BROOKFIELD, Wis. — Cookies by Design has been in the Brookfield, Wis., community for 20-plus years. Julia Ritchie took over the business a year ago. 

“I’m a trained chocolatier and I was looking for a commercial kitchen to do chocolate in, so I found this and decided, ‘What the heck, why not?’” said Ritchie. 

While her specialty is making chocolates, Ritchie said she’s come to love baking cookies. She said Cookies by Design had multiple orders for the Fourth of July, something she was happy to see.

“The business survived the pandemic,” said Ritchie. “After the pandemic, it’s fallen off it [a] bit, but we’re still holding in there. We’re holding our own.”

But it hasn’t always been easy. She said the cost of supplies has increased drastically in the past year. 

“It’s flour, sugar, chocolate,” said Ritchie. “When I bought the business, a 20-pound box of Hershey’s chocolate chips was about $80. Now, it’s $100 just for chocolate chips.”

Plus, there’s also the competition with big chain bakeries.

Even though supply and labor prices are increasing, Ritchie said she doesn’t think a cookie will ever go out of style. 

“Items that make you feel comfortable — like comfort goes up as the economy goes down; those sales go up,” said Ritchie. “Nostalgia: That’s a warm chocolate chip cookie. I don’t think those sales are ever going to go away.” 

Long-time employee Kim Michaels said nothing compares to their made-with-love cookies. 

“I love it,” said Michaels. “It’s relaxing. You learn something new every day and it’s a family. We’re all family here.”