For many years, junior Daniela Villarreal has had a passion for baking, so during quarantine she realized that she can turn it into a business. Her business is called Baked by Daniela V.

“I had been baking for my family for about 3 years and then during quarantine I decided to turn it into a business since I had extra time” Villarreal said.

Daniella started an Instagram account which helped her reach customers. She posted pictures and videos of her desserts which made people fall in love with them.

“I first saw Daniela’s post on Instagram about her new business and I was so excited to try” junior Juliana Peredo said.

Daniela has a variety of baked goods. Some of her favorites are the sugar rush, cookies and cream, Nutella-stuffed, the chocolate bomb, Reese’s, birthday cake and s’mores cookies. She also sells banana bread, triple chocolate muffins, morning muffins, blueberry muffins, mini cookies and seasonal pies. For bigger events, she makes cookie cakes which can include any type of cookies, toppings and frosting. A favorite of many customers is the edible cookie dough.

“My menu ranges from cookies to bread to muffins to pies and also seasonal items” Villarreal said.

Her most popular baked good is Lala’s cookie which is dedicated to her grandmother who recently passed.

“My grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer at the beginning of quarantine so I wanted to dedicate the cookies to her to keep her memory alive. $1 of each Lala’s cookie sold is donated, so I could provide meals to the faculty and patients at The University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center” Villarreal said.

Daniela’s customers have fallen in love with her cookies and can’t seem to get enough.

“On my friend’s birthday, I ordered 3 chocolate chips, 3 Oreo cookies and 3 Nutella cookies and I fell in love. It was seriously the best cookies I’ve ever tried. I am going to order them for all my friends and families’ birthdays” junior Juliana Peredo said.

Daniela has learned about being organized and responsible as her business has succeeded. She hopes to continue to grow and achieve her goals for the future.

“I’ve learned a lot about responsibility and finances because if I want to be successful I have to be organized and responsible with my money and time. With this business I hope to be able to grow it into something bigger and maybe even start a bakery one day,” Villareal said.