Tour Milk Jar Cookies Brick + Mortar Shop

If you want to taste the most melt-in-your-mouth, make-you-eat-a-million, cookies, Milk Jar is the place to go. Stop by their Beverly Hills storefront for one of these delectable cookies and a jar of milk to go with. What could be better?! Owner, Courtney Cowan is showing us around the bakery we like to frequent – and may even be sharing the secret to her recipe ;).

Name: Courtney Cowan

Company: Milk Jar Cookies

Title: Owner

City: Los Angeles

We love Milk Jar Cookies! How did it all start?

Thank you! I’ve always loved baking, and specifically baking cookies. When we were kids, my sister and I would make cookies all the time (mainly to eat the dough, if I’m being honest), and when I was in my teens, I came up with my own recipe. As I perfected it over time, it became very popular with friends, family, and eventually co-workers. After several instances of people mistaking them for “bakery” cookies, I realized I might have created something special. In 2005, I began experimenting with a variety of flavors and started an online business. I loved the thought that, with each of the deliveries I made, someone’s day got a little bit brighter, and the end goal quickly became to go brick & mortar. I wanted a shop where I could host these people and provide a place to enjoy a cookie and a glass of milk.

Where did you start your career? Was baking always a big part of your life?

I started my career in Television Post Production in 2000, after graduating from Indiana University. During the 12 years I worked in Post Production, I was always baking cookies for fun. It was one of my favorite hobbies, until 2005 when I started to see it as a business opportunity. Then it was work and play all at the same time!

The Milk Jar Cookies storefront is so cute! Tell us about the design.

Thank you so much! I’ve had this vision for the shop for many years, and it was so fun to make it a reality. I wanted it to look and feel like home and be very pretty, but with just enough rustic touches that it wasn’t girly. From picking out the wallpaper and paint colors to finding local people to make the chandeliers, tables, and chalkboards, every detail was important to me. My husband and I love working with our hands and being crafty, so we had a blast doing a lot of the work ourselves, too. A couple of my favorite projects we did together were refinishing the antique doors and making the storefront sign. My family got in on the fun, too, and hunted down some of our little tchotchkes on the shelves, which was really special.

Ok, we need to know. why do your cookies literally melt on our tastebuds! What secret ingredient will help us bake the best Chocolate Chip cookie?

Butter!

What’s the biggest challenge of owning your own business?

Balance. When you are responsible for everyone and everything, it’s really difficult to ever turn your brain off and be a “human.” I am trying to find balance between work and life, and it’s definitely getting better after a couple years, but it’s always a challenge. A welcome challenge, but a challenge nonetheless.