Queer and woman-owned pop-up bakery, Coping Cookies is looking to expand their community with a brick and mortar location in Seattle. Founders Ashley Hernandez and Sam Padilla are in their final week of crowdfunding efforts on Kickstarter, with 29% left to go. If their goal is met, the funds will go towards equipment, space renovations, upfront material costs, and labor costs. View their kickstarter campaign here.

Their story

Ashley works in mental health as a Psych Advocacy Liaison and Sam Padilla works in physical health as a Rehabilitative Exercise Specialist. They began Coping Cookies during the height of the COVID-19 shutdowns as a way to be involved in the community and embarked on the journey of using gargantuan cookies as an educational vessel for social justice.

They developed a base recipe and created four flavors that were offered as a bake sale to Ashley’s coworkers. They raised hundreds of dollars that were then forwarded to multiple grassroots social justice organizations around Seattle. People loved the cookies and loved the opportunity to learn about local organizations. With zero capital to start with, they built Coping Cookies from the ground up and have had the best time building connections along the way.

Since bringing Coping Cookies to the public in July of 2020, they’ve continued to grow at a rapid pace. Their cookie pre-orders sell out within minutes, and their local pop-ups often have lines down multiple blocks, and we continue to meet new people waiting to try our cookies. Over the year, they’ve developed 48 different cookie flavors—from cornbread to pumpkin pie (with literally pie inside the cookie!)!

Browse a list of their past cookie flavors.

Their mission

Each month, Ashley and Sam choose an organization to donate to that is centered around dismantling various forms of stigmatizations or barriers to social justice. This is something that was really impressive—not only donating, but taking the time to do the research behind the organizations. They “investigate each organization heavily—from 990 tax forms, to board members, to community presence—because it matters. At the end of the month, we donate a portion of our cookie sales directly to that organization. We also host an Instagram segment called, “Mental Health Monday” and use our platform to help destigmatize mental health. Coping Cookies will always be a company centered around advocacy.”

Where to find them

November 27: Woodin Creek Market in Woodinville

December 4: Rain Or Shine Community Market in Tacoma