What started as a hobby picked up during COVID-19 is now a gourmet cookie company, Milk Mustache owner Tracy Jones said.

How it happened

Jones said as the city was shutting down due to the pandemic, she thought of productive things to do with the extra time she had at home and challenged herself to create the best cookie recipe from scratch.

After three weeks of trial and error, Jones said she perfected her recipe and decided to donate the cookies to doctors and nurses in need of extra support during the pandemic.

“​​Our signature baking technique is a crunchy exterior but a nice soft, gooey interior, not raw—just baked to perfection,” Jones said.

After making these donations, Jones said she received positive feedback about her cookies, and people requested more. The appreciation shown by others led Jones to start a cookie company that would help her feel connected to others.

The framework

Milk Mustache began selling its cookies online in October 2020, offering nationwide services through its website. The factory located in Cy-Fair at 13718 Office Park Drive, Houston, was the framework in which the magic happened, Jones said.

Upon customer request, the factory location opened its doors to the public in January 2021. Milk Mustache later opened as a retail space in the Galleria area in December 2022.

What's on the menu?

Milk Mustache offers over 100 flavors of cookies, cookie cakes and edible cookie dough. Jones said she plans to add milkshakes to the menu in the future. While Milk Mustache has a variety of flavors, there are only 12 standard flavors available all year long. Other flavors include seasonal, pop culture-themed and newly developed flavors.

Milk Mustache cookies are individually hand-rolled and weighed on a scale to ensure size and quality standards.

The company ensures quality by holding weekly meetings in which cookie products are taste tested, Jones said.

“One thing I would say sets us apart from other places is our quality standards that are focused on operational excellence. Our skilled employees are friendly, courteous, helpful and quality focused. We source the finest ingredients. But with all of that, it's very important for us to make sure that when we are producing our cookies, we're consistent,” Jones said.

Today, Milk Mustache offers the full cookie shop experience with in-person services at both locations along with local delivery nationwide shipping. Preorders are not necessary as the shop manages its cookie products to be fully stocked with fresh cookie products baked daily.