AMBOY – If you’re in Amboy and you get caught with your hands in the cookie jar, don’t worry – that’s exactly where Hayley Rogers wants them.

Rogers is the confectionary creator at The Cookie Jar, the colorful shop tucked into the corner of Main Street and Jones Avenue downtown, where she takes the lid off the jar and invites people to grab a cookie or sample some sweets.

The Sheridan native opened the bakery in 2024, offering the soft cookies, swirled cinnamon rolls and whimsical desserts she crafts at home under a cottage license, drawing both locals and curious seasonal campers.

While the storefront keeps part-time hours, making treats is a full-time job.

Just more than a year into business, with steady foot traffic and growing confidence, Rogers says the rhythm of each day fuels her creative momentum.

“I see people and new things, and it keeps giving me motivation to just keep doing it,” Rogers said. “I enjoy it, and since I’ve been doing this full time, there’s no stopping me. There’s so many ideas.”

Rogers does it all at home, as the cozy cookie shop doesn’t have enough room for a baking set-up, but she hopes to someday have a larger space, she said. Her treats are placed in plastic boxes on a rack, while the rest of the space is decorated with ornate cookie jars – including one that looks like a disco ball – a small table and quotes, posters and other affirmations that send a positive message.

The bakery’s hours have changed throughout the year, and when December rolled around, it was open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. That could change, however, and announcements will be made on The Cookie Jar’s Facebook page if it does.

Although the shop isn’t big on space, it’s big on flavor. The Cookie Jar’s menu is a rotating constellation of sweet comforts – cookies, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, brownies, Rice Krispies treats, cookie cakes, cake pops, scones, muffins, Oreo balls, iced cookie bites and more. People especially love her wilder cupcake flavors, the kind that dare you not to smile while eating them.

Rogers’ culinary creations started with her family. She grew up in a home where cooking wasn’t just a necessity but a family pastime, an unspoken language passed across generations. Her family “was always just making something,” she said, and by high school, when she took classes in culinary arts at Indian Valley Vocational Center in Sandwich, she knew she liked the hands-on side most – grilling, cooking, decorating – it all fit, but she didn’t yet know it would eventually become her life’s direction.

For a while, however, it didn’t. Before she took a spoon in hand, she was wielding welding tools, at HCC Inc. in Mendota, laying clean lines and molten beads with a perfectionist’s attention. Although welding paid the bills, baking sparked something else in her, something she couldn’t quite shake. When the COVID-19 pandemic happened in 2020 and her welding work slowed down, she turned to making candles for extra income, which eventually transitioned into picking up her baking tools of the trade again.

After she and her boyfriend moved to Amboy two years ago – closer to work and a calmer pace, she said – she began to hear the call of the kitchen a little more each night.

“I love to bake, I love to cook, I love to do it all,” Rogers said. “I was making candles during COVID, and then I ended up just baking, and was like, ‘Why not sell these instead?’ Then I just started baking and having fun with it. When I was working full time as a welder, I would go home and bake at night. Now I bake all of the time, and I enjoy it.”

Starting out, she dipped her toes in the water selling chocolate-covered strawberries. Then came mini donuts. Then she decided: “Let’s just do it all.” The momentum built fast. Customers wanted scones. They wanted more flavors, more creativity, more of whatever she dreamed up next. Each request nudged her further toward the idea that her love of baking could be a full-time gig.

“In welding, you have to make perfect lines and make a perfect bead, and it’s like making cookies,” Rogers said. “You’ve got to be perfect, pay attention and keep your eyes on it and not be distracted. Welding kept me focused, and baking does that, too.”

What welding couldn’t give her, however, was the feedback that food could – those moments when someone sinks their teeth into a treat she made and lets out a “YUM!” Rogers loves seeing and hearing people’s reactions, the way a simple dessert can coax a smile from mouth dappled in cookie crumbs. It’s that word of mouth that’s helped bring in more business.

“I just love how special treats can make people feel,” Rogers said. “It makes me feel good that my customers are super excited about them, and they love it. Then all of their friends and family come and try the stuff, and they love it too. Then they reach out to people they know. People have taken their stuff to work, and then their co-workers call me to let me know they’ve had something and that they’re so good. I love how special it makes them feel, and it makes me feel good.”

In her small-batch world, even a single chocolate chip cookie carries intention. Her philosophy is simple: treat each item with care, load it with flavor, never cut corners.

“I keep them soft and chewy,” Rogers said. “I don’t like it when I have a cookie with not enough chocolate chip in it. There’s plenty of chocolate chips in each bite – I load them up.”

Her treats have attracted customers from both near and far, some driving an hour after spotting her creations online. Others wander in from the nearby campgrounds, surprised to find a dessert oasis tucked into town. Those first-time reactions have become part of the charm.

“I love when they walk in for the first time, and go, ‘I didn’t know this was here,’” Rogers said. “It’s fun when all of the campers are here for the summer, and it’s fun for them, too.”

Her work stretches far beyond the shop counter. Factories have ordered cookies for the crew. Families pick up batches for baby showers and gender reveals (sometimes even letting Rogers in on the secret ahead of time). And wedding parties have added sweet treats to their matrimonial menu.

“I’ve done a lot of weddings, and multiple people from each wedding have reached out to me and said, ‘My wedding’s next year, let’s start something,’” Rogers said. “I’ve had people ask me years in advance to do their dessert tables.”

And when it comes to wedding orders, she knows the stakes can be high.

“I need to make sure it’s perfect. If I had someone making treats for my wedding one day, I’d want it perfect. It’s so special for their family and friends.”

Whatever the occasion, Rogers likes to give each customer personalized service – no cookie cutter approach here. Most customers trust her judgment implicitly, she said. That trust, and the occasions they invite her to be part of, is a big part of what keeps her cooking.

“I get to be a part of their special day, and it’s making me feel special,” Rogers said. “I want to continue to do that. I get to do a whole bunch of special occasions here and there, and it’s fun. I love doing them.”

Owning a bakery isn’t just a business; for Rogers it’s a dialogue with her customers – and they’ve enjoyed the conversation. It didn’t take long for the Amboy community to embrace her, she said, and she’s determined not to disappoint.

“It takes the people in town for it to be a talent,” Rogers said. “They keep me going. ... They show up for me, and I keep showing up for them. Amboy has been a very welcoming town since I got here. In the summer, I like when everyone’s walking around, and the campers are coming to town, and it’s just a very peaceful town.”

While The Cookie Jar is a small operation, it’s one built on intention, gratitude and the quiet joy of seeing people return for more.

“I’m taking my time and doing this for my customers, and that’s what keeps me going,” Rogers said. “It’s fun when I can be at home, bake, and come to the store and people are showing up for them. It’s not like being at a vendor show, I have a whole store where people are coming to see me.”

The Cookie Jar, 205 E. Main St. in Amboy, is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Hours are subject to change. Find it on Facebook or Instagram, or call 815-201-6065 to place custom orders or for more information.