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Memphis-based Goodness Gracious Cookies featured on The View

"Goodness Gracious Cookies came about when my daughter, who was 14 at the time, wanted to go on a mission trip to Japan," said Megan Mottley.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For those of you with a sweet tooth, brace yourselves. A Memphis woman has gained quite the popularity as a "cookiepreneur."

What started as a fundraiser for her daughter has turned into a full-grown business. Who doesn’t like a fresh batch of cookies? A Memphis mom has whipped up quite the recipe, that’s bringing out everyone’s inner cookie monster.

Never underestimate the determination of a parent, particularly Megan Mottley.

Goodness Gracious Cookies came about when my daughter who was 14 at the time wanted to go on a mission trip to Japan. This was 2016,” said Mottley, Goodness Gracious Cookies owner.

A trip across the world meant money.

“We planned out a bunch of fundraisers. The first fundraiser totally flopped and she looked so devastated. I thought, ‘Ah, I’ve got to make this happen,’” said Mottley

She had always baked, but it was just for personal reasons.

“It was always a gift that I would give people even as a young single mother… I couldn’t afford to buy people nice gifts, so I would bake,” said Mottley. “I told her, ‘Well, I’ll just bake some of my cookies and we’ll make what we would’ve made from the fundraiser.’ So, it was supposed to be a backup plan, but the backup plan the master plan.”

Just like that, plans for a mission trip turned into a mission itself.

“We had two months to raise over 35 hundred, but in less than eight weeks, we raised over $5,000,” said Mottley.

She started fundraising for others. Then, she decided to start her own business, Goodness Gracious Cookies, which was booming until COVID hit. 

“When I thought about how I would possibly be exposing my daughter to something that she could possibly be hospitalized, it scared me so much that I had to make the decision to pause production,” said Mottley. 

However, through pain comes triumph.

“It turned out to be a beautiful thing because The View reached out to me and they were interested in how I was impacted by the pandemic,” said Mottley. “It was mind-blowin. It’s amazing. I cry if I think about it long enough because I was a mother just doing what parents do for our kids. We want them to go above and beyond what we’ve done. It was mainly me trying to support her and show that you can dream big.”

Mottley not only sells cookies, but frozen cookie dough as well. Goodness Gracious Cookies is a one woman show, but Megan credits her family, friends, sorority sister and Operation Hope for supporting her.

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