CHARDON, Ohio — If you had told Denise Hagan in 2010 that she would one day have a storefront in her hometown of Chardon to showcase her meticulously decorated sugar cookies, she likely wouldn’t have believed you.
Today, Hagan is using her love of the sweet treats as a way to spread positivity in the community, assembling cookie decorating kits to deliver to hospitals and other groups that could use a reason to smile.
When Hagan left her teaching job more than a decade ago, she became a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters (today, she has three daughters). While Hagan adores her family, the transition was challenging.
“I had lost myself,” Hagan said. “I didn’t really have an identity that I knew other than mom at the moment, and I was missing having - feeling more of that purpose.”
At the time, her family was also working to find answers regarding her eldest daughter's special needs.
“There was never a diagnosis, there was never a reason,” Hagan said. “There were a lot of just question marks. And so I was very much chasing an answer at that time, and I got really consumed by it.”
During the time of transition and searching for clarity for her daughter, Hagan picked up cookie decorating as a way to distract herself and channel her creativity.
She continued practicing her icing and baking skills, eventually bringing her cookies to events with friends, where they received a warm reception.
“I made them for this party, and some of the people at the party were like, ‘oh my gosh, these are great. Can you make this for my daughter’s upcoming birthday?’” Hagan said. “I was just really caught off guard because that was never what I set out to do, it was really just for fun.”
Hagan began fulfilling cookie orders from her home kitchen, finding a purpose in creating beautiful, edible creations, and building a community in the customers who would stop by to pick up their cookies, often chatting on her porch.
Order by order, Hagan built a business out of her Chardon home. Her husband, Paul, remembers cookies all over their space.
“I remember more when it was like, ‘why are there cookies everywhere?’” Paul remembers. “There were literally cookies everywhere in our house, and it was like, we need more space.”
“It got to be the Keebler cookie factory in our house,” Hagan said, recalling at one point they had to move out their kitchen table to make space for her cookies.
As Hagan built a name for herself in the world of cookies, she came to realize her true passion and love of the craft didn’t necessarily lie with the baking or even the decorating - it was the people cookies brought into her life, and the moments she was able to be a part of, that she loved.
“I love that people will come to us year after year and we have watched them go from an engagement, to a bridal shower, to a wedding, to a baby shower, to a baby, to now their fifth birthday,” she said. “It's such an honor to be a part of so many people's stories.”
As the orders continued, Denise began considering growing outside their home. An order from the then Q arena in downtown Cleveland was the push she needed to look for a storefront.
Four and a half years ago, they opened D is for Delicious in Chardon. In addition to the cookie shop, Hagan also has a classroom space a few doors down where she’s able to host cookie decorating classes.
“The cookie shop has just been a birthplace of so many moments, so many amazing people coming into my life through classes and through just coming to buy cookies, whether it's just their weekly chocolate chip cookie fix or something,” she said. “We have met so many awesome people and I just love it.”
One special person who the cookie shop brought into Hagan’s life was Lauren Cornelison, who attended a cookie decorating class one day.
Cornelison was battling cancer at the time, but would frequently come to classes, with Hagan noticing her natural skill for decorating.
“We would always chat afterwards and she would say, ‘this is so relaxing to me. I forget about everything.' She said, ‘I forget about my cancer diagnosis. I forget about any worries or pains, anything. I just get lost in this process,'" Hagan said. "She was saying how I felt in a different way because that's how I found cookies to be, was just such a therapeutic activity.”
Hagan invited Cornelison to come to the cookie shop whenever she wanted, providing help on busier weeks, and continuing to pursue her knack for cookies.
As both women realized Cornelison’s journey was approaching its end, they discussed ways in which Cornelison’s legacy could continue.
“We spent a lot of time in those last few months talking about how she can live on forever,” Hagan said. “She connected me with the Cleveland Clinic where she was getting treatments, and she connected me with the art therapist there, and we started to make cookie deliveries together.”
From there, the idea for Let’s Make Cookies was born. Named for Cornelison’s initials, L.M.C., the duo created cookie decorating kits to deliver to organizations like hospitals and other groups that could use a reason to smile.
The power of cookies as a sweet distraction and way to find purpose, inspiring Hagan to continue to grow the Let’s Make Cookies initiative, inviting community members to volunteer to either donate funds or volunteer time to assemble cookie kits.
“I feel like cookie decorating is just something that brings people together and helps you just get lost in something health and fun,” Hagan said, describing cookie decorating as a form of art therapy.
Hagan’s mission, now transformed from producing beautiful cookies to satisfy a sweet tooth, to keeping her late friend’s legacy alive.
“I found the best thing is to just be generous somehow, give back, help others, because we all have something that we’re good at,” she said. “There’s something each of us has that can be a blessing to someone else.”
Paul said he enjoys being know as “the cookie lady’s husband.”
“Denise is always looking for positive, and so she runs into positive people and she runs into good stuff,” she said. “She just has a great heart for helping people.”
Hagan said she hopes to continue growing Let’s Make Cookies. In addition to the cookie kits, she also hopes to continue using cookies as a connector, with her eyes on her next endeavor, T is for Together, an event space next to her cookie shop which she envisions people renting and using for their events and gatherings.
“I love it so much and I just can’t wait to see what’s next,” Hagan said.
For those who want to help support Let’s Make Cookies, contact Hagan at her website.
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