IN THE KITCHEN
RECIPE
A DRIZZLE CAN’T HURT Fitness coaches find sideline success making ‘bad-for-you cookies.’ STORY: THERESA CAMPBELL
≈ PHOTOS: ANTHONY RAO
est friends, fitness coaches and competitors Ashley Bowden and Morgan Williams were in the kitchen in July 2019 with a desire to create healthy cookies. Their plan didn’t work. “They were disgusting,” Ashley says. Even her husband, Nick, chimed in at the time saying, “Y’all should never make cookies again.” However, Ashley, 30, of Mount Dora, and Morgan, 29, of Tampa, weren’t going to let a cookie flop stop them. Savoring cookies and Tito’s vodka “has always been our thing,” says Ashley, referring to the “cheat meals” they would enjoy after fitness competitions. They just wanted to try their hand at making their own cookies. “Since our attempt to make healthy cookies was an epic fail, we decided right away that we were going to make ‘bad-for-you cookies,’’’ Ashley says.
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The pair went to work experimenting with their own recipes for cookies embedded with candies, cookie crumbles and topped with a sweet drizzle of icing for a crowning touch. Ashley, a full-time assistant physical therapist, started making cookies for her family, her patients and Morgan’s competitions. Then the two began meeting at Morgan’s house every weekend to perfect the recipes and come up with more flavors. From their own love for cookies, they felt it was a great business opportunity. Ashley had always wanted to open a bakery, and Morgan’s research found that there weren’t many cookie companies in Florida. “One day, Morgan decided to put icing on one of the cookies,” Ashley says. “We started drizzling it and said, ‘Hey, we should do this on every cookie.’ … We went to the gym later that day and were on the treadmill trying to come up with a business name and we didn’t want it to be just cookies. Morgan yelled out ‘Drizzle’ because every cookie would have drizzle on it, and we instantly fell in love with it.” Drizzle Cookie Co. was formed in October 2019 as a strictly online company that ships cookies all over the
