Out to Lunch with Payton: Sweet Treat O’Clock

Welcome back, foodies!

In my last column, we dove into the latest cheesy creations by Shaken Not Spurred Events and Mobile Bar’s new food truck. This week, things are taking a sweeter turn as we explore the addicting delights from Ashland’s own Sugar Fix Bakery, who will be celebrating their 10-year anniversary this Independence Day.

Melinda Foster has owned and operated Sugar Fix Bakery since July 4, 2015. For five years, before opening their brick-and-mortar storefront, Foster sold her custom cookies right out of her own kitchen.

“I’ve always had a love for the craft,” said Foster.

Growing up, Foster would always bake with her grandmother, who taught her all her most valuable recipes and skills.

“She was around all of the time and lived next door,” said Foster. “She taught us so much stuff, but the sugar cookie recipe that I use was her recipe that we used to use growing up.”

Foster attributes much of her love for baking to her grandmother and cherishes the memories that they were able to create by spending time together and learning from her in the kitchen. Foster is also the mother of six children and comes from a big family as well.

“We just celebrate with food and baking, and all of the things that just bring us together,” said Foster. “It makes me happy, and it makes me happy seeing how [food and baking] makes other people happy.”

Foster began playing with the idea of having her own baking business in 2008. It was a time of uncertainty as the economy declined, and her and her husband had just welcomed a baby.

“I was just like, what can I do?” said Foster.

Foster is the oldest of four sisters, all who have established their own specialized businesses. Their continuous support and encouragement allowed Foster to take the leap and expand her talents. She began making cookies for friends and family, and eventually her business began drawing in more customers seeking out her sweet treats.

“I feel like it’s probably every home baker’s dream to own their own brick-and-mortar space,” said Foster. “It was a scary time for a lot of people, and I tell people that I really felt like people wanted these cookies, like these cookies made them happy.”

Sugar Fix bakery offers their signature decorated sugar cookies with customization options, as well as an assortment of other cookie flavors, brownies, cupcakes and cookie cakes, as well cookie decorating classes. Over the past decade, they have done custom orders for special events, corporate events and nonprofit donations.

“We’ve done so many different things over the years,” said Foster. “We’ve done lots of donations to people when they come to us from different organizations that are raising money [for a cause], we try to support the community.”

As they reach the 10-year mark, the storefront itself is undergoing a bit of a makeover. Foster opened up about the harsher realities of owning a business and said that she’s been using the knowledge and experience that she has gained over the past decade to bring her ideal bakery vision to life.

“We’re kind of in a transition right now with the way it looks,” said Foster. “It was like a dream come true, but at the same time, it was the hard smack in the face of the reality of what it is to own a small business. It was hard, to this day it’s still hard, but when we first opened it was so dreamy, and then I’ve got payroll, I’ve got taxes, I’ve got insurance; I’ve got all these things, on top of bills and materials, so it’s taken time to get here,”

Foster is excited about the new bakery renovations, hoping to create an even more welcoming space with new furniture and display casings for customers to come and enjoy their delightful treats.

Through all the changes and growth over the past decade, community support has always remained constant.

“A good highlight over the past 10 years is truly the community and the people in it that bring the energy and life to it. It’s just so sweet to hear the stories from customers about our products is so amazing and heartfelt,” said Foster. “When people take the time to send us emails and thank us for the time and thought we put into each order and what it meant to them… These cookies bring smiles to people.”

The review.

The Chocolate Chip Trolley was my overall favorite of the different cookies. The dough was soft and chewy with an excellent balance of warm brown butter-like dough and perfectly melted dark chocolate chunks. There’s an almost nostalgic feeling to the flavor that feels like home.

The Peanut Butter Cookie is a peanut butter lover’s dream. The dough itself isn’t too sweet or rich and is a great peanut butter cookie base with a Reese’s peanut butter cup on top to bring in sweet chocolate to balance the peanut butter flavor. The Reese’s was a unique twist to a classic favorite that held its shape well and wasn’t too messy.

The signature Decorated Sugar Cookie is the “OG” of the bakery. The designs are beautifully crafted and taste amazing as well. The sugar cookie dough isn’t too sweet with a nice buttery flavor with a firm, yet soft, structure. The icing has a slight crunch and doesn’t have an overwhelming sweetness. This is probably one of the best sugar cookies I’ve had in a very long time.

The Bubba J Brownie is my top recommendation for a chocolate lover. Going in, I wasn’t anticipating trying a brownie, let alone having one that was going to blow me away like this one. It is extremely soft and fudgy with chocolate chips mixed in. The chocolate flavor is rich, but not sickly rich. Although they are famous for their cookies, I would not overlook this creation.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend Sugar Fix Bakery to my sweet tooth readers. If you’re looking for fresh baked goods that feel like home, this is the spot for you.

Tips encouraged.

As you should do at the end of any lunch, I want to leave my readers with a “tip”. However, these will be for cooking rather than monetary, from the local chefs in their own community.

Owner, Melinda Foster’s tip for readers:

“You need to make sure your butter is cold and that you put your dough in the refrigerator or freezer for five minutes before you bake them. A lot of the times when you’re working with butter, it will soften and cause the cookie to expand. The cold will keep the structure, and they will stay nice and thick.”

I’m excited to continue this journey of connecting more with The Local readers’ community during my lunch hour. Eat well, tip well.