Meet Whitney Miller

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Miller.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I launched Whitney’s Cookies because I’ve always had a passion for baking, but also a passion for people and creating food memories. My culinary career began in 2010 when I auditioned for the first-ever season of MasterChef on Fox with Gordon Ramsay.

Not only did I make it onto the show, but I WON the entire season. It was on this journey that my notoriety for my sweets began. Quickly, I was deemed the “Pastry Princess” for my proficiency with desserts.

Fast forward 10 years, after I’ve been featured on countless stages and shows literally across the world, the one thing that has remained my most requested menu item is my cookies. Their popularity sparked the idea for me to create my own cookie company so that everyone could enjoy my cookies, and with that, I launched Whitney’s Cookies.

During my time traveling the world, cooking in some of the most exclusive kitchens, I realized how powerful food is. Food is more than the sustenance of life, it is the cornerstone upon which people of every culture gather to celebrate all of life’s events. Because of this, I’ve made it my mission to create “Food Memories” that are sparked by enjoying special foods like my cookies. I put a lot of love into every cookie I create. Countless hours are spent on every single cookie recipe, as you will experience when you bite into one.

In the summer of 2019, I began researching and creating all of the cookie recipes for my company. I knew I wanted the cookies to stand out in appearance and flavor so I decided upon big 5 to 6-ounce cookies. For the flavor, every cookie is crafted to have flavorful cookie dough. I did not want just the ingredients like chocolate chips, sprinkles, etc. to stand out but the flavor of the dough itself. That is what sets us apart from other cookie companies.

We also stuff our cookies. One of our most popular cookie flavors is our Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie. It is a chocolate chip cookie stuffed with our brownie cookie dough. Each month we offer two seasons of specialty flavors. I love creating these fun flavors each month. We have offered everything from Key Lime Pie to Pumpkin Chocolate Chip. Our customers anticipate our monthly cookie flavor drops.

We love working with businesses, foundations, etc to create custom cookies for events. We have worked with the Tim Tebow Foundation for the past several years. We create custom cookies for brides and grooms as a takeaway gift for their guests. We love partnering with local and nationwide businesses on cookie collaborations.

We recently collaborated with Loveless Cafe on a cookie. Our Peach Cobbler cookie featured Loveless Cafe’s peach preserves. It was a huge hit! Our cookies have gained a following amongst celebrities including Reese Witherspoon who recently posted about our cookies on her Instagram.

We just acquired a space in downtown Franklin and hope to open in 6 weeks.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t know any business owner that hasn’t faced challenges. In the end, it is how you handle the challenges along the way that makes a difference. I started Whitney’s Cookies right before the pandemic. We began shipping nationwide in January 2020.

It was a crazy time of the unknown but we marched on. We were able to stay open while other businesses closed for months. We continued making the best cookies we knew how to make and meet our customers where they needed us. Our customers sent cookies to friends and family as a way of saying hello, I miss you, happy birthday, and more.

It was such a blessing to be a part of friends and families connecting and loving on each other with our cookies. With growth there are challenges and we have faced our own. We always learn so much along the way. We improve our operation and produce a better product which creates happy customers.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most proud of the fact that I went after my dream of starting my own food business. I have always known that I wanted a restaurant or something in the food world. I am a cookbook author, recipe developer, food stylist, and tv personality. The only thing I had not ventured into was my own food business until Whitney’s Cookies.

As a mom, it has been great. I can do both without having too many long hours in the kitchen. My kids can be in the kitchen with me as well. My youngest has grown up in the cookie kitchen. My kids love any opportunity to sneak some cookie dough from almost empty mixing bowls. They are also my best taste testers.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something surprising that people would not know about my journey in starting Whitney’s Cookies was that I could not even eat the cookies in the beginning. I was working on creating my first recipes for the company and I could not eat dairy at the time. My middle child was born with a dairy intolerance which restricted me from having dairy.

While creating the recipes, I would put together the flavors in my head and then test them. My husband would try the first batches for me. He would tell me if I needed to add or take anything away. I eventually tried the cookies but would have to spit the bite out. During this time, I craved a chocolate chip cookie. I couldn’t find a dairy-free cookie but there were vegan options.

The ones I tried were not good either in flavor or texture or both. So I decided to create the best vegan chocolate chip cookie ever. This ensued a lot of research and testing which resulted in an amazing cookie. My vegan chocolate chip cookie is still my favorite cookie!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.whitneyscookies.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitneyscookies/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitneyscookies/ 

Image Credits
Shelly Fingerlin, Whitney Miller, and Ryan Humphrey