Matthew & Nicole, two siblings who are entrepreneurs from New Jersey with a passion for baking & Aruba! Growing up with severe food allergies, including dairy, peanuts, and tree nuts, limited our sweet treat options. Nicole baked dairy- and nut-free chocolate chip cookies for family and friends, and they became a favorite, often surprising people with their allergen-free quality. Nicole would always get told “when you grow up you should own a cookie business, but she was only 12 and saw it as a hobby. These cookies are now known on our menu as our allergy-free “OG Chocolate Chip” cookies.
A few years later, Nicole's culinary journey began at Freehold Boro H.S Culinary Arts & Baking Program, which is where her love for baking started. In March 2020, during COVID, Nicole had just come home from vacation in Aruba. Having so much free time, she decided to create a stuffed cookie for the first time and it was a complete hit. It is now known as the “Ultimate Duo”. After making countless Ultimate Duo stuffed cookies for family and friends, Nicole was thrilled by their enthusiastic response. The overwhelming positive feedback inspired and motivated her to launch a cookie business. She continued to craft more flavors to create a menu. A few months later Nicole launched The Cookie Castle Co. her senior year of college, mid term week in her college apartment. It was the craziest week of her life, and the launch was met with overwhelming support.
In 2021, Nicole graduated from FDU with a degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management and a minor in Event Planning while Matthew had just graduated high school. The Cookie Castle Co. was swamped with orders, prompting Matthew to join the business. The business was thriving, so we moved into our first commercial kitchen space. We launched an e-commerce site, shipped cookies nationwide, and began selling them in local stores. During this time, Matthew luckily had outgrown his food allergies, so he was able to do so much more in the kitchen! Matthew played a crucial role by creating additional allergy-friendly options to our menu.
Now you may ask how The Cookie Castle Co. got to Palm Beach, Aruba?! Well, we have traveled to Aruba every year since we were newborns. We have always loved Aruba and wanted to bring something new and exciting to the island! While on vacation in 2022, we shared our cookies with friends in Aruba and received incredibly positive feedback. Inspired by this positive feedback, we envisioned bringing our cookies to paradise, merging our passion with the One Happy Island!
With lots of love,
Matthew & Nicole
