Chocolate cookies with peppermint frosting are a holiday tradition at Uniquely Me Bakery. Photos: Chris Emeott
Micah Zupke shares her grandma’s cherished recipe.
Micah Zupke is the legacy baker in her family. She’s the one who provides her family with the taste of her grandma’s distinctive sugar cookie recipe each holiday season. But even as she keeps a legacy alive, she’s also creating a new one. She opened Uniquely Me Bakery—a home bakery, specializing in peanut- and tree nut-free baked goods—when she was still in high school, and she’s often dreaming up new recipes—like the one for Malted Milk Ball Cookies. “I love experimenting with new things, and I can do that in baking,” Zupke says.
Zupke’s love of baking started young—she remembers baking in the kitchen with her grandma and mom, but it wasn’t until she was in sixth grade that a casual interest blossomed into a full-blown passion. It all started when she was watching a Cake Boss video on YouTube. “I got hooked,” she says. “And for probably like three years straight, I just watched Cake Boss and different decorating videos. And then in ninth grade, after baking for a while, I [realized] I want to start my own bakery.”
Micah Zupke
Zupke was inspired by the creations she saw on Cake Boss, but she wanted to add her own perspective. “When I was watching Cake Boss, I liked what he does, but I wanted to do it my way,” she says. “And that was also allergen friendly. Because for me going into a bakery or anywhere that has desserts, it’s hard, because I don’t know if there’s major nuts involved or there’s high cross-contamination.”
She started experimenting with peanut- and tree nut-free baked goods and began filling special orders for family and friends throughout high school. “I loved seeing people’s reactions when I brought their idea to life,” Zupke says, noting that it’s part of what inspired her to pursue baking.
During her first year in college at North Central University in Minneapolis, her professor encouraged her to get a cottage food license and build a website to promote her bakery. She earned her degree in entrepreneurship and went to St. Paul College for a baking and pastry certificate. She started working at Edelweiss Bakery in Prior Lake as a part of her baking and pastry certificate program, and she’s continued working there full time as a baker and pastry chef as she slowly builds her own baking business.
Her menu includes bars, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, custom cakes and cupcakes. Zupke is also open to taking special orders for other allergens and dietary restrictions, including dairy, eggs, soy and gluten.
The bakery offers a specialty cookie of the month, and Zupke also incorporates flavors that change seasonally into the menu, like peppermint cookies (chocolate cookies with peppermint frosting) that are featured during the holidays. Because of her full-time job, Zupke usually needs a few weeks’ notice for baking orders because all her orders are baked fresh.
Photo: Uniquely Me Bakery
Zupke only remembers baking sugar cookies with her grandma once, but the not-too-sweet flavor and soft texture of the cookies are inextricably linked with the holidays for her family. “We make it every Christmas,” Zupke says, adding that she knew it was going to be a staple for her bakery when she was creating the menu.
While she spends hours working on intricate frosting for the cookies in her bakery, her family urges her to be more casual. “Of course, my family’s always like, ‘You don’t have to go all out; just slap some frosting on it,” Zupke says. “I can’t do that. Once I start, I have to just decorate it in the most fun way possible.”
And even though Zupke can’t stop her creativity when it comes to topping the cookies, she’s never been tempted to play with the recipe. “I’ve never tweaked it because it’s perfect,” she says. “It’s perfect how she made it.”
Grandma’s Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp. vinegar
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. baking powder, heaping
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- 4 cups flour, enough
- to make stiff dough
Preheat oven to 350 F. Curdle the milk by adding vinegar; set aside. Cream sugar and butter, and add eggs and sour milk. Mix well. Stir in the remaining ingredients, and mix until combined. Do not refrigerate. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, and cut into preferred shapes. Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on cookie size. Cool, and decorate. (Micah Zupke uses buttercream frosting to decorate the cookies at Uniquely Me Bakery.)
The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book
Micah Zupke is one of 95 bakers featured in Lee Svitak Dean and Rick Nelson’s The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book (University of Minnesota Press), released last month. The book covers 20 years of winning recipes from The Minnesota Star Tribune’s holiday cookie contest. It has 102 cookie recipes and features 11 additional cookie recipes that are favorites of the co-authors. Find it at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, startribune.com and where books are sold.
Uniquely Me Bakery
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