This UM Graduate Baked His Way to a Career

If you can't eat 'em, bake 'em. That's the unofficial motto of University of Miami graduate Blake Warman, the one-man show behind Miami-based cookie-delivery business, the Blakery.

Warman, who's 22, tells New Times he never dreamed he'd be baking cookies for a living. Not when he much prefers eating them.

"Growing up, I had a sweet tooth and was always a heavyset kid," Warman, who hails from New York, says. "Towards the end of high school, I wasn't the happiest. With college right around the corner, I knew I wanted to make a change, so rather than eat cookies, I decided to start baking for family and friends."

Putting his sugar-fueled passion to good use, Warman spent the summer whipping up several creative confections. In the process, he lost more than 50 pounds.

Warman's first success was an over-the-top peanut butter cup cookie. The novice chef posted a photo of the massive cookie — stuffed and topped with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups — to his Instagram account. Within minutes, he began receiving messages from hungry followers asking how to buy the crazy desserts.

"People responded immediately, telling me it looked so incredible I should sell them," he recalls. "That inspired me. I had nothing to lose, so I began taking orders via Instagram."
Several years later, Warman owns the Blakery, the virtual cookie brand that was born in his UM dorm room.

When word of the Blakery spread across campus, students began knocking on his door daily. He says the stuffed cookies were a hit for their size and Instragrammable details.

"My goal was to create the perfect cookie — one that's crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside," Warman explains. "I found that a six-ounce cookie was the perfect size. It's bigger than your average cookie, but you can finish it in one sitting."

Today, the online business produces several signature cookies from the standard chocolate chip to specialty favorites stuffed with M&Ms and Kit Kats, the cinnamon toast, a glazed doughnut, and s'mores.

The most popular is the "Dunkaroo," a cake-batter cookie with chocolate frosting at its center. A cookie of the month always features something new, he adds, including December's sugar cookie, vanilla dough loaded with soft frosted sugar cookies, stuffed with a chocolate kiss, and topped with red and green frosting.

Warman has no intention of slowing down. The young entrepreneur recently launched a second website, Get Blaked, a sister concept specializing in CBD-infused cookies.

Once available to local residents via Uber Eats, the cookies are now sold and shipped nationwide, sold individually, in a variety pack of all 12 flavors (plus the cookie of the month), or a build-your-own selection of four, six, or nine cookies (prices start at $24). Cookie lovers can also make their own custom cookies by selecting a base, filling, and toppings.

"My desire is to delight people's taste buds with something that's also visually stunning," Warman sums up.

The Blakery. Delivery only; theblakeryli.com.