Crazy GF Cookies

Today I'm talking with Brittany at Crazy GF Cookies. You can follow her on Facebook as well.

00:00
This is Mary Lewis at A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. If you're enjoying this podcast, please like, subscribe, share it with a friend, or leave a comment. Thank you. Today I'm talking with Brittany at Crazy Gluten Free Cookies. Good morning, Brittany. How are you today? Good morning. I'm doing well. How are you? I'm great. Tell me about yourself and Crazy Gluten Free Cookies. Right. So...

00:29
Um, I actually just started, uh, I call it crazy GF cookies, but yes, the GF stands for gluten free. Um, and I just started it back in January, but it's kind of been like a slow start. So, but I'm going to be at a farmer's market, um, come next month in May. And so, yeah, it's super exciting journey for me because I've never really done anything with

00:56
restaurants or businesses or baking and stuff like that for at a professional level. So it's kind of a fun adventure for me just starting off slow with a cottage food bakery. Okay, so tell me how you got started. I read your About Me on your website, but I would love to have you share why you started doing this. Yeah, so I feel like when somebody asks like, oh, why are you doing the baking? They always are like, because I love to bake.

01:25
That is not me. Mm-hmm. It is quite actually totally different. I actually got into it because I see a problem in our marketplace, especially I live in a smaller town outside of the Twin Cities, like an hour outside of the Twin Cities. And so I really don't even, this is even bigger problem where I live. But there's just nothing for people who have allergies and gluten.

01:54
being one of those allergies, which a lot of people don't understand what gluten is. It's just a protein in wheat, but wheat products are all over the place. It's pretty much in everything. And so it's very difficult to eat out anywhere or to be safe anywhere. And that's my story because I didn't used to have to eat gluten-free. So I know what it's like to just go to a restaurant and order whatever you want.

02:23
But yeah, back in 2012, I was basically told, hey, you're allergic to gluten. And I was like, can't I still eat it? And I was asking the doctor that and the doctor's like, you're going to die if you keep eating it. And so I had to go gluten free and it was awful. I mean, I love my pastas and my bread and the treats and the cookies and everything.

02:52
And so for me, it was just an awful realization. And so my passion really lies with, you know, helping people who have allergies like I do, because it's like, we just don't have that many options. If we go to a restaurant, we have to always like ask a million questions. Like, do you have gluten-free on the menu? Is this gluten-free? Does it have wheat in it? Is it fried in the same fryer with everything else? Like...

03:20
You know, so it's very difficult. And I just, I saw this as like a hole in our marketplace where there's really nothing that's super safe in our area and like that's dedicated gluten free. And so I was just like, you know what? We need something. We need something in our area. Cause more and more people are finding out that they're allergic to wheat, or they're just going gluten free for just to be healthier because in general, um, most people, even if they don't have an intolerance or an allergy to wheat.

03:50
they actually do better when they're off of weight. They lose weight and they are healthier and stuff like that too. So that's really why I started it. Okay. The restaurant thing. The thing I have found if you ask the waitresses or the manager questions about what's in the food is you get one of two kinds of responses.

04:17
Either they understand why you're asking and they're really kind and they're really sweet in their response, or they're really short with you because they're like, if you need to ask, you shouldn't be eating here. You know? Yeah, exactly. And I would feel like there's also the response of they have no idea. It's not that they're necessarily short with you, they just are so confused. They just don't know what you're talking about when you say gluten. And it's like, okay, well.

04:44
it's wheat. Is there any wheat in it?" And they're like, I don't know, what is wheat? And it's like, that's basically flour. So anything that has flour in it, that's your typical flour that hasn't actually been purposely made gluten-free by picking rice flour or corn flour or something like that, is going to automatically have wheat in it. And so I try to explain it to people. And it's just, it's countless times I've tried to explain it to a waitress going like,

05:12
this is what we is, like, and I have to explain it to them. And so then, but then that makes me feel less safe because I'm like, if I'm explaining it to you and you don't know, how do I, how can I trust your response and your answer? Because you probably don't understand still, even though I just explained it to you. Yeah, exactly. Um, I have an allergy or a, I don't know if it's an allergy, but it's a reaction to monosodium glutamate, MSG, and it gives me terrible headaches. And people will say that that's not true.

05:42
But it is true. And there was a restaurant that I wanted to order a beef commercial from. And a lot of gravies have MSG in it. And I called to order and I was like, is your gravy house made and does it have MSG in it? And the lady on the phone...

06:02
said, let me ask. And she put me on hold and went and asked. And she was like, we're really, really busy right now and I couldn't find anybody who had an answer. So just don't order that. And I was like, yep, that's fine. I'll get a burger. So it can be any food allergy that makes life miserable. So how did you come to find out that you had the allergy to gluten?

06:31
So I was bent over in pain, like my stomach and just the center of my whole body was pretty much just in so much pain. And I was sick like all the time. And I went through this through childhood and stuff too. It took quite a few years before we finally identified the problem and it was just getting worse and worse for me to the point where I couldn't stand up straight anymore because it was just that bad.

07:00
And then I ended up finding out after going off of gluten that there was other reactions that I didn't even realize were also attributed to it, such as acne, migraines, and stuff like that as well. But it wasn't even an official like they diagnosed me because like the typical way of diagnosing an actual celiac, someone who's highly allergic, is to take a piece of their colon out.

07:28
and examine it with a microscope and all that, but I didn't go through that. I just needed someone to tell me, you're probably allergic to gluten and wheat and you need to go off of it and see if you feel better. And that's what I did. And yeah, I felt tons better. I could finally stand up again and all this stuff. So it definitely is a problem. And now I'm like so sensitive that, yeah, I can't walk through the bakery area at a grocery store. So.

07:58
I get immediate headache if I'm by the bread or by the bakery. My son, I have a two-year-old son named Joshua, but I brought him over when he was still a couple months. I brought him over to the bakery section. I'm just so used to now if I go over there, I just hold my breath and I just run through real quick to grab whatever I need to grab and then run out. But he broke out in hives just in the area for a few seconds.

08:28
And I was like, ah, he has it too. So now it's like extra precautions have to be in place because it's not just me now. It's also my son who I obviously want the best for him. And it's not just eating gluten, it's being around it. Yes. And that's what makes it even harder is because there's been restaurants that my family is like, oh, hey, let's go eat here. They say they have a gluten free option and I'll walk in and I'm immediately sick. And I'm like,

08:57
Even if they have a gluten-free option here, there's absolutely no way I could eat it and be safe because just if walking in the environment is causing me issues, then that means that there's going to be what we call cross-contamination where there's going to be crumbs and stuff lying around or flour lying around that got into the gluten-free product. And oftentimes, restaurants call that gluten-sensitive, not gluten-free because there's probably still gluten in it. It's just that it wasn't made in...

09:26
intentionally with gluten. So is it that you're breathing in the gluten, the wheat dust or particles in the air? Is that what's making the reaction happen? Yes. And I mean, places like, for instance, like a pizza joint, like they might toss the pizza dough up in the air and they've got all the flour if they're mixing their pizza dough, you know, from there. And so that just gets up in the air and you breathe it in. And so...

09:55
My dad even went gluten-free for a while just for my sake, but he didn't have a sensitivity to it. When he went gluten-free and then he walked into a bakery area, he was like, wow, I can smell the bread. I can smell this stuff. He's like, I didn't know it had a smell before being gluten-free for a while. And I'm like, that's...

10:18
That's funny, yeah. And I'm like, me either, really, because I didn't notice it either until I was gluten-free for at least a year before I started noticing that I wasn't even feeling good walking through the bakery areas. Wow. I didn't know that breathing it would cause a reaction too. That is good information to have. Okay. So what do you – do you just make cookies and what kind of cookies do you make? Yeah. So I'm starting off slowly. So yeah, I was just focusing on cookies.

10:46
Um, so my newest ones that seem to have gotten a lot of attention online right now are the whoopie pies and the oatmeal cream pies. Those are two cookies that I have been missing since going gluten free. And it's been quite a few years. So I was like, why haven't I made these sooner? I don't understand. Like, why didn't I make, try to make them sooner because they are delicious. Um, but yeah, those kinds of cookies are especially what I'm focusing on right now is like the ones that like.

11:14
you just don't find anywhere. Because you can find a chocolate chip cookie at different places. And I do make those as well. But it's the more unique ones that you just don't see anywhere. Okay. And what are you using for a flour, a wheat flour replacement in your cookies? Because I would love to know because I would love to make some too. Yeah. So I use the King Arthur brand of flour.

11:42
It's a mixture of different flours. It's got rice flour in it, I think primarily, and then it probably has some other flours mixed in. There's tapioca flour and other things that you can get separately as just that flour, but I found that the ones that are mixed together, Pillsbury also makes a really good gluten-free flour mix, but they're just a little bit more expensive even than King Arthur.

12:11
They do pretty well. Like you can't really tell the difference. I've had multiple people eat the cookies and go, it does not taste gluten-free. And I'm like, yeah, it's because of the flour that was probably chosen. Okay. So it has the same, I don't know, mouthfeel as a regular cookie? Yes. It tastes the same. It's got the same texture. I try to make sure that my cookies are moist enough to not crumble because that's one of the problems with gluten-free often.

12:40
Even gluten-free store-bought stuff, it just crumbles immediately as you're trying to eat it. So when I try to make my cookies, I try to make sure they're moist enough so it's like a regular cookie you're biting into, not something that's going to crumble all over the place. Okay, and then the other question I have is, when you're making something with gluten-free flour, do you have to change the other ingredients or can you just use what you would normally use with wheat flour?

13:10
Well, I would say that depends. Okay. Because I can use stuff like eggs. That's easy. And milk, if I'm making a dairy-free item too, because I also make dairy-free stuff, then I'm going to use either almond milk or oat milk or something like that. But there are some things that I do have to be careful of. For instance, like if I'm putting cinnamon or something into it.

13:37
I have to be careful with that because even spices, most spices will have cross contamination with wheat or actually have wheat in them because a lot of things are fluffed up like to add. It's like wheat is cheap, so companies will add it into stuff. I mean, you'll find potato chips, which you'd think would just be potatoes and they would have wheat in them. And the same thing goes for spices. So I have to actually...

14:02
very carefully look for spices that actually are labeled gluten-free in order to be able to use them and feel safe about it. I feel like you live in a world where you don't trust anything unless you make it yourself and I don't blame you at all. Yeah, exactly. It's really difficult. I mean, and I wish that we had more places that understood the allergies and understood like all this stuff. But yeah. I mean, it's...

14:31
there's just not options out there. And that's really why I made it crazy GF cookies. Because it's like, we need an option. You know, I know that I wish there was an option. And I'm like, I know there's got to be other people out there wishing there's an option. Well, yeah, because cookies are their comfort food, their feel good food. And everybody should be able to eat a cookie now and then. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. One of my favorite, there's actually a gluten free food truck.

15:01
And yeah, I don't partner with them or anything, but they are amazing. And they actually say on their truck that fair food should be fair. And I'm like, exactly, like we should be able to have gluten-free options, you know, things should be fair for us too, but there's just not much out there. I mean, and other allergies as well, of course. So I don't want to get too far away from what you're doing.

15:29
How in the world do you shop for food at the store? Like food food. Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of difficult. I mean, and I've, you know, over the years I've discovered more and more things. So I've had lots of problems with getting cross contaminated and then getting sick. And when I get sick, I'm sick for at least three days before it gets out of my system. So it is difficult. I...

15:57
even found out a few months ago that frozen fruits and veggies, they sometimes spray them with some chemicals to kind of like preserve them. And in those chemicals is wheat. And I'm like, so I can't even trust like bags of frozen fruit and vegetables, because they could possibly have the wheat in them. And they don't have to disclose it because it's such a minute amount.

16:24
that they don't have to disclose it on the packaging. So there are some fruits that I found that did say gluten-free on them, so then I was able to get those. But most items, yeah, no. It's a lot of going to the store, walking through the aisles, picking up stuff off the shelves, looking at the back of it, seeing if it contains any of the ingredients that would be wheat-related or if it actually says gluten-free. And basically, I know I'm safe if it says gluten-free, but if it doesn't say gluten-free, it's like a 50-50 chance. Jesus.

16:54
I'm so glad that you were willing to talk with me because I had a vague understanding of people being allergic to gluten, but I have a much better understanding now. That's not fair. I'm really sorry that you're dealing with this. Yeah. And it's hard. I feel like the hardest part is when I'm dealing with other people. So if I'm dealing with people at my church or if I'm dealing with my family because it's like...

17:18
I know they don't understand it and I would like to explain it to them and I've explained it to them multiple times, but there's still so much. I mean, like I said, I'm still learning some stuff, like of what actually has we in it. So it's like, it's hard to safely eat with family and friends. And that's the hardest part is because I feel bad because I'm like, I know I'm putting pressure on you guys that I don't want to put on you if you wanted to make us something for lunch or whatever. So I think that's really the hardest part. Yeah.

17:48
Absolutely. I mean, the hardest part is I'm sure that you spend a good percentage of your time being anxious about what you're presented to eat. And that's you. And then you have to worry about how your friends and family react to your anxiety about it. Yes. Yes. It's a lot of anxiety. That's for sure. You hit that one right on the head. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

18:16
I have to be really careful about when people say, what would you like me to make if we're going to their house because of the MSG thing. I also have an allergy to capsaicin that developed about two years ago and we're going to be going to visit friends sometime I think in June. And the male of the couple asked me what I would like to eat and I was like, well, what were you thinking of making?

18:43
And he says, well, I could do ribs, I could do this, or I could do burgers. And I said, no hot pepper anything. I said, unless you would like to have me die in front of you. And he had already heard a little bit about it. And he's like, I don't want you to die in front of me. He said, no hot peppers. I was like, OK, good. I said, how about burgers? I said, burgers are a fairly easy thing to do. And we can just add what we want to them on the bun and eat them. He says, that's the easiest option.

19:12
that would be great." I said, okay, thank you. And I thought it was lovely that he asked what we would like to eat, but I always feel weird about being like, I want plain salad and a glass of water. I mean, that's not fun food. That's not something you want to make for guests. Yeah. Yeah. It's really hard, especially, yeah, that's rough. I feel like yours would be even harder because at least gluten has gotten more attention in the last few years.

19:42
Yeah, you've got more stuff to worry about. I've got a double whammy, but at least I can really, really work around it. If I breathe something that has MSG on it, it doesn't bother me. If I know there's a jar of ground hot peppers, I'm probably not going to go smell it. So I know the dangers and I know what's going to happen and I can work around it. With you...

20:10
You may not even know that someone was making pizza dough half an hour before they went to wherever you are and still have the flower in their hair or on their clothes. Yeah. So no, I mean, if we're going to play the who's got it worst game, I'm going to say you on this one. All right. And the capsaicin thing.

20:37
I don't really love hot peppers anyway, so it's not a huge loss to me to not eat them. I'm totally fine with that. And bell peppers are fine. I can still eat sweet peppers and I love sweet peppers. So at least if it had to be one or the other, it was the one that I like that I didn't lose. Yeah. And I heard with people with allergies that a lot of times like it's always what they love is what they're losing.

21:03
And so yeah, that was what it was for me. It's like, I loved pasta and bread and pizza. It's like all my favorite stuff. And then it's like, that was everything I lost. Luckily I can make it a different way and still have it. But like, yeah, at first it was so rough. I thought I could never eat that stuff again. And I had to only ever eat whole foods. Yeah. Yep. My favorite snack growing up was one of the single sized bags of Doritos.

21:33
and half a Dr. Pepper. That was my favorite treat. Doritos has a ton of MSG in it. So I haven't eaten a Dorito in 25 years and I still would give my right foot to eat one chip. I really would. I loved the flavor of Doritos. They came out with a no MSG kind. I think it was the Cool Ranch ones.

22:03
They lie. There's MSG in those too. Oh my goodness. It's just a little bit, but a little bit for me still kicks the headache. So yeah, it's just a thing and people have all kinds of allergies to all kinds of things and we just have to learn to work around it, I guess. Yes, yes, exactly. And that was part of the reason I started up my business. I've already had some people go on my Facebook page and like be f***ed.

22:31
saying thank you from a gluten-free family and stuff like that. And it's just like, that's really why I started it was because those are the people that I have a heart for. And I'm like, yes, you're my people. Let's do this. We're going to do this together. Singing you the song of your people. Yes, exactly. Okay. So are you maybe thinking of later down the road doing like an actual bakery? Yes.

23:01
I have been considering it. I mean, it's over, I don't even know, like the last six to seven years. I mean, I've been talking about like, oh, it'd be so cool to have a restaurant. Oh, it'd be so cool to have a bakery. Oh, it'd be so cool to have these other things. And I think that a lot of it is me just wishing that there was somebody who was doing it and then not seeing people do it. And even some of the gluten-free options that used to be available where I lived was they've gone out of business or they just…

23:31
stop making the gluten-free options. And so I'm just like, what we really need is like a gluten-free restaurant. Like the whole restaurant gluten-free. And so this bakery is kind of my way of starting small, dipping my toes in the business side of things. But yeah, I would love to have like an actual storefront bakery or even eventually a restaurant that's totally gluten-free. But yeah, I'm new to business in general. So I'm just a…

23:59
trying to dip my toes in it first and do the cottage food bakery out of my home so I don't have like all those startup costs right away. Yeah, because those are the things that will sink your ship faster than anything. Is there such a thing as a gluten-free restaurant in the United States right now? Oh, yes. There are dedicated gluten-free. There's actually in Minnesota, there's a really nice one.

24:26
I love going to them there, but they're over in Burnsville. So for me, it's like a 40, 30 minute drive somewhere between there to get there. And they serve breakfast foods. So they have like waffles and pancakes and stuff like that. Their whole facility is gluten-free and they cater highly to dairy-free people as well. And they're sensitive to other allergens. And so they're amazing. So.

24:55
I don't know, there's a few more, but a lot of them I feel like are very, they're like really closer to bigger cities. And in Minnesota, most of them are further up north. Because there are some dedicated gluten-free bakeries as well, but they're further up north and I'm further down south. And so there's really nothing down here, which is such a bummer because it's like I don't like traveling to three hours to go get dedicated gluten-free stuff.

25:24
Yeah, that's a big ask. Yeah. Yeah, and I've done it. I've done it. It is a lot. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Well, how is it going? I mean, you said that people are commenting and saying thank you from another gluten-free family, but how is it going? Are you feeling in the weeds? Are you feeling like you have a handle on what you're doing? Are you... Where are you at with it?

25:54
I would say in general, I just feel a little overwhelmed right now. But I mean, part of that is just because I have a two-year-old. And so, and I'm a stay at home parent. So it's like, I'm trying to parent him while also trying to get this bakery stuff up and running and I was experimenting with different recipes. So it is a little overwhelming. I've had a few sales. I haven't had that many, like less than I would have expected. But then again,

26:19
I also haven't been promoting myself as well as I probably should have been. I just because I've been busy and it's like I turn around and then another disaster has happened in the living room because my son's thrown everything everywhere. So it's like I have to balance between parenting, keeping up with the house and starting this business and making orders for people. So I'm hoping though that I'll get more sales once I go to the farmer's market.

26:48
in New Prague and so hoping for that. Yeah, is that on Saturdays? Do you know? Yes, that is Saturday mornings starting in May, the day before Mother's Day. I think it's what, May 11th? That's 9 a.m. to noon. Okay, because there's also a farmers market in Lesor, which is the town that I live in, which is only about 15 minutes from you. And it...

27:17
It's really good. It's a really busy, thriving farmers market. So if you discover that the New Preg one isn't for you, you should check into the Lassour one. It's on Saturday mornings as well. Yeah. Yeah, I probably should. The reason I went with New Preg was because we used to live in New Preg. And so I was aware of that. And I have one of my friends, she does homemade peanut butter.

27:44
and some other treats like that. And she's at that farmer's market too. And so I thought it would be fun. And I was like, okay, I can go see my friend and stuff too. Oh yeah. At the farmer's market. And yeah, and I just was aware of it because it's right there on Main Street. And so, yeah, I mean, I'm hoping that it's good, but yeah, I should check out that one too, because that one might even be a little bit closer to me than the new Preg one. Yeah.

28:11
Yeah, we, my husband, I shouldn't say we, I don't sell anything at the farmers market because I don't go. I get real twitchy with lots of people around, so it's not my thing, but he loves it. But he started doing that last summer and he can't get over how fun it is and how many people actually come through during the day. LaSore is a small town. It's not much, it's not, it may be bigger than Belle Plaine. I don't think it is though.

28:40
And so you wouldn't think that many people would swing by and see what's for sale, but they do. So I have one more question for you, and then I'm going to cut you loose because I'm sure that you would like to get back to doing your thing. If you take your gluten-free goods, all packaged up and pretty and lovely the way that I know you do them, and you go to the farmer's market or you sell them at

29:07
I don't know, a store that decides they love your stuff and they want to sell it on their shelves. Does it become cross contaminated in a place that isn't gluten free?

29:21
Yeah, so that would be the challenge. I mean, I don't know if I can right now with the cottage food bakery laws to sell it anywhere outside of just a farmer's market. I don't think other businesses can sell it off of their shelves. But yeah, when it comes to the farmer's market, I mean, it shouldn't be cross contaminated if it's on my tables, like if I bring my tables and everything.

29:50
If there's gluten in the air, obviously I can't help that. But yeah, since the products are already packaged, gluten shouldn't be getting on them. And yeah, there is a slight risk, I guess, with people if they were to come and touch the boxes after touching wheat on one of the other tables. That would be a slight concern that, honestly, I hadn't thought about before, just now.

30:19
the goodies themselves as long as they're already prepackaged, they shouldn't get stuff on them. Okay. I was wondering because that's what I would think of because I have a crazy brain that goes places that most people's brains don't go. Okay, Brittany, do me a favor after I stop the recording, don't leave because I need the recording to upload. I forgot to mention at the beginning. I really appreciate your time and I'm so glad that you talked to me.

30:48
in a very vulnerable way about what you've been through with this because I learned things I had no idea existed regarding gluten allergies. So thank you. Well, thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk with you. Yeah, absolutely. I want to know more. I want to touch back with you a year from now and see where you're at with your business because I think you're on to something big here. Yeah. All right. Sounds good. All right. Thank you so much. Have a great day. Thank you. You too. Bye.