Sasquatch Cookies a tasty way for pair of Colorado Springs women to give back
When your dream tastes like cookies, it’s hard not to follow your heart — and even harder not to follow your stomach.
After meeting at their full-time gig, friends Brooke Orist and Kaitlyn Zweber teamed to embark on a tasty adventure: Sasquatch Cookies.
“I grew up wanting to own a bakery,” Orist said. “I lived in a small town in North Carolina, and there’s a business with a similar cookie delivery model as this. So when I moved here I thought, ‘Hey, there’s nothing like that here in the Springs, so this would be a cool concept to have here.’”
Since its start, Orist has quit her full-time job. Sasquatch Cookies only delivers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, she said, but managing finances, social media and marketing take up a lot of her time.
The business has grown quickly since it got its start last year. Sasquatch Cookies delivers fresh and hot cookies to 40 to 60 customers on peak evenings. You can even ask to have them delivered by someone in a Sasquatch costume.
Sasquatch Cookie’s signature flavors include chocolate chip, gluten-free chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle, caramel macchiato, double chocolate chip and monster cookie — a peanut butter cookie with M&Ms, chocolate chips and oats. They also promote seasonal flavors. This fall, it’s s’mores, which Orist said customers have been requesting for a while.
Co-owners Brooke Orist, left, places a sheet of Monster cookies on the drying rack as her business partner Kaitlyn Zweber scoops out the double chocolate chip as they work out of ‘Icing on the Cake’ making cookies for their business “Sasquatch Cookies” on Thursday, September 18, 2018 in Colorado Springs. (Photo by Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette)
“We have had such great support from the community, which has been awesome,” Zweber said. “We originally thought we’d have a lot of college students, but it’s mostly been families, a lot of moms, and military families on base — that kind of thing. We’re all over the board. Everybody likes cookies.”
Orist and Zweber wanted their cookies to have not only a positive impact on people’s stomachs, but also on the greater Colorado Springs community.
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This year, they’ve partnered with Springs Rescue Mission. Ten percent of proceeds from Sasquatch Cookies goes to the homeless shelter, and Orist and Zweber invite the community on occasion to join them in volunteering at Springs Rescue Mission.
“We also wanted to be involved physically,” Zweber said. “It can’t just end at a financial gift. For me, being an individual, I don’t always know what I can do as a single person. So we wanted to create a platform for people to join us … Last time, we made fleece blankets with some people. It was just really fun getting to meet different people and getting to do that together. It’s really sweet, and I think it really bonds you with random strangers.”
They said they plan to change their partnership each year to bring awareness to the many Colorado Springs organizations doing great things.
Sustainability is also an important pillar for Sasquatch Cookies, Orist said. Their boxes are made from recycled material and are all plastered with a sticker that reads, “Save a Sasquatch, recycle.”
“With the environmental stuff, I think for both of us, especially with the beauty of the mountains and everything around you, you’re like, ‘How can I not care about all of this?’” Orist said.
They have high hopes for the cookie business, hoping to expand their wholesale distribution, hours of operation and, eventually, have a storefront.
“That’s the dream,” Zweber said.
Co-owners Brooke Orist, left, and Kaitlyn Zweber work out of Icing on the Cake, making monster cookies for their business, Sasquatch Cookies, in Colorado Springs in September.
Brooke Orist adds the fresh cookie dough onto a baking sheet as she works out of ‘Icing on the Cake’ making cookies for “Sasquatch Cookies” on Thursday, September 18, 2018 in Colorado Springs. (Photo by Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette)
Freshly made snickerdoodles sit on a cookie sheet as Brooke Orist and Kaitlyn Zweber make cookies for their business, Sasquatch Cookies, in 2018.
Brooke Orist poses for a portrait in a Sasquatch outfit with freshly made chocolate chip cookies at Icing on the Cake as she bakes for Sasquatch Cookies in Colorado Springs in September.
Kaitlyn Zweber, left, grabs a baking sheet as Brooke Orist scoops out cookies as they work out of Icing on the Cake making cookies for their business, Sasquatch Cookies, on Sept. 18, 2018, in Colorado Springs.