Dallas baker now sells State Fair of Texas cookies year-round

DALLAS -- Stiffler’s Mom’s Cookie Factory in Dallas is spinning its State Fair of Texas business into a year-round online sweets shop.

From a red building in the middle of Fair Park, co-owner Tammy Stiffler and her team are baking about a dozen varieties of cookies and shipping them locally and nationwide. There’s no heat and no air conditioning in the building, so Stiffler is hopeful for temperate weather as her business heats up.

Cookie options include Red Velvet Whoopie with buttercream frosting and cream cheese; Peanut Butter Jelly Time, a monster of a cookie measuring 6 inches wide; and Oreo Cookie & Cream, which is nearly spherical in shape because of the full-sized Oreo cookie hidden in the middle. Each cookie costs $5.

At the State Fair, the Stifflers’ stand sells buckets of chocolate chip cookies only — none of these oversized sweets or inventive flavors. But because the Stifflers’ two commercial ovens are available for use year-round, the matriarch of the family is dreaming up new cookie flavors for shipping.

Stiffler was featured on the A&E’s "Deep Fried Dynasty." The reality TV show took viewers behind the scenes of the million-dollar concessions businesses at the State Fair of Texas.

It was retired concessionaire Caroline Newport McKee, another powerhouse State Fair business owner, who suggested Stiffler make more out of the cookie business once the State Fair finished its 24-day run each year. Stiffler, a former mortgage loan officer with a knack for creativity, took on the challenge.

“I can do that” became her motto.

“Crème brulee is my favorite dessert. So I said, ‘Oh, I need to make a cookie out of this,’ ” Stiffler said.

And she did.

She again found herself saying “I can do that” as she created the Oatmeal Surprise, an oatmeal cookie that swaps the raisins for Craisins; a Cinnamon Roll cookie made with brown sugar dough and cinnamon; and Peanut Butter Overload, which has a whole Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup inside of it and Reese’s Pieces studded on the outside.

The Stifflers have been State Fair concessionaires since 1990. Their bread-and-butter was fried chicken on a stick and curly fries until they added fried Oreos, fried Snickers and other indulgent treats.

In 2017, they opened Stiffler’s Mom’s Cookie Factory, named after — you guessed it — the 1999 R-rated movie "American Pie." It was inspired by Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar, a vendor at the Minnesota State Fair that reportedly sold $4.5 million in cookies in 2022. That event is just 12 days, and the State Fair of Texas is twice as long. Stiffler saw the potential.

As the business now goes online year-round, Stiffler is looking at cookie companies like Crumbl, which sell limited-time-only flavors. Stiffler hopes to add new flavors every few weeks to keep customers ordering.

She’s testing cookies mixed with New York-style cheesecake, orange creamsicle and peach cobbler. All of the research and development happens in that metal building on the Midway in Fair Park.

Stiffler, a Red Oak resident, is now at Fair Park a lot more.

“Funny story,” she said. “My oven at home doesn’t even work right now.”

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Stiffler’s Mom’s Cookie Factory sells cookies online that are delivered by mail. Prices are six for $30 or 12 for $60.