By Tracy Harmon
The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Angela Duran-Espinoza has a passion for baking. Her business called “Get Baked” includes unique artistic cookie creations for just about any occasion. These days she is also focused on creating “Decorate it Yourself” kits that kids (and adults) can try at home.
The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
A local entrepreneur who has a way with dough really doesn’t mind if you eat her sweet works of art.
Angela Duran-Espinoza is a Pueblo West mom who turned a Food Network obsession into her own business dubbed “Get Baked.” It all started when she was a young mother staying at home with her baby.
“It became my passion to bake and try things myself. I remember watching the Emeril show and he made homemade pretzels which I had to try.”
“They did not turn out too good,” she said with a laugh.
But she kept trying and she kept getting better. Her friends encouraged her to start a business.
“I was like, ‘no’ and I was insecure about it because I didn’t want to be let down. But they kept encouraging me so I finally did it,” Duran-Espinoza explained.
She grew up in Pueblo but started the business while living in Clovis, New Mexico. Today the mother of five recently moved to Pueblo West and is hoping “Get Baked” will catch on here too.
She is trying to juggle motherhood, taking online pastry arts classes through Auguste Escoffer School of Culinary Arts and works at Southern Colorado Family Medicine. Her weekends are filled with baking.
Her husband, Pedro, who works at the steel mill and her other family members are willing taste testers. Her children Niko, 18; Kyler, 17; Kayde, 11: Marley, 5; and Titan, 3, are all about crafts and want to help their mom in the kitchen.
Their passion for getting involved has inspired her to create some “Decorate it Yourself” kits that children can try at home. One kits has plain sugar skull cookies and all the items needed to decorate them.
Another kit features cookies with tic tac toe, word search puzzle and paint your own pumpkins on them.
“I have a lot of different ideas and hope for a coffee shop/bakery in my future. I want to have little classes like mommy-daughter tea parties,” she explained.
Currently Duran-Espinoza makes everything from New Mexico and Colorado flag cookies, to every type of animal from llamas to sharks, plus chilies, cacti, sunflowers and many more edible artworks.
“Cookies are really fun. The macaroons are my favorite — they are adorable. I also like to make the meringue cookies with really cool colors and designs,” she explained.
Her mini cakes with mirror glaze and cupcakes also are popular.
“I am experimenting with trying to make my own sprinkles and I also am making an edible cookie dough. I made a unicorn poop cookie dough for my daughter because she loves unicorns,” she said.
Along the way there has been plenty of trial and error followed by success. And those friends that encouraged her to get started now want her to ship cookies to them in New Mexico.
Because Duran-Espinoza’s cookies are so detailed and artistic, they take time. Those who wish to order cookies should give her a week’s advance notice.
To contact her, log onto her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Get-Baked-951951475011550/.
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