A little under a year ago, Sarah Larson started her own cookie business called Ten Thousand Spoons.

Larson started baking early in life, and it is a passion that has stayed with her.

“I attended elementary (George J Peters + Oaklawn), middle (Western Hills), and high school (CHSW), as an active member of That Falcon Band as the drum major,” she said.

She went to URI for both her BS (Nutrition and Dietetics) and MS (Nutrition).

“I'm a Registered Dietitian and full time professor at URI in the Nutrition Department and provide part time nutrition counseling through Evolution Nutrition (based in EP),” Larson said.

She’s always loved to bake, especially cookies, and started decorating sugar cookies in late 2022 for fun.

In the summer of 2023 she started to get more requests for cookies and started Ten Thousand Spoons in August 2023. She is a Certified Cottage Food Manufacturer in Rhode Island, and does all her baking in her home.

The name came from a song Larson has always loved.

“From Alanis Morissette's ‘Isn't it ironic?’ - I've always thought about baking when she sang 'ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife'

Larson teaches food science courses at URI, and loves to experiment in the kitchen with cookie and icing recipes to get the perfect flavor and consistency every time.

“I've done bridal showers, first communions, corporate events, birthday parties, retirement parties to name a few and offer pre-sales for holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with themed and paint-your-own cookie sets. I plan to do this with St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and teacher appreciation weeks to start this year and continueA as the year progresses,” she said.

Running a business, no matter the size, is difficult when you are all the major players.

“A solo small business is challenging, especially on top of full time employment and parenthood. Finding the time to experiment, bake, decorate, and prepare cookies takes a lot of work and is so worth it. My kids love to be the designated taste testers for any and all projects. I've found a community of other home bakers on Instagram, both local and national, so that's been so helpful to have others who are doing the same things. This has been a creative and relaxing outlet for me over the last six months. I hope to see continued growth with my skills and customer base over the next year and eventually would love to offer cooking decorating classes for groups,” she said.

Larson has no plans in the immediate future to change careers.

“I really love my full time job at URI so I have no plans to leave and bake full time. Baking out of my kitchen for fun is where Ten Thousand Spoons will be for the foreseeable future,” she said.

Larson is pleased that she has the flexibility to share her passion with others.

“My kids currently attend Woodridge Elementary and I've gone into their kindergarten classrooms for a cookie decorating event which was so fun,” Larson said.

While mini cookies are her favorite cookies to bake, the Paint your own cookies and packs of mini cookies are the most popular.

According to her website, she will try to accommodate special requests.

All cookies are prepared in a kitchen that processes wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, and soy. Gluten sensitive cookies are available and are prepared with every effort to prevent cross contamination with gluten-containing products.

To learn more about her cookies, you can send her an email at tenthousandspoons.cookies@gmail.com, her instagram handle @ten.thousand.spoons, and website link: https://tenthousandspoonsc.wixsite.com/ten-thousand-spoons