cookies, my mom would ask for a few with no chips. But it wasn’t until I met my husband, Wes, that I came up with the name “nips”. I’m not sure when or why it started, but he and I will often combine two words into one to see if the other can guess what we’re saying. So when I told him about my mom’s affinity for chocolate chip cookies with no chips, almost immediately the term “nips” was born… “no” + “chips” = “nips”.

If you’re a chocolate chipless cookie fan yourself, you know that they are not to be confused with sugar cookies. That’s why here at Nips or Chips we place a single chocolate chip on top of each nip as a way of distinguishing them as a category of their own. Ok ok, and because visually it kinda plays into our name ;)

As for my inspiration, I have my Grandma Doris to thank. Although she passed away when I was young, my memories of her are as vivid today as ever. The kitchen was her happy place. Family gatherings at her house always revolved around food. She would spend countless hours in the kitchen preparing the most delicious meals for us. One thing you could always count on when you were visiting Grandma Doris’s house; she always had a Tupperware full of iced sugar cookies on top of the washing machine on the back porch. She always made sure everyone had enough to eat and then some. And she did everything by hand. Rolling out pie crust, hand cutting noodles for her famous chicken and noodles, everything. Oh and did I mention her kitchen was all of about 100 sq ft, with one small stretch of counter space and no dishwasher? I can’t quite explain why, but I’ve always felt deeply that her spirit lives on in me.

My hope is that when you eat my cookies you feel a sense of nostalgia. Maybe they take you back to a certain time and place, or remind you of a recipe that’s been passed down from generation to generation that you’ve tried to recreate, but never turns out quite as good as your grandma’s.

The only question left now is: to chip or not to chip?