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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Entertainment
Sophie Buchan

Glasgow's stuffed cookie shop which has fans driving hours just to try them

There are many small business across Glasgow that see queues out the door from the minute they open whether it's your local cafe, a vintage shop or the bakery you love buying that loaf of bread from.

And one shop in Glasgow, that's not long opened their doors, is no stranger to seeing lines of people outside waiting to get their hands on tasty treats - and some people have driven hours just to get a box.

Chulo's, located in Finnieston, is popular with locals after it built up a loyal following thanks to their appearances at markets across the city.

READ MORE: The Glasgow cafe with queues out the door as award winning eatery joins the Barras

Sitting down with Glasgow Live on a rare and sunny day on their iconic pink and yellow bench, the couple said they originally thought of going in a completely different direction.

Jordan Rankin, who owns the business with partner Rebecca Paterson said: "We knew we wanted to start our own business of some sort. Originally it was going to be sandwiches but we realised we weren't chefs."

Starting baking over lockdown citing their "noble giant cheese twists and giant Jaffa cakes", Rebecca recalled: "I was just bored I was trying to make enough food for a three course meal but we made loads of cookies.

"We started playing around with loads of recipes during lockdown and tweaking different bits and adding things to it and it's actually still the recipe we use today - but the cookies look completely different.

Chulo's is located in Finnieston. (Sophie Buchan/Glasgow Live.)

"We started to stuff them with just one thing like Nutella and they were tasty but weird shaped. When we started, we were doing cookies and brownies - that's what we were going to start with but when we were taking them to the markets, our cookies sold really well but the brownies not so much.

"We loved the brownies and thought they were really good so we started to incorporate it into the cookies."

Seeing the stuffed treats as a more "unique product", Jordan said they found it harder to make a brownie look different compared to the stuffed cookies.

RELATED: We tried Chulo's stuffed cookies as their new store launches in Glasgow - and they did not disappoint

Selling mixed boxes to family and friends in the beginning, they uploaded pictures to Instagram and before they knew it, they had people messaging. Recalling the first message Rebecca said: "I still remember the first time someone messaged us because we hadn't put out that we were selling. But someone said can I please order a box. We were sitting in Jordan's mum's house looking at each other like omg somebody actually wants to buy our cookies and we were so buzzing."

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Both, at the time, were juggling other jobs making it challenging with Rebecca adding: "We were both still working full time so trying to juggle both was quite hard.

"We started doing a box every couple of weeks and applied for what seemed like every single farmers market in the whole of Scotland. We were desperate for someone to take us on and then we finally got a last minute cancellation spot at a farmers market in Erskine, didn't have a clue what we were getting ourselves into, but we went along with what would we thought was enough stock - we had never done it before."

Jordan explained: "We made 200 cookies and we sold out by 11.30am. From there we just started to get into other markets and built up a following in Glasgow - then we really did do every single market we could do.

"There were times where we were doing six a week and we just felt we were ready for the shop."

They don't just sell their cookies at the shop however with the popular cookies still being sold at markets including Grassmarket, Stockbridge and Uddingston with the pair having featured at some in the southside too.

Jordan explained: "They're our only three regular slots we do about once or twice a month. We also stock different food festivals and events" with the pair having recently at Glasgow's Big Feed and events at the SEC including the upcoming Ideal Home Show.

But if you can't make it along to their markets or shop, the only place you can get them is Scran - another local business which sees queues out the door.

Jordan Rankin and Rebecca Paterson are the faces behind the successful business. (Sophie Buchan/Glasgow Live.)

Speaking about the cafe Rebecca said: "Scran is our only wholesaler. We kinda said from the start we'd not do wholesale as we felt if we could sell them ourselves, it would be more beneficial for us. But we love Scran and Chris' food so much. We live in Dennistoun so we ate there quite a lot before they moved.

"But when he messaged us asking to stock we we're like yeah that's it we're not gonna turn that down no way. So we don't plan on taking anything else on, so it will be Scran for as long as he wants us, we'll be there."

Selling 3,500 cookies in one of their biggest weeks, the pair remain in the unit baking most days with Monday being their prep day and Tuesday and Wednesday seeing the dough made, weighed and stuffed.

On Thursday and Friday they then bake all the cookies for the weekend.

After stuffing the cookies again, piping and decorating them, as well as deciding which cookies are going where, they finally make their way to the shop, markets and Scran after what Rebecca calls a "seven day operation."

Coming up with a name can be tricky, but coming up with names for their cookies is also a task in itself.

Discussing how they come up with the ideas, and the names, Rebecca said: "We can't take credit for all that anymore. We now have an amazing team who help us out and our shop manager, Helen, comes up with most of the ideas.

"But when we started, we liked taking one idea and breaking it down.

"So we take one flavour or one dessert and focus on that and try and work out what goes with that. So our banoffee one we would make banana bread which we made to go in the middle and then we think right we need stuff to go into the dough that represents the flavour so we'd put banana flavouring in the dough.

Their cookies are a sell out. (Sophie Buchan/Glasgow Live.)

"We needed something chocolat-y but also caramel so we have the caramel digestives and then we piped it with caramel so essentially we're deconstructing a flavour and then find things that represent it.

"It takes us ages to finalise everything. For every cookie we have one or two types of chocolate, and another one or two mix ins whether it's a biscuit or a cake and some sort of flavouring and after piping we need to decide what goes on top."

She added: "It's a lengthy process but when we get a final cookie done, it's worth it and it's made our lives so much easier having the team to help us out because coming up with the names honestly takes us so long - and when some of them go out we're thinking this is the worst name we could have possibly chosen but it's the best of a bad bunch."

Having been welcomed into the Finnieston community with open arms they said: "We love the community, we have so many regular customers that you see coming in every week and we're so thankful for it."

Chulo's stuffed cookies are popular in Glasgow. (Sophie Buchan/Glasgow Live.)

And the success has taken them by surprise, Rebecca said: "It's all happened so fast, we are honestly so grateful. We do work so hard, we really do put the hours in, but we could never have imagined for people to have taken to it so much. We're so lucky."

Jordan said they love that people want them for their Christmas or birthday and that he's amazed that "that's their special thing" with Rebecca adding: "We've had people travelling here from Birmingham. Someone last week came down from Inverness so that's a four hour drive solely to get our cookies.

"We were buying our ingredients with out tips when we first started so to go from that to doing it full time within three or four months it's crazy."

Chulo's, located at 936 Argyle Street, is open from Friday at 11 am until 6pm as well as Saturday and Sunday from 11am until 4pm. You can keep up-to-date with Chulo's on Instagram.

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