An accountant by trade, Nicole Rhoads has been baking since middle school and often thought about opening a bakery. When she moved from Chapel Hill, N.C., to Atlanta last year, she decided to go for it. But a traditional bakery was not what she had in mind.
“When you eat baked goods you feel sort of guilty,” she says. “I wanted to give people nutrient-rich options.”
Her business, Sweet Sassy Molassey Bakeshop, makes everything from scratch using slow absorbing whole grains, unrefined sugars, and organic ingredients like pumpkin, walnuts, rolled oats, and crystallized ginger. She uses fair trade chocolate, unsweetened coconut flakes, and sucanat sugar made with dehydrated sugar cane juice. The results are not nearly as limiting as one might think.
She offers a variety of cookies, including gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip, almond butter chocolate chip, and Oh Snap gingersnaps, as well as cupcakes, muffins, brownies, and even dog treats. Some of her more unique offerings include Molassey spice muffins, almond toffee, and Cardamom-Nom-Nom fudge brownies.
You can order by the dozen online, and orders are either hand-delivered or shipped directly to you. Rhoads also plans to sell at art and food festivals, such as the Dunwoody Art Festival, throughout the year.
A portion of the proceeds from all orders benefits Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. “We really care about the community we live in and giving back,” Rhoads says.
For more information or to order, visit sweetsassymolasseybakeshop.com
