I love cookies, I think everyone I know loves cookies - even those who dislike or intolerant to dairy, gluten, yada yada - because cookies are just fabulous, and they’re a snack with the capability to brighten up anyone's day, whether they’re chocolate chip, oatmeal, raisin, butternut.

But what about cupcakes?

I love cupcakes too - on a Sunday morning with my coffee, or on a dull morning train ride to work. A lemon zesty cupcake has the ability to make my day, and it is my honest belief that sugary treats are mandatory, especially during weeks like these when one wakes up to another executive order or White House tirade. But the real dilemma is which sugary delight to choose?

Cookies and cupcakes independently are two fine, heartwarming entities, but Nicole Bandklayder looked at both recently and said, why can’t the two be one?

Enter The Cookie Cups.

Nicole moved from New York to Minneapolis four years ago to start her own marketing firm. Making the jump from the cities and the entire entrepreneurial process made her realise that while marketing for others, her time could be better spent marketing her own brand. Thus the idea for the Cookie Cups was born.

“Doing marketing for other companies made me realize I could be branding for myself”

Having played around with the idea for a bakery for a while, Bandklayder was surprised to find that the mix of cookie and cupcake was a pioneering idea. She became fixated by the idea of the Cookie Cup - cookie dough shaped in the form of a cupcake and topped with cupcake icing - and with her marketing background, she was quick to begin the process of launching her new business venture.

The Cookie Cups are currently producing ten flavours for the line, some of which are gluten free, and is rotating in seasonal selections. They won’t be alone in the bakeries however - as she has also been developing a coffee line to coincide with her baked goods production, CookieCups Gourmet Coffee co.

When we originally spoke to The Cookie Cups founder she was searching for her location in Minneapolis, since then, she has not only chosen her location, but has also begun construction on the kitchen. A crowdfunding campaign proved lucrative and raised $5050 which Bandklayder says “will go toward kitchen appliances like our commercial mixer, convection oven and a few other crucial pieces.” The kitchen under construction and pictured below, will be fitted and ready for baking in the middle of February.

Bandklayder is in talks with QVC to do a segment, and grocery stores to get into the bakery section of bigger stores, and down the road she envisions one or two hundred Cookie Cups bakeries. We can't wait to see how this new cult dessert turns out!

"Down the road I see one or two hundred bakeries, kind of like a mini version of Dunkin' Donuts" - Nicole Bandklayder