Her store, located at Oak Tree Road and Route 303 in Tappan, is a tiny oasis that is salve for the eyes and sweet delight for the sense of smell. More than a confectionary store, Maria—or Aunt Mia—as she is known, sees her shop as more than a place to buy dessert treats. It is a haven for budding craftspeople to find a launchpad for their burgeoning product lines.

Built on the eclectic model of the Old Country Store found at Cracker Barrel family restaurants that dot America’s highways, Mia’s has an extravagant potpourri of gift items for sale, most of which are made locally. Maria expresses great joy and satisfaction when she opens up a shelf in her gift shop for one of Rockland County’s budding young artists. But her homemade cookies are the focus of her shop and the most time-consuming part of her operation.

Maria, 57, was not always a baker of tasty confections! She will tell you that she is the most surprised of anyone to find herself the owner of a gourmet cookie shop. She started out in administration in the medical field, but felt under-appreciated. When she bought a new oven for her home, on a lark her husband Vinnie challenged her to bake traditional “black and white” cookies, which she did—to rave reviews.

Family and friends encouraged her, and soon she started preparing cookie trays and selling them to complete strangers. Suddenly, she was busy full-time.

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Working with local caterers, her cookies were in high demand. Then, eleven years ago, she decided to take the plunge and open her own shop, Aunt Mia’s Sweets in the Orangetown Shopping Center. “I never made a resume. I just bake.” But as she opened her first store, she confesses, “I was scared to death. There were so many nay-sayers. Especially as a woman in today’s world, the challenge seemed especially daunting.”

But her business continued to grow and her small location did not allow for expansion, particularly as she sought to include a range of products and services beyond her cookies. She was anxious to mentor other women entrepreneurs who were seeking to establish their own product lines. A year ago, she found a better location— more traffic—on Route 303 in Tappan. She is thrilled with her decision to move. The added space allows her to continue baking in the rear of the store which fills her gift shop out front with the sweet smell of love and gratitude that permeates the establishment. To this day, Maria continues to be grateful and surprised by her success. Her fears have long since given rise to confidence to fill the world with goodness. She cherishes the camaraderie among her staff. They are mostly young and she is especially proud of giving them a place to launch their careers.

The more time you spend at Aunt Mia’s, the more you realize that baking cookies is really just a front. The true purpose behind preparing these tasty confections is simply to make the world just a bit, well, sweeter. Testimony as to the real mission behind Aunt Mia’s success came from staff member Emily Gordon. As she was preparing a colorful tray of homemade treats, Emily affirmed the strong bond between staff and patrons. “You realize how kind people are. And (when Maria was out of earshot) Maria just loves people. You gotta spread kindness and that’s what she does.”