Meet Sean Gooden, aka “The Cookie Man,” owner and lead baker of GoodenSweet Cookies. He is a third-generation East Austinite. Sean got his start baking and selling cookies from scratch in high school. Back then called his business “Gooden Ready Cookies”. He sold chocolate chip cookies for only fifty cents apiece, called “World’s Famous” by his brother Anthony. This is quite the bargain if you have ever tried one of his cookies!
Baking is just another form of artistry for Sean. Also having a love for music, he played the baritone in the band and said if he had played a different instrument he probably would have been a professional musician. Sean and his brother Anthony also both have a background in martial arts. In fact, it has been a lifelong pursuit and after training for 21 years Sean became a 2nd-degree blackbelt in Shaolin-Do Kung Fu & Tai Chi and is hoping to test to become a 3rd-degree blackbelt soon. In 2008, Anthony lost his life due to a sparring accident. Sean channeled his grief into his business, which he began in honor of his brother.
So, why are the cookies square?
When Sean started making cookies in high school, he was making them the “normal” way, spooning out the dough one cookie at a time. Very quickly he realized how much time it was taking and that if he was going to do this right, efficiency was going to be key. So he thought, “Why don’t I try spreading it all onto the sheet and see what happens,” and he’s been doing it that way ever since. Once he found an efficient way to get the dough onto the pans, he had to find a way to get it off so he cut the cookies into squares! His catchphrase for the brand is: “All natural. Square. Just can’t share!”
Sean decided to finally take the business really seriously around 2010-2011, which was just a few years after his brother passed. The first year was spent in the experimental kitchen. During the first six months, he worked on developing his base recipe. He focused on the correct measurements and really perfecting the science of the perfect cookie. The next six months were focused on the flavors. He made over 35 flavors and ended up throwing away a lot of cookies (to my dismay!)! In the end, he was left with the best of the best, and those are the ones that made it into the rotation and got their own individual names and personalities. Most of the names of the cookies are tied back to Sean’s love of music like the Sledgehammer, which is one of his favorite flavors.
How can you get GoodenSweet Cookies?
GoodenSweet Cookies are handmade fresh to order! They are available to ship nationwide and will arrive in vacuum-sealed packaging, keeping the cookies fresh for up to two weeks. You can even get them delivered from the website via Door Dash, Grub Hub, and Uber Eats. For events or large crowds, what could be better than cookies? GoodenSweet Cookies has a party pack available for pick up or delivery via EzCater. The party pack includes fifty cookies, each individually wrapped and sealed for freshness and safety. There are 20 World’s Famous, and 10 each of Cranberry Moon, Snackerdude, and Sledgehammer. Visit www.goodensweetcookies.com to place your order and check out any specials that may be going on!
You can also stop by the theGoodenSweet Cookies production facility to pick up some cookies. They are located at 5610 N. IH35, right across from Capital Plaza in Austin, Texas.
And, now everybody coming and going from Austin can get their hands on some GoodenSweet Cookies! You can find them in the Austin Bergstrom International Airport located in the Fifth & Congress store near Gate 28.
Don’t miss Sean’s full interview on my YouTube channel!
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