When Sharifah Usman came to Canada more than 10 years ago, she missed the ubiquitous crinkle cookies of the Philippines. Nothing she tried in her new city of Toronto had quite the taste and texture she craved — so she decided to make her own. Soon, her friends were placing orders for her cookies.
Since moving to Sherwood Park in 2022, she’s started a small cookie empire out of her home kitchen, taking baking from a hobby to a business with a mission.
The cookies are packaged with a note of encouragement. “Kind of like a fortune cookie, but better, with a positive message.” She was inspired to add the illustrated messages, designed by Kaitlyn of Color Me Happii Illustrations, during a challenging time in her own life, when she found solace in the same kinds of simple, positive words.
A classic chocolate was the first cookie she added to her repertoire, but she has since expanded her offerings with new staples and seasonal flavours, from strawberry to a birthday cake-inspired sprinkle cookie. Dusted with confectionary sugar and just sweet enough, Crinkle Mingle cookies are almost cake-like — soft, decadent and chewy.
She’s also introduced some Filipino flavours to the menu — ube, a sweet and mild purple yam, and buko pandan, a popular Filipino dessert made with coconut and a savoury sweet tropical plant called pandan. The original choco cookie remains her favourite, but she’s a big fan of the ube, too.
“I’m so proud that as part of my business I get to introduce people to Filipino culture,” says Sharifah.
Currently, Crinkle Mingle cookies are only available online and at markets around the Edmonton area, as Sharifah makes everything from scratch in her kitchen.
“I wanted to show my kids that there are more than just 9-to-5 jobs, that pursuing something you’re passionate about and being able to be of service can be challenging. But I know it’s worth it at the end of the day,” says Sharifah.
She’s proud of her success so far, with plans to expand.
“I hope to see Crinkle Mingle grow into something that is not just homemade, having some employees in the future.”
For now, she enjoys selling her cookies to a city that loves to support local business.
Shop Crinkle Mingle.
This content was produced to support the Edmonton Made community. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Edify staff.
