The woman behind the cookies at two Springfield coffee shops

Brittany Barlow, a longtime Springfield resident, switched professions after realizing that she needed to follow her baking dreams.

“(Baking cookies) fueled a passion that I knew I had, but didn’t really do anything with,” Barlow said.

For five years, Barlow was a teacher at Northwestern Elementary School.

“I found that as being a teacher I was telling them that they can be anything they want to be and like follow any dream you have and I was like ‘wait that’s what I should be doing, too,’” Barlow said.

She said that she had always made cookies when she had a sweet tooth or when she needed to take a dessert to an event or family gathering.

Barlow’s mother, also known as her number one taste tester, encouraged her to start selling her cookies, she said. In 2018, Barlow sold her first dozen and opened an Etsy shop for local residents.

A year later, she said she made the hard decision of resigning from her teaching job to pursue her cookie business, Oats & Doughs.

She said she continued selling cookies through Etsy and social media requests until she was asked to make cookies for Winans Chocolates and Coffees in Springfield by owner, Chandi Shah.

Shah tried Oats & Doughs’ cookies through a mutual friend, Barlow said.

Oats & Doughs delivers cookies to the Springfield Winans locations on Fridays and the cookies are usually sold out within a day, Barlow said.

She said she makes between 20 and 22 dozens for each location.

“I wish I could do more for them, but I’m limited to the amount of time that it takes me to get them all done,” Barlow said.

Customer favorites include Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Jumbo M&M, Peppermint Hot Chocolate, White Chocolate Peppermint, Campfire, Celebration and Peanut Butter and Jelly. Regular size cookies are $2.59 and jumbo size cookies are $3.89, Barlow said.

Barlow said she enjoys being a part of the momentum in Springfield and investing her time in the community she is part of.

Oats & Doughs and the Springfield Winans Chocolates and Coffees locations have recently teamed up to raise money for the Springfield Salvation Army through Facebook auctions featuring cookies and Winans products.

Barlow said together they have raised over $3,000 for the Springfield Salvation Army’s utility, rent, mortgage and food assistance programs.

Barlow said she would love to have a brick-and-mortar location where she designs it from the ground up. She added that she is not ready to do that right now because of where her kids are in life.

For more information, search for Oats & Doughs on Facebook.

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