Visiting One Girl Cookies is kind of like coming home after a long day. For one, everyone seems to be family here at One Girl Cookies. The waitresses are friendly and helpful, and the owners, Dawn Casale and her husband David Crofton, seem to know everyone who walks in the door by name. For another, the cookies and sweets here are not only delicious but comforting and evocative of childhood memories. Gobbl made its way to the relaxing Brooklyn shop to talk with the founder, Dawn, about the beginnings, her current projects, and her love for cookies.

Gobbl: When did you get the idea to start One Girl Cookies?
Dawn: I had previously worked at Barneys as an accessories manager. I loved my job but I was ready for something new and in the culinary world. I just got to the point where it was the right time. I really just left and it wasn’t even clear at first that it would be cookies. But as I thought about it, I realized there was a void in the cookie world.

Gobbl: Why did you think that?
Dawn: I loved cookies from an early age and no matter what culture you grow up with, you grow up eating cookies. But unlike chocolates which are packaged so beautifully and with such care, cookies never got that same kind of respect. They were always just thrown in a tin or something. So I wanted to elevate cookies to that kind of level where they would be made special and pretty. I wanted them to be special and more giftable.

Gobbl: How did you launch your business?
Dawn: I started it in my apartment. Though I didn’t have a formal pastry background, I came from a very culinary family and I had really learned to appreciate food and its ability to bring people together and make them happy. I had also learned how to prepare certain foods and to use old school techniques. The first leap of growth started when I rented kitchen space from a caterer. It was so nice to have a professional kitchen and I didn’t even know how cramped I was before till then. This current shop was the next move. That happened almost 3 years ago.

Gobbl: What’s the classic collection?
Dawn: The classic collection are the 6 cookies that I started the company with. I played around, played mad scientist but since I didn’t have formal background, it was difficult to do more, to really delve into the recipe. As I wanted to expand the business more, I found I needed someone with schooling so I hired Dave who was in pastry school at the time.

Gobbl: Are you still heavily involved in the kitchen?
Dawn: I’m definitely more into packaging and marketing. Everything in the kitchen is usually handled by Dave and his team.

Gobbl: Do you miss working in the kitchen?
Dawn: It depends. As the company began to grow, I needed to remove myself to handle the business aspect of it. I really like running a business and that’s how most of my day is spent. I also really enjoy meeting brides and working with them to create their wedding favors.

Gobbl: Are you thinking about expanding?
Dawn: We talk about it but at this point, a second location is in the very back of our minds. We have a number of projects going on. We’re doing Joyful Cakes which are these lovely, designed cakes. They’re perfect for things like a small bridal shower or wedding. We also have cookie bars for weddings and other events.

Gobbl: You also have Confection, the dessert bar on weekend nights. How is that project going?

Dawn: Confection is great. It’s every Friday and Saturday from 8:00pm to 10:30pm and we convert the entire space. All the stuff comes down (the packaged cookies, etc.), we dim the lights, change the music, light candles. There’re three desserts that rotate every week. It’s very seasonal, very a la farmer’s market. There are also the standards like the whoopie pie flights which stay on the menu every week. We just got a liquor license so now we can pair the desserts with a beautiful rose or moscato or other wine. We thought it would be a nice addition to the Smith St. community, and the customers have come to look forward to what the menu will be each weekend.

Gobbl: Your whoopie pies are very famous. They were on NYMag’s best ice cream sandwich list two years back (ranked #1) and the people at Batch love them!
Dawn: That’s actually a funny little story. Whoopie pies are a Pennsylvania Dutch dessert. A friend of ours was getting married where there was a large Amish population and in the welcome basket, there were these whoopie pies. We brought them back and played around with them. We first served them as a special during the weekend. They took off and if we didn’t have them now, there would be a revolt. Our customers really love them and I think it’s because there’s this childhood quality to it. The cakey texture and the creamy filling really remind people of their childhood desserts. There are all kinds of funny stories related to our whoopie pies; people even call them crackpies because they swear we put crack in them. They’re named whoopie pies because it’s the exclamation of joy after you taste them.

Gobbl: Dave’s little introduction mentioned a disaster with a batch of Lucia’s in his early days with One Girl Cookies. What was that about?
Dawn: He loves that story! So Lucia is a made in a half sheet tray. It’s a very long process. Lucia has several layers—a shortbread layer, caramel, and chocolate. The caramel layer is stirred by hand for 1 to 1.5 hours so it’s very labor intensive and time consuming. You have to turn them over on a board and cut by hand with a very sharp knife for precision. Dave had started cutting them with something like a spatula and there were all these little shards of Lucias everywhere. I remember being horrified because it’s expensive and time consuming. Of course I forgave him. He felt terrible!

Gobbl: How did you decide upon this space?
Dawn: We loved living in this neighborhood and its sense of community. That’s really why we chose this place. We were a small business and we really wanted a place where people would appreciate and support us. We looked at a lot of different places around Smith St. and this one worked out the best. It’s really beautiful and we’re so happy to own it. At first, we thought it’d be so bad for business because it wasn’t right on Smith St. but in retrospect, it makes it more of a destination and people who come here, really want to find us. I think people also end up happening upon us at one point or another.

Gobbl: Where do you enjoy eating out?
Dawn: This could have been your entire interview! All of them. Locally, I like Chesnut. It’s innovative and respects the season and that’s very important to me. In Manhattan, I love P*ong. I really admire Pichet. Recently we’ve gone to Mas Farmhouse and I really loved that. Smith’s I love; it’s got great design and innovative menus. I like Five Points and go often. I like going to Manhattan and seeing what’s new and exciting. I’m really just a restaurant person.

Tags: Confection, Dawn Casale, One Girl Cookies