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Led by a White Plains-based couple, Baked in Heaven’s BIG take on home-baked cookies has customers crawling back for seconds.
Who doesn’t love a hot batch of freshly-baked cookies? For many, these simple, tasty treats bring back memories of home, family, and happiness. For one baking duo in Westchester, however, these delicious delights represent something more — a love, a passion, and a dream come true.
In March 2021, the inseparable Hannah Bander and Jonathan Goncher founded Baked in Heaven, a home bakery based in White Plains that aims to serve dessert lovers nationwide with innovative sweets. The couple, who met while attending class at Binghamton College nearly four years ago, have been hard at work turning their shared hobby and dream into a reality…one chock-full of oh-so-irresistible cookies at a time.
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“I’ve always been a home baker at heart,” says Hannah, a lifelong Westchester resident who has been stoking a passion for baking since childhood. “I still have memories of nine-year-old me hanging around the kitchen and getting yelled at by my mom for making a mess,” she explains. “I’m thankful I have someone to share my hobby with now.”
Jonathan echoes this sentiment: “When we first started, it was during the height of COVID, and things really changed under the lockdowns. Baking gave us not only something to do, but something to do together.”
Baked in Heaven specializes in Mega-Stuffed Cookies. Don’t let the name fool you, though; these aren’t your average, run-of-the-mill, chocolate-chipped goodies writ large. Each one has a giant base made out of, well, cookies. Inside is where the magic happens, as each is stuffed to the brim with a flavorful filling and crowned with an accompanying topping. The final result is a giant package of sweet goodness that could cause even the most disciplined sweet-eater’s will power to crumble (see what we did there?).
With twelve diverse flavors to choose from, customers of all stripes can expect to find a cookie that fits their taste. The Cookies & Cream Heaven caters to fans of the classics with a vanilla and Oreo cookie base and homemade cookies ‘n cream buttercream that’s topped with white chocolate dip and accompanying Oreos. More adventurous sweet-seekers would take interest in the Birthday Heaven cookie, which has a cookie base mixed with sprinkles and Funfetti, a vanilla buttercream stuffing, and a white chocolate glaze topped with a piece of homemade birthday cake.
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When asked for their faves, the couple was torn. “It’s really hard to choose because I love all of our flavors,” says Hannah, “but I’d have to go with Birthday Heaven. It’s a real classic and a lot of fun.”
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As for Jonathan: “I’m more of a chocolatey person, so I’d have to go with one of our chocolate-based ones. I’d go with the Slutty Brownie,” he says, which consists of a chocolate and Oreo mixed base, chocolate chip cookie dough stuffing, and a chocolate drip and brownie topping.
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Orders can be placed online, and Baked in Heaven also does special orders and catering, which they handle via the phone. Pro tip: Be on the lookout for limited-run seasonal flavors to help those with a sweet tooth get their festive on.
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Baked in Heaven
4 Martine Ave, White Plains; 845.641.6749
Related: Westchester’s Home-Based Bakers Make the County Sweeter
