Cookie Cravings: Maddi Hatter Cookie Company

The humble chocolate chip cookie is having a bit of a moment: According to one report by market research firm Data Intelo, the global chocolate chip cookie market is projected to reach over $30 billion by 2032. In New Hampshire, a handful of new cookie-focused bakeries aim to tap into that demand — and satisfy even funkier flavor cravings.

Here are three places that will make your sweet tooth sing.

• Maddi Hatter Cookie Company, Bow (profile below)
• Mama Bear’s Cookies, Sullivan
• BenjeeS Cookies, Keene

Maddi Hatter Cookie Company, Bow 

Sarah Guinther makes all the cookies for Maddi Hatter Cookie Company in her home kitchen. Her daughter Madeline, 8, has started helping her mom with her cookie business, too.

Before opening Maddi Hatter Cookie Company in 2022, Sarah Guinther spent 20 years as a microbiologist. Her science background has helped her develop cookie recipes that, on paper, might sound a little too funky. “I’m very, very precise,” Guinther says, noting that some of the 42 flavors she offers — like salted maple chocolate or cream cheese blueberry — just wouldn’t work. “If (the recipe) is off just a little bit, it’ll be funky.”

 Guinther’s cookies are decadent, often finished with unexpected toppings and almost always involve a generous helping of frosting. She sells them out of her house in Bow where, with the help of a dual oven, she says she can make five dozen cookies in an hour. Guinther is a one-woman show, apart from her 8-year-old daughter, Madeline (the company’s namesake), who is just learning how to make chocolate chip cookies —Maddi Hatter’s most popular flavor. 

Giving back to the community has been a core part of the Maddi Hatter’s business model since the start: Since Maddi Hatter is Guinther’s side gig, she donates all the proceeds from her cookie sales to the foster care system, prioritizing giving to “de-privatized companies, like Bridges.”

“There was once upon a time where I was so poor that I was eating a pizza a day, and I didn’t know if I was going to have a meal the next day,” she recalls. Now that she’s in a better situation, she hopes to help others. On top of donating all her proceeds, she’ll often offer cookies at a discounted price or completely gratis for children’s birthday parties. “Times are tough for everyone. A lot of people are losing jobs,” she says. “I’m more than happy to give back to these families, because I wouldn’t want my daughter to go without.” 

While Guinther has dreams of expanding to an Alice in Wonderland-themed brick and mortar, currently you can buy Guinther’s cookies (including her “charcookerie boards,” which include a half or full dozen cookies and a hand-carved wooden board that can be customized for each order) from her website, to be picked up, shipped, or, in certain circumstances, hand-delivered by Guinther. “Whatever you, as the customer, prefer, that’s what I do.”  maddihattercookiecompany.com