Hi, I'm Cass!

Baking has always brought me joy, but it wasn’t until March 2020 — during the early days of COVID — that I gave decorated sugar cookies a try. Stuck at home, bored and restless, I stumbled across Christmas Cookie Challenge on Food Network and thought to myself, I could totally do that. A few royal icing experiments later, someone asked me to make graduation cookies. That was all it took — Cookies by Cass was born.

But life was already calling me in other directions. During my senior fall at the University of Florida, I had accepted a job offer to work for Belk in Charlotte. So in August 2020, after graduating, I moved to Charlotte to start my career as an assistant buyer. I spent my days building product assortments and my nights elbow-deep in icing. Belk even booked me to teach cookie decorating classes for team events, and that’s when I discovered how much I truly love teaching others the art of decorating.

In August 2023, I moved back to Jacksonville to be closer to family — and also because I knew that cookie dream was quietly growing in the back of my mind. I kept working remotely for Belk until July 2024, when I made a bit of a plot twist and became a 3rd grade teacher. I wasn’t quite ready to make the jump to cookies full time, I had always wanted to teach, and I was feeling pretty done with corporate life. When the opportunity kind of landed in my lap, I thought: Why not?

I taught 3rd grade math — it was a roller coaster of a year: incredibly challenging, super rewarding, and yes, kids are tough! On top of all that, I was still accepting cookie orders. So it was Miss Schell by day and Cookies by Cass by night — which was hard to maintain and made it nearly impossible not to burn out.

When I realized I couldn’t imagine doing another year of both teaching and cookies (I was tired), I knew it was time to finally give cookies a go full time. Although I’ll miss my kiddos, I’m so excited for this new chapter.

So here we are in July 2025. I’m officially going full time with Cookies by Cass, and I couldn’t be more excited. I believe the Lord has been leading me here all along, and I’m so grateful you’re part of this sweet adventure.

Whether you’re looking for cookies, classes, or just here for the vibes — welcome to the sweet life! Thank you for being here. I can’t wait to create something beautiful (and delicious) for you!

With love,
Cass