All Eyes On: Susie Gall

Baking a few dozen cookies and driving a smart car is just another day in the life of Susie Gall. Gall, owner of Cookie Break in Kirksville, has only been in the cookie delivery business since this summer, but already has created quite the buzz for herself. Cookie Break allows customers to order up to two dozen cookies, delivered fresh, at almost any time of day.

It was now or never, Gall said. She was inspired to create Cookie Break last semester while living in London with her husband. She noticed the bakeries there and realized that she could turn her love of baking into a business. Gall said she understands that starting a new business is hard work.

"So much time and effort, much more than I ever dreamed really, and I'm just at the beginning stages of it," Gall said. "It's not just the baking part of it, it's also running everything. It's really just myself, and then my husband helps in whatever way he can, mainly some deliveries at night."

Gall said that her business is built on the foundation of love and she bakes every cookie from her heart.

"Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved to bake," Gall said. "When you do something you really love, then that shows through in whatever product it is. When you find your niche and you can go with that, your life is just fuller."

Gall has been baking her entire life. Her house was always full of kids, and Gall often baked a few dozen cookies for all of her sons' baseball games. While Cookie Break features seven original cookies available for delivery, these are just seven of hundreds of recipes Gall has in her cookbook.

"I have some favorites from my childhood and some that friends have given me over the years, and a couple of those I use in my business that I adjusted a little bit and worked with," Gall said.

Gall's cookies are known as doozies. Doozies, everything from snickerdoozies to chocolate doozies to ginger doozies, are available for delivery. The snickerdoozies and chocolate doozies are her customers' favorites. Gall said "doozie" means something outstanding or unique of its kind, but it has other meanings as well.

"Doozie is from my past," Gall said. "I had a real good friend that I worked with that called me 'Doozie.' I've laughed about it over the years. It's my take on some of these traditional cookies."

Repeat customer sophomore Joanna Leath's favorite cookie is the chocolate doozie. After trying free samples of Gall's cookies at the Farmer's Market, she has since ordered cookies six times. It's more than just cookies though. Leath has formed a relationship with Gall.

"They always know it's me when I call them," Leath said. "They call me the Chocolate Doozie Queen, which is really cute. I almost feel like she's my mom while I'm here. She bakes cookies with love, which is awesome. And she's really easy to talk to."

Jeff Gall, Associate Professor of History and husband of Susie, is always eager to help out in any way he can but he understands that the business is his wife's labor of love and is proud of the work she has accomplished.

"I think she's really excited about this," Gall said. "It's taken hold of her life in a really positive way. She's been somebody that worked different jobs over the years but never had the opportunity to do something very fulfilling for herself, and this is it."

Above all else, Gall's business is her way of showing love to students and the community.

"My favorite quote anytime, anywhere, is from Mother Teresa, and she says, 'We can't all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love, and so this is what I can do," Gall said. "I can do a small thing by baking you a cookie, and I can do it with great love."