Do you ever meet someone and you’re just in awe of their ambition and how much they are able to accomplish in a day? Well get ready, because our newest Featured Baker, Kaitlyn Axtell, has goals and the energy to accomplish them! Detroit-area baker and owner of Double Batch Confections is a proud wife, mother of twin girls (hence the Double Batch name), ICU nurse at night and grad-student with dreams as high as she can stack her cookies!
Kaitlyn learned the basics of baking from her mom growing up, but it wasn’t until August of 2021 when the baker for her daughters’ birthday party was on vacation, that she dove in! “How hard can it be?” Kaitlyn thought (and laughs as she reflects). Realizing how much she enjoyed making cookies and how she seemed to have a natural gift, she started making goodies for friends. This soon turned into a business opportunity and Double Batch Confections was born! Kaitlyn loves the creativity and the opportunity it provides her to balance what can be stressful ICU work.
why stop at ICU nurse and bakery owner?
Kaitlyn admittedly thrives in chaos and is soon starting graduate school to become a Nurse Anesthetist. But it doesn’t stop there…who needs a coffee?! Once she’s done with school and established in her career, Kaitlyn plans to open a bakery specializing in daily small batch treats. “Cupcakes and cookies and donuts” are just a few confections that Kaitlyn would love to offer. So, watch out world, Kaitlyn will save lives by night and bring smiles to customers by day. When is she going to sleep? I don’t know…I should’ve asked; but I’m confident she has a plan.
What is Kaitlyn Known For?
You mean aside from her ambition and optimism? She loves the creative freedom that custom cookie sets offer. Some customers come to her knowing exactly what they want, and Kaitlyn is happy to deliver on exactly that. Other customers give her creative freedom and she thrives on this. Regardless, Kaitlyn is known for delighting her customers with creating exactly what they want – their vision or hers.
Kaitlyn’s cookies are also unique in that she rolls her cookies 10mm thick, which she affectionately calls “thick boys”. These “substantial” cookies have grown quite a fan base too! As a member of her local Chamber of Commerce and having supported one of their Famer’s Markets, she has grown quite a following of customers who love her thick boys. Kaitlyn loves being a part of and partnering with her local community, sometimes doing pop-up shops at the local flower shop “I love their arrangements” and bubble tea shop “where I get my bubble tea”. Her cookies and bubbly personality partner perfectly to bring extra smiles within the community.
Thank Goodness for Bakers Like Kaitlyn
There are also a couple key skills that Kaitlyn really enjoys when making cookies! It’s worth mentioning because these happen to be skills that many bakers shy away from. Let’s all take a moment to appreciate Kaitlyn’s love for hand-lettering on her cookies. Bakers everywhere just gasped. I literally said “Bless your heart” when she confessed this.
She also really enjoys hand-sketch drawing on her cookies, like in the Mario Bros set featured here.
Is There Anything Kaitlyn Can’t Do?
Honestly? I don’t think so. But when we spoke about challenges she spoke about “finding time” to do all the things that go along with having a bakery and balancing life as a wife, mom and nurse. For those that own a baking business, it’s a very relatable challenge. You’re a skilled artist, social media and marketing manager, customer relations expert, inventory guru, photographer and many other things.
Kaitlyn also talked about “realizing my self-worth”. We spoke about building that confidence to recognize, appreciate and charge appropriately for the talent you have.
Featured Baker Kaitlyn’s morsels of Advice
When asked what advice she has for others considering starting baking or decorating as a hobby or business, Kaitlyn has good advice. “Have patience. It takes time to get traction.” And “have confidence”, Kaitlyn expressed as she encourages others to approach businesses, make some cold-calls and really put yourself out there. She also said, “Go 100% in, you can’t half-ass it”. I don’t think she realized it, but this is clearly how Kaitlyn approaches life, she doesn’t half-ass it.
And when asked which three things she can’t live without for her business? “My Bosch mixer, which was my Christmas gift, my projector and my dehydrator.” If you don’t decorate cookies, this list may seem intriguing; but for those that do, we’re all nodding in agreement.
How to COnnect with Kaitlyn
This self-taught confectionary artist is always busy but never too busy to talk cookies! While she specializes in cookies, she also dabbles in beautiful cakes (evidence below) and is open to all custom requests! But don’t ask her for her recipes, those are TOP secret after years of perfecting, and with good reason.
If you can’t find her playing with her twin daughters, serving patients in the ICU, studying, or supporting a local business, you can connect with her by the following ways! You can also visit her website HERE! And you do not want to miss the works of art below, please enjoy these photos of Kaitlyn’s work!
Never miss a new recipe, decorating technique or Featured Baker story! For more inspiration and to see our previous talented Featured Bakers, visit HERE!
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