Made in the Hudson Valley: Westchester County woman shares her passion for baking through Baked After Midnight
Gianna Khader spends another day behind the scenes at her kitchen, preparing another batch of cookies made with lots of love.
A Westchester County woman is sharing her passion for baking at her Mamaroneck business.
Gianna Khader spends another day behind the scenes in her kitchen, preparing another batch of cookies made with lots of love. While her passion for baking first started as a hobby, it soon turned into her business, Baked After Midnight, a name that pays homage to how it all got started.
"I was working in accounting after college, baking on the weekends for fun," she said. "I genuinely love it. My sister one day was like, 'Let's make an Instagram page to post pictures of the things you're making,' and I was like, 'OK.' Then we started getting order requests from a lot of friends and family. It became every weekend for me, and I was like, 'OK, this could actually grow into a business.'"
From classic flavors like chocolate chip and M&M, to more specialty kinds like Cosmic Brownie and Dubai Chocolate, Khader says there is a cookie for customers with all types of taste buds.
"We just try to be fun," she said. "We hop on whatever trends are going on, and we just want it to be a good cookie [with] quality ingredients. It's just a lot of passion that goes into it."
Since 2019, Khader has run the business mostly by herself, originally driving around herself to deliver her homemade cookies to people's homes. Soon after, though, it turned into something much bigger.
“It slowly grew into wholesale," Khader said. "I had a few friends that were like, 'Let's put your cookies in our shop.' That was so cool, and then it just kind of grew from there."
From her kitchen to local bake shops and restaurants, Khader is thrilled to see how her business has expanded. What’s even more special, however, is the love and connection she has grown with the community.
"I've done people's bridal showers, their baby showers, their kids' first birthdays, [etc.]," Khader said. "So, the fact that they're using us and they say, ‘Oh, our friends and family are looking forward to your cookies at the next event’...keeps me going. Just people trying it, liking it [and placing] the repeat orders. When I'm around town and people hear my name, they're like, 'Oh, I've seen you. I've heard of you.' They say, 'Thank God for your hands.'"
Khader's cookies can be bought online or in person at multiple shops and restaurants throughout the region. That includes The Sailhouse in Tarrytown, Slave to the Grind in Bronxville, Mandy Bean Specialty Coffee in Yonkers and select Ralph's Italian Ices throughout Westchester County.
