Soft but crispy. Dense and delicious. Meet the six-ounce New York style cookie, compliments of the newly established KCookies in Olathe, Kansas. These heavenly hunks are unlike any other cookie you can find in the Kansas City Metro area. Just ask owner Christina Jokerst, because she has tried.
“When it became clear I couldn’t find anything like that, I decided I would try and make my own!” she said.
The obsession to recreate the perfect chocolate chip cookies began in 2018 after a trip to New York City with her husband, Jeff. While he was occupied with work, Christina would venture the streets of the Big Apple and eventually stumbled across Levain Bakery, where she encountered a life-altering piece of paradise.
“I ordered one chocolate chip walnut, paid for the cookie, walked outside and sat on a bench. I could feel the cookie was still warm, so I took it out and broke off a piece. The second I put it in my mouth I thought I died and went to heaven,” she said.
Once she returned to Kansas City, Jokerst searched high and low for something that resembled her experience in New York City. Channeling her inner childhood and the memories of baking with her grandmother, she got to work in her own kitchen before the thought of starting a business ever crossed her mind.
“I took all my knowledge from past baking and started creating the recipe that would later be called ‘The Duke’. I would bake a batch a day for a year, keeping a notebook of each bake, what I did, what I changed, what I liked, what I didn’t like,” Jokerst said. “It was not unusual for Jeff to come home and find a trash can full of cookies.”
One of the ways Jokerst learned to bake as a girl was by using her senses. Guided by her grandmother, she built her base of knowledge upon instinct.
“We did most of our bread baking by touch and sight because she didn’t have any recipes written down,” Jokerst said. “She would bring me over and say, ‘Feel this, see this, watch for this.’ Eventually, I started to pick up on things and know when to add more flour or water or when the dough was ready to go into the oven.”
Jokerst sought feedback on her chocolate chip wonders from anyone and everyone who would try them – friends, neighbors, family, even Amazon drivers! Eventually, the cost made it impossible to continue handing out free cookies. Thus, the idea of a business was born.
“One night, Jeff saw a credit card bill with the price I was spending on chocolate and butter and choked on his water,” Jokerst said. “He made a website and said, ‘Let's try it for two months and if it doesn’t go our way, we will never talk about it again.’ That was three years ago!”
In the years since that night, Jokerst began selling a variety of cookies at different pop-up events around the city. Her creations were so wildly popular, people would wait in line for hours and would sell her out in no time.
“Kansas City took us in and started supporting us right off the bat,” she said. “I would wake up at 4:00a.m. to start baking for these pop-ups, and every time I would be worried that no one would come!”
What started as worry is now a state of wonder! Those long lines and community support have not wavered. Now, the lines form in Olathe to support the opening of Jokerst’s first ever brick-and-mortar store on Harold Street.
“They tell their friends and families about us. They share about us on social media. Local businesses started reaching out and inviting us in. It makes you feel like you’re really part of a community and makes you want to give back to the community that supports you,” she said.
As many business owners would admit, getting started is no walk in the park. The days are long and the hours can be grueling. Jokerst went from solely baking to managing social media and juggling licenses and permits. However, she says the one steady aspect that brings the greatest reward is the connection she has formed with her community.
“It’s amazing how many regulars have become like friends and family. We have people who drive two hours one way to get cookies. Some of these people have been with me since day one. I’ve done their bridal showers, birthdays, weddings, gender reveals, and more. I know their kids and families, they ask about my dogs. It’s really a cool thing,” Jokerst said.
While the future is bright, Jokerst is determined to focus her efforts on making this original store the best it can be, while continuing to foster those community connections and encourage others who are interested in branching out into the business world.
“Start where you’re at and build,” she said. “You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment or a ton of money to start. We started with my home mixer and kitchen oven. We built our following very organically, one customer at a time. The hardest part is just getting started.”
Kansas City took us in and supported us right off the bat.