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Couples tying the knot are opting for an assortment of sweets and treats for their big day rather than a traditional tier wedding cake. Owner Niki Moran of the Sweet Boutique, a bakery/cafe in East Longmeadow on 33 Harkness Ave., said, “People like options. The variety of having 10 different desserts on a table.” Moran specializes in decorative sugar cookies. She also makes coffee, customized energy drinks, lemonades, cakes, gourmet cookies, stuffed cookies, cupcakes, macarons, brownies and cinnamon rolls. For weddings, Moran told Go Local that people generally get their mini cookie sandwiches in a variety of flavors, macaron towers and brookies (chocolate chip cookie on the bottom, Oreo and brownie on top).
Customers also sometimes have wedding cakes made entirely out of chocolate chip cookies. “We’re a trendy cafe,” Moran said, “We try to stay on top of everything that’s going on so there’s always new and exciting things coming out. We love to create new things, new flavors, new everything. We’re constantly reinventing.”
Moran began as “the Ginger Baker” — because she has red hair — and started decorating cookies as a side hobby. During that time, Moran needed a creative outlet — she had a newborn and a full-time career as a surgical neurophysiologist. One day, she posted her cookies on Facebook, and someone asked her if she could make cookies for their baby shower, which she did. “It was my first paid set,” Moran recalled. “I charged $2 a cookie and it took me six days to finish them. Then it just was word of mouth from there and I exploded.” After baking out of her home kitchen for seven years, Moran decided,to move up to a storefront and opened the Sweet Boutique on Aug. 6, 2022. Moran wanted a space that was like a destination where people saw how it looked on the inside and they wanted to come check it out. She grew up in East Longmeadow and graduated from East Longmeadow High School. Though Moran lives in Springfield, she couldn’t find anything in the area. Moran really likes the location on Harkness Avenue and it’s close to the Springfield line and highway. She wants the Sweet Boutique to be a cool place people can hang out all day, study, have their meetings and drink coffee. Those who have been following Moran for years say they are proud of her and look forward to coming to the shop. While new customers tell her that her cookies are the most delicious things they’ve ever eaten.
Springfield resident Jennifer Cady was exploring some places on DoorDash while at work. After randomly ordering from the Sweet Boutique, Cady thought it was fantastic and then realized she drove right by it every day. The Sweet Boutique is her go-to in the morning before work and she won’t drink coffees from anywhere else now. Cady loves their s’mores deep dish cookies, white chocolate mocha with strawberry cold foam and the strawberry & cream Red Bull Italian soda, which she gets two of daily, along with her coffee for work energy. “They do a lot of unique stuff there you can’t find anywhere else,” said Cady. “I like it because it’s pink, but also I like the small-town atmosphere. Everyone is nice and always remembers you.” She continued, “I love the attention to little details there. They have pink heart shaped straws for the drinks, pink napkins and pink silverware. They really care about little details to make it a fun environment.”
Mariangel Burgos, also from Springfield, said her favorite desserts are Moran’s sugar cookies, oatmeal cream pie and the holiday special that Moran makes for adults and children. However, Burgos’ all-time favorite one is only done on Saturdays – the cinnamon bun. “To me, the Sweet Boutique is set apart from other business due to its cute bakery location and the creativity of the deserts, not forgetting its unique inside looks,” Burgos said. “It’s also unique due to the owners background and sacrifice to transition. Niki is a mother [and] wife that worked at home with her kids and transitioned to a bigger business and I value that as a customer. I know it’s not easy."
Moran’s current goal is shipping. In the future, she would like to expand and have a couple more locations throughout Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. “It feels like it happened so fast, but it was so many years in the making,” said Moran. “People keep coming back every single day and get the same thing or try something new. I have a dedicated customer base that has followed me through everything. It’s just incredible.”
THE SWEET BOUTIQUE IS LOCATED IN EAST LONGMEADOW, MA AT 33 HARKNESS AVE. OPEN WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY FROM 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. AND SATURDAYS FROM 9 A.M. TO 2 P.M. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THESWEETBOUTIQUEMA.COM. TO CONTACT THE SWEET BOUTIQUE, CALL 413-224-1873 OR NIKI@THESWEETBOUTIQUEMA.COM.