Sweet Craving Launched Business for Falls Church Duo

If you’ve been to , you’ve seen the small brown sacks with tasty, homemade, soft cookies inside.

For about two years, have found their way into Falls Church homes and more in the surrounding area. Operated by the husband and wife duo, Patrick and Priscilla Giannelli, the company produces between 400 and 500 bags of cookies a week.

“Pat does most of the baking,” Priscilla said. “Pat’s perfected a lot of the baking.”

Built from Priscilla’s craving for good alfajors, a Peruvian cookie. She couldn’t find a good one locally so she started baking her own and the company expanded to 13 types of cookies from that. Patrick said the company’s only customers were family and friends at first.

Once they realized they had a sure thing, the company expanded into local businesses like The Organic Butcher of Mclean, Stachowski Brand Charcuterie in Georgetown and Meat In a Box in Falls Church. A recipe for a gluten-free cookie is in the works, Patrick said.

With a diet consisting of coffee, water and a cookie or two to make sure they’re just right for the public, Patrick spends about eight hours a night baking chocolate cranberry oatmeal, double chocolate sea salt and dark chocolate coconut pecan cookies to name just a few. Between baking and working his full-time job as a real estate agent – Priscilla works full-time as an IT specialist – the couple has thought of expanding and opening their own storefront.

For now, with state certifications in hand to bake from home and a 29-year-old oven, the couple will continue to work toward that goal.

“I’m just keeping my fingers crossed,” Patrick said. “It’s getting to the point we need to take this to the next level.”

With a love and appreciation for baking and a company that means “sweet grandma” in Spanish, Priscilla said she doesn’t feel forced into the business. She said it’s fun and she enjoys sharing her love for sweets with others.

“I like to cook but I love to bake probably because I like sweets,” she said.