This week, sitting in her new bakery still felt like a dream to Maddie Callicot.
“The whole first month, I don’t think I thought it was real,” she said. “It sounds cliche, it’s a dream come true. Every now and then, I’m like, ‘Am I really doing this? Is this really happening?’”
Callicot learned to bake at an early age, whipping up sweets alongside her grandmother during the holidays. Since then, she has lent a hand in several bakeries in the Kansas City area — including Connie’s Cookies in Overland Park.
As Easter inches closer, the bakery at 9224 Metcalf Ave. is busy baking and icing the colorful cookies that customers at Connie’s Cookies have come to know and love. But this spring, there’s a key difference: the bakery is now Callicot’s.
Callicot took over Connie’s Cookies from its previous owners this past winter. With a new sign on the way and new menu items coming, this spring marks the shop’s official beginning as Maddie Rae’s Bakery — with Callicot now at the helm.
Maddie Rae’s Bakery opened at 9224 Metcalf Ave.
- The bakery operates in a space at the Regency Park shopping center in Overland Park.
- It’s next to her father’s veterinary hospital, Petworks Veterinary Hospital, and incoming eatery Chicken Salad Chick.
- Maddie Rae’s Bakery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Maddie Rae’s Bakery offers old favorites and new treats
The name of the bakery officially changed from Connie’s Cookies to Maddie Rae’s Bakery last month.
The name of the bakery has a tie to Callicot’s family, incorporating her own first name and her grandfather’s first name, Ray.
At the bakery’s counter, customers can still find cookies in a variety of forms, such as iced sugar, snickerdoodle and peanut butter.
“The quality of the cookie hasn’t changed,” Callicot said. “It’s still the great recipe that (Connie’s customers) know.”
Callicot said she plans to also offer some new breakfast pastries like cinnamon rolls, croissants and muffins.
She hopes to offer both ready-to-go items at the counter and custom orders for items like cakes and cupcakes.
Callicot’s background as a baker goes back a long way
After learning to bake at 11 years old, Callicot enjoyed it so much that she began holding bake sales. Then in middle school, she launched a home-based venture called “You Take the Cake,” baking birthday cakes and cupcakes for family and friends.
She went on to continue honing her culinary skills at Shawnee Mission South High School’s student-operated Broadmoor Bistro, before earning a baking and pastry certification through Johnson County Community College’s culinary program. During her time at JCCC, she also spent six months taking baking courses in Florence, Italy.
Callicot came on board at Connie’s Cookies — which also happened to be right next to her father’s veterinary hospital, Petworks Veterinary Hospital — in Overland Park.
Though she eventually moved on to helping out at some other local bakeries after three years, she’d enjoyed her time at Connie’s Cookies and continued to follow the bakery online. So when Callicot heard last fall that the bakery’s owners were looking to either close their doors or put the bakery into new hands, it felt like a “full circle” moment.
“The opportunity kind of fell into my lap a little bit,” she said. “It was pretty quick.”
Though her bakery is technically new, Callicot said customers have happily transferred their support from Connie’s Cookies to Maddie Rae’s Bakery.
“I really can’t complain, I’m lucky to have such a supportive customer base,” she said. “It was a little bit like coming home. It’s just really cool to come back and kind of get to make it my own.”
Want more food and drink news? Ice cream shop Betty Rae’s making debut in Overland Park this week
