Making cookies this season? You might want a few tips from famed cookie extraordinaire ‘Zoe Bakes’

NINA MOINI: I wish we could end every show like this. The holidays are often an excuse to eat more cookies than any other time of the year. People have family traditions where they gather to make treats. Our next guest may have your next cookie recipe. Minnesota baker Zoe Francois is known to many online as Zoe Bakes. She has more than 400,000 followers-- wow-- on Instagram and also an HBO show with Minnesota Chef Andrew Zimmern. No big deal.

She's the author of three cookbooks, including her most recent book, Zoe Bakes Cookies. And you can meet her on Monday for a holiday cookie event at Graze Food Hall. That's in Minneapolis. Thrilled that Zoe is joining us in the studio. Thanks for being here.

ZOE FRANCOIS: Yeah, thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: And thank you for bringing cookies.

ZOE FRANCOIS: Oh, yes.

NINA MOINI: It wasn't required, but sort of. So your cookbook, I understand, has 75 cookie bars and brownie recipes. It's also a journey and really an homage to your life, your family. How were you able to reconnect to different parts of yourself and come up with these recipes?

ZOE FRANCOIS: Yeah. When I set out to write this book, it was originally like a love letter to all of the cookies that I've baked throughout my life and in my career and in restaurants. And as I started writing the book, I realized it wasn't just recipes. It was all of the stories that were connected to those recipes. A lot of them are recipes that came from my grandmothers. I'm lucky enough to have a Jewish grandmother on my mother's side and a grandmother who celebrated Christmas. So I got all of the holidays.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and the snacks, the cookies.

ZOE FRANCOIS: I didn't realize that everybody didn't grow up this way with all the holidays in their house. And so it really became a journey through my life and told through cookies.

NINA MOINI: I love that. Yeah, and I understand you really have had a pretty unique life and different experiences. I'm told that you actually grew up on a commune in Vermont, which sounds pretty fun.

ZOE FRANCOIS: It was.

NINA MOINI: I'm curious, how did that impact your relationship with baking?

ZOE FRANCOIS: Well, OK, so growing up on a commune is fun because there's so many people around. But it's also chaotic. So the interesting thing is that I wasn't allowed to have sugar when I was a kid. So we grew everything that we ate. So we had maple trees that we tapped, and we made maple syrup. So I had that. And we kept bees. So we had honey. But there was no refined sugar. My parents told me that raisins were candy and carob was chocolate.

NINA MOINI: Oh, wow.

ZOE FRANCOIS: Both of those are lies.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

[LAUGHTER]

ZOE FRANCOIS: And so once I discovered sugar, I was kind of obsessed with it.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. So you have a whole section of the cookie cookbook dedicated to the commune. So what are a few of the recipes that you mentioned honey and the different things you did have access to?

ZOE FRANCOIS: OK, so back then, we had these recipes, and we baked a lot. And in fact, my dad started the first co-op in Vermont.

NINA MOINI: Wow.

ZOE FRANCOIS: And we supplied baked goods. They were a little bit earnest and healthy and weren't that delicious. But now that I'm an adult, I really appreciate eating this way with whole grains and lots of oats and using honey and even banana as a sweetener. But I did make them delicious. So I took all of the inspiration from my childhood, but I also used my training as a pastry chef to make them delicious.

NINA MOINI: I'm curious if you have any favorite baking memories from growing up. You had mentioned your grandmas on both sides. Anything that stands out to you or any specific treat?

ZOE FRANCOIS: Yeah. So like I said, I grew up on a commune. I wasn't allowed to have sugar, except once a year when I would go to my grandmother's house on my dad's side for Christmas. And she baked dozens of cookies every Christmas. And it was the one time of year I got to eat sugar, and I just dove into those tins. And there's an entire chapter in the book dedicated to her baking and these cookies and those tins and just the memories that we have from those times.

So those recipes, not only do I remember how delicious they were, but it was such a special time for me. And I feel like every family has these memories, these food memories. And I don't think that there's anything quite like the memory that floods in when you're baking. And it's not just the taste of it, but it's also the smell of things baking. And it's really incredible.

And, yeah, so there are everything from sugar cookies to these coconut maple bars that she made. And then also, she has a Norwegian influence, and she was from Michigan. So there's all kinds of recipes in there, spritz cookies and all kinds of things that I just remember so fondly from being a kid.

NINA MOINI: So fast forward to now, and we mentioned you have more than 400,000 followers. I imagine there's a lot of people baking on social media. How do you make sure that your content and your recipes stand out?

ZOE FRANCOIS: Yeah. Well, oh, that's interesting. One of the things that I learned about myself through social media is that I'm a baker. But really, the thing that I love the most is teaching. And so what I figured out, especially from Instagram, is that if I put a picture of a recipe or a cookie up on Instagram, people liked it, but they weren't necessarily making it.

And then I discovered if I did a video, if I showed them step by step how to do it or I explained how to do it, then all of a sudden, everybody was making them. And so that's really the thing that excites me is I'm a recipe developer. I want people to be baking them. So putting the content out there and seeing other people make them, that's the magic for me.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and it does seem like Minnesota chefs, bakers, we have a whole scene going on here. It's pretty cool and just nationally recognized. What do you think it is about the food scene here?

ZOE FRANCOIS: Well, OK, for baking in particular, it's freezing.

NINA MOINI: So what else are you going to do?

ZOE FRANCOIS: So turn on your oven and bake. It makes you feel great.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ZOE FRANCOIS: So we really do, we call it the baking season. It's about from September to March. So we get all this time where it's cold. It's cozy to turn on the oven and bake something sweet. We have the most rich culture of baking here. And I think that inspires lots of baking content that comes out of here. So I'm really lucky because I'm friends with lots of these people. And we inspire each other. We get together, and we bake together. And really, baking for me is about sharing. So, of course I brought you cookies today.

NINA MOINI: Can't wait to dive in. We're going to have to end the show early. Just kidding.

ZOE FRANCOIS: Yeah.

NINA MOINI: I think that baking can, though, be intimidating for folks who don't do it a lot. I will say, I'm not a huge baker. We have a Cookie Wednesday here in the newsroom where people sign up to bring cookies. Mine are always store-bought. I'm not going to lie about it.

ZOE FRANCOIS: I'll change that.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, so that's what I'm going to say. Is there like an intro cookie, like a good starter cookie for people to tackle?

ZOE FRANCOIS: Well, OK, so first of all, you should just dive into what excites you. Is it chocolate chip cookies? Is it coconut macaroons? I mean, there are so many different kinds. In the book, I go step by step. I also have what's called the Baking Academy at the beginning of the book. And that explains just a tiny bit of the cookie science stuff to make things clearer.

It also is there to help with these recipes, but also maybe family recipes that you've been struggling with. And so it's there if you want it. It's there if you want to ignore it. But I find that if you have a little bit of information, then you'll tend to play with a recipe and make it your own. And that's where I think the excitement comes from.

NINA MOINI: And it's OK if it doesn't go great.

ZOE FRANCOIS: Absolutely, absolutely. It even happens to me still.

NINA MOINI: Well, thank you. That makes me feel a little better.

ZOE FRANCOIS: Yeah, of course.

NINA MOINI: Zoe, before I let you go, I do want to know, what's your favorite baked good, and why?

ZOE FRANCOIS: Oh! OK, so this is so hard for me because it really depends on my mood and the season and stuff. So right now, the coconut macaroon that I brought you today is one of my favorites. And it's so simple, but it's so delicious. And it's easy to make.

NINA MOINI: All right.

ZOE FRANCOIS: So I hope you enjoy it, too.

NINA MOINI: Maybe after I try it, I'll give that a try. Thank you for being here, Zoe.

ZOE FRANCOIS: Thank you.

NINA MOINI: Zoe Francois is the baker behind Zoe Bakes Cookies. You can meet her Monday at Graze Food Hall in Minneapolis for a holiday cookie event. We'll have that information at mprnews.org. That does it for Minnesota Now this week. Want to thank the entire team, of course. Special shoutout to our newest producer, Ellie Roth. Great job this week. We'll see you back here next week.