HAVE YOU ever looked at a cookie or cake with such an elaborate design that you thought, “There’s no way those can taste as good as they look.”? We’re talking pastel flower icing petals that look more real than a bouquet arranged by a florist and crisp, clear lettering that looks like a machine has printed the text. This type of high-caliber creative ingenuity can be seen in Sami Kay Cookie designs. And the best part is, the cookies taste as good as they look, if not better!
Appropriately, taste is one thing that Sami Kay Cookies’ owner Samantha Zimmerman shared, that matters most to her! She said, “Taste, for me, is more important than the look. I’ve always struggled with fancy cookies, as they look awesome, but they don’t always taste the best.” And taste means everything to the little girl sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor at her grandmother’s house, licking a spoon as the official taste-tester would.
Zimmerman has countless memories of sitting on her paternal grandmother Madonna’s kitchen floor. Sprawled out with baking pans and measuring cups, the two would bake the afternoons away, making birthday cakes, cookies, and all kinds of sweet treats. Zimmerman shared, “My grandmother had nine children of her own, but she always made time for her grandkids. If she was doing something on the kitchen counter, she would pull a stool up and let us dig our hands into whatever it was. Though I’m sure she never used the dough we touched, she did make us feel like we were included. My grandmother saw where our interests were and nurtured them. My love of baking stems from that time spent with her and those memories on the kitchen floor.
Sweetly enough, Zimmerman’s side hustle, Sami Kay Cookies, took off as she sought to serve her own daughter and friends well. Zimmerman, a mom of two, had been playing around and decorating cookies for a while before she decided to bring some in on the first day of her daughter’s preschool. She said, “When you have kids, you just kind of progressively start doing stuff for them. For me, I started playing with decorating cookies and then decided to take them to my daughter Taylor’s preschool on the first day of school. A few people saw them on social media and asked if I did cookies. I said, ‘Sure. Why not?’ That was 2019 when I first started taking custom orders. Since then, orders have consistently come. I’ve actually shipped cookies internationally, which is crazy.”
Running Sami Kay Cookies and being a full-time mom and wife are not Zimmerman’s only feats. This supermom served in the Army for 12 years and works as a full time talent acquisition partner for Archer Aviation. She shared, “It is hard, you know, trying to work a full-time job, have kids, have a normal life, and give my family the attention they need. But for me, I find it [baking and creating] very therapeutic. To conceptualize an idea that somebody gives me, use the creative side of my brain, and then see the idea come to life is rewarding. I’ve also met so many amazing people in the community because of the cookie business, which is also rewarding.”
Zimmerman continued, “I’m not going to lie… it’s hard. It’s stressful. There are many, many sleepless nights, because a lot of the decoration and baking takes place after my kids go to bed. After my family is asleep or in the wee hours of the morning before they wake up is when I’ll put the final touches on everything. I have definitely asked myself why I am doing this. But then I get that little message from a client saying, ‘Oh my gosh! It’s wonderful!’ or ‘You’ve really made an impact here!’ and those things keep me moving.”
Wildly enough, Zimmerman has not had any formal training. She has not attended the first seminar or decorating course. She is completely selftaught. She shared, “I watched many YouTube videos on perfecting a specific technique and then just practiced, practiced, and practiced. There have been a lot of failure moments where I had to restart because the designs did not look right. But I am grateful to be able to try different techniques and grow and progress along the way.”
When asked about future plans for Sami Kay Cookies, Zimmerman shared that a long-term goal would be to open a brick-and-mortar store. She shared, “Maybe when my kids are a little bit older and grown, and life isn’t as crazy, I’d want to open my own bakery.” For now, Zimmerman is content propping her daughter, Taylor, up on their kitchen counter and letting her join in on the baking fun. Together, the girls bake and create, making enough cookies for the cookie thieves in the house: Jaxon, her son, and Brian, her husband.
If you have yet to taste the famous Sami Kay cookies, Zimmerman provides a few opportunities to do so, as she is the host of a few different events each year. Zimmerman shared, “Sami Kay’s has grown into more than just custom cookies. It’s more of a way to connect.” Zimmerman hosts two Ladies Night events at Promise Manor in Lynchburg. One is in February, and the other is in October. Additionally, she hosts a “Cookies with Mrs. Claus” cookie decorating class. Zimmerman said, “At this class, parents and kids can come, have fun decorating cookies, see Santa, and just laugh and play together.” For more information on Sami Kay Cookies custom orders or related events, visit samikaycookies.com. GN
