Most of us are familiar with the proverb “waste not, want not.” And for Kristina Rich, it could not be more on point. Kristina is the general manager of Owen’s Fish Camp in Lakewood Ranch, where they have a soft serve ice cream machine. It has to be cleaned every couple of days, leaving behind a decent amount of discarded ice cream. So Kristina proposed that she could make ice cream cookie sandwiches with the leftovers, and the brand Sugar Mommaz was born.
“This was kind of, like, just a fun little hobby for me,” Kristina said. “But then I was having to replenish [the sandwiches] every two days or so, and I thought ‘This really may be, like, a thing.’”
While the ice cream is about recycling, the cookies are a true passion project.
“My mom was really into baking cookies and all sorts of fun stuff, and unfortunately she passed in 2017,” said Kristina wistfully. “This is how I feel close to her. I work with my mom’s recipes, but I have learned how to tweak them a bit because the chemistry changes when you freeze the cookies.”
Her tweaks are incredibly spot on. So often you risk a broken tooth on an ice cream cookie sandwich. Sugar Mommaz cookies are soft yet frozen at the same time. And oh, the flavors. She started with traditional chocolate chip, then expanded to a variation of birthday cake, with buttercream icing in the batter. The toffee crunch is on a whole other level.
“My mom had an outstanding toffee recipe and everyone calls it chocolate crack,” laughed Kristina. “So we are making her toffee and then putting it into the batter.”
“My mom had an outstanding toffee recipe and everyone calls it chocolate crack,” laughed Kristina. “So we are making her toffee and then putting it into the batter.”
And don’t forget all these amazing soft, chewy and decadent cookies have Owen’s homemade ice cream nestled in between. Kristina is also baking muffins for Owen’s brunch menu.
Kristina credits Owen’s co-owner Mark Caragiulo and chef Collin Blakeman for letting her realize her dream in their commercial kitchen. Kristina started working at the original Owen’s in Burns Court 16 years ago and then moved to the new Lakewood Ranch restaurant.
“We are a family and [Mark] has stood behind me and loved every silly adventure I want to start here,” Kristina said with obvious appreciation. “Most chefs don’t like people in their kitchen, but Collin has been incredibly understanding about that and has taught me things on a new culinary level. I come in and bake on my days off, or I stay and do it after hours to be out of the way of the kitchen.”
But Kristina is quick to say she is not doing this just for fun.
“I have two kids; my son is 13 and my daughter, Gracie, named after my mom, is 4. And I want to leave a legacy for them like my mom did for me.”
And judging by the number of families stopping by just for ice cream sammies, Sugar Mommaz is making memories for many more than just Kristina.
End note: Sugar Mommaz ice cream sammies are sold at the store inside Owen’s Fish Camp in Lakewood Ranch and at Burns Mercantile on Burns Court.
