Cookie Nip Studio Kitchen is a Big Hit in Marietta

Marc Lipson was born, raised, and bar mitzvah’d in Macon. He has always enjoyed cooking and baking even as a youngster and shared, “I may be the only kid to have asked for a Presto Electric Burger maker for Chanukah.”

After high school, Lipson received a baseball scholarship to Mercer University in Macon and following one season, transferred to the University of Georgia (UGA) and played his last three seasons for the UGA baseball team. He graduated with an economics degree in 1989 and, after college, was fortunate to sign a professional baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins in which he played four seasons in the Minor League system.

As Lipson finished his baseball career in 1992, he married his high school sweetheart, Meredith Hobby Lipson. While he began a career in real estate and home building, after a few years, he felt the urge to get back into baseball and went back to school to become a high school math teacher and baseball coach. After a 20-year teaching career, he retired in 2019.

Lipson shared, “At that time, Meredith and I had a midlife crisis and instead of getting a Corvette, we moved to Atlanta.”

A go-getter, Lipson next made another play he didn’t see coming and became a baking entrepreneur, opening a Marietta-based cooking school, catering facility, and cooking event space in Marietta called Cookie Nip Studio Kitchen.

Lipson explained his sweet endeavor and said, “I teamed up with my talented business partner, Michelle Gowan, who is a retired elementary gifted education teacher. After retirement, Michelle started teaching cookie baking classes in her kitchen and my wife, Meredith, and I took her class. During that class, Michelle shared that her favorite flavoring was getting difficult to source based on how many people she taught and were using it. Hoping to develop a signature flavoring, I volunteered to help her. With all the scientific methodology of an elementary science fair, we baked cookies with the old flavoring and cookies with the formula we were working on and took the cookies to school with us to get tasting volunteers.”

Lipson said, “When my wife and I originally took Michelle’s decorated sugar class, I went mainly as a supportive husband. I enjoyed cooking and baking and quickly became intrigued by Michelle’s nifty little tips, tricks, and techniques in making the most delicious, decorated sugar cookies. But what really caught my attention was the flavoring. It was noticeably different than plain vanilla extract.”

Following the class, Lipson began making different themed cookies and honing his decorating skills and found it therapeutic. As he made cookies and let friends enjoy them, he realized how rewarding it was seeing people enjoy something he produced. Before Lipson knew it, he was teaching classes and making cookies for customers. As this dynamic duo had more people who preferred their formulation, in May 2018, Marc and Michelle invented Cookie Nip, manufactured in Marietta, and shipped it all over the country They introduced it into the baking world at vendor trade shows and interest in their product exploded. They now sell the flavoring online and in cake stores around the country and ship to all 50 states and several foreign countries.

Today, their multi-faceted business offers their unique flavoring that is a buttery sweet blend of vanilla bean and salted caramel. Most bakery applications call for vanilla but that is a singular flavor additive.

Lipson added, “Cookie Nip is so delicious that its unique blend enhances the flavor of cookies, cakes, pies, macarons, frosting, pancakes, and even coffee. The best tip is to use Cookie Nip in every recipe calling for vanilla. The rich blend of flavors really elevates your baking. Many people who use Cookie Nip have entered some impressive contests and won (we think because of the delicious flavor profile!)”

Cookie Nip Studio Kitchen also offers catering specialties, parties and more. Experienced baking educator and partner Michelle shared, “We make sweet treats, cookies and cakes for any special occasion and custom cookies with business logos, photos, and QR codes. Our most popular treat is currently a Bourbon Cookie Nip pound cake. We sell it whole, half or by the slice daily. We take custom orders for all celebrations like birthdays, retirements, promotions, baptisms, weddings, baby showers, bachelorette parties and beyond.”

Cookie Nip also offers a fabulous lineup of classes for all ages from beginners to pros and parties. They have several unique party themes for various ages. Candy Land is fun for little ones, Cupcake Wars, Nailed It! or Cupcake and Cake Pops or even cake decorating. Cake pops and cupcake decorating is one of the themes selected most. Their party venue includes decorations, entertainment, and supplies for baking and they allow parents to bring in food and drink if they choose and provide birthday cake or sweets.”

Lipson added, “Corporate events are also a lot of fun. Office coworkers come into the cookie studio to decorate cakes, cookies, cupcakes, or cake pops. We provide all the supplies and instruction, and colleagues enjoy an activity outside of the workplace. We can host groups in our classroom kitchen, or we can travel to your place of business. We have accommodated school faculty groups, hospital, dental offices, and corporate groups to enjoy treat creation together outside of regular working hours.”

Cookie Nip Studio Kitchen is located at 2211 Roswell Road in Marietta. To register for classes, events and learn more about their wonderful world of baking, call 678-540-3121 or visit www.cookienip.com.