Meet Stephanie White
Stephanie White
Stephanie White flexes her creativity through sugar, butter, and flour. But what she does beyond that is something as special as it is delicious. Stephanie runs a small bakery called A Little Sugar Co. where she’s constantly experimenting and improving on her already stellar scones, muffins, and cookies. We wanted to learn more so we asked some questions. Here is some of that conversation:
Steph, before we dive into the sweet stuff, can you share a bit about how you came to be a baker?
I have enjoyed baking and cooking for as long as I can remember. I come from a family passionate about food and creativity anywhere that food is involved. Our kitchen always smelled amazing growing up, and my Grandmother used to create the most beautiful wedding cakes. There was always a constant flow of grandchildren in and out of her kitchen looking for sweets.
While I grew up around food, my original passions included working with animals and children. I studied Biology and Animal Science at Michigan State University, and worked at an emergency animal clinic in Chicago, all before teaching preschool for 6 years.
After I had my son in 2017, I decided to pursue baking professionally and started researching how to make it happen. It was a slow but steady start as I juggled life with a little one and a move from Chicago to Grand Rapids, but I was excited to finally launch my bakery in June of 2021.
Blueberry Almond Scones
Since launching my business, I am constantly learning something new. Not only about the science of baking, but all of the many parts of owning a small business. I am currently practicing under Michigan’s Cottage Food Law, and love participating in pop-ups, markets, and celebrations, along with offering local delivery and pick-up on the weekends!
How do your personal tastes play into experimentation in the kitchen?
I absolutely love chocolate. Obsessed? Maybe. The ingredient makes its way into many of my recipes, but I try to balance it out with brighter fruit-forward flavors as well. A salty-sweet combination is one of my favorites, so I added this gorgeous sea salt flake to the top of my classic chocolate chip cookies, and will never go back.
Summertime makes me crave all of the bright citrus flavors. I have a variety of sweets on my menu that include fresh lemons and oranges. Cherry lemon and cranberry orange combinations have also made their way into a number of my muffin, scone, and cookie recipes.
What are you most known for? And how do you balance creativity and the need to try something new with what’s popular and selling well?
My bakery is most known for our Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re such a classic and can be ordered with or without the sea salt flake sprinkled on top. Our Monster Cookies are a big hit at markets and pop-up events, along with our Mint Chip Cookies. My husband loves mint chocolate chip ice cream, so I recreated it in cookie form! The Cranberry Orange Muffins and Scones are a fan favorite and I’m always excited to see people order them again and again.
Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
I love experimenting with anything sweet in the kitchen and want to add everything new that I create to my menu. At the risk of having endless inventory, I try to rotate seasonal and holiday treats, or remove an item for a period of time and reintroduce it later. I would love to offer a different variety of sweets at events, but certain items and flavors seem to do best at markets and pop-ups, so I’d hate to make them unavailable.
Does the business side of things ever get in the way of the creative side? And does the creative side ever get in the way of the business side?
Let’s just say my brain loves to balance ingredient ratios, but despises bookkeeping. I’m definitely a “right-brain” gal. Saying this, I am incredibly proud of how much I’ve learned about building a business from the ground up. I’ve definitely gained a lot of new skills since I began this journey.
If I’m given the time to bake and create something new, or calculate sums, I think you know which one I’d choose. However, while I love being creative, I also crave organization and keep lots of lists to stay on top of the business side of things along with feeding my creative side.
How does baking for your family differ from backing commercially, if at all?
The processes are very similar, however, I always feel a bit more relaxed baking for family versus customers. I crave perfection in everything that I do (working on that…) and often worry that my products won’t be well received, or have to look a certain way. I also take more creative liberties when I bake for my family. I feel comfortable experimenting with ingredients or new techniques when in a more relaxed environment.
Lemon Burst Muffins
Stephanie, thank you for letting us bother you. Before we let you go, what advice would you give to someone who is just starting out and trying their hand at baking?
I loved chatting with you! Time and patience are the most important lessons I’ve learned from baking and starting my own business. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve doubted myself or thought that I should give up and do something different. If you’re truly passionate about what you’re doing, stick with it. It will take time and you’ll constantly be learning something new, but you’ll gain so much from each new experience.
Baking also requires a lot of trial and error. Don’t doubt yourself when things don’t turn out how you expected them the first time. Enjoy the sweet mistakes and have lots of taste testers on hand!
