It’s a Woman’s World: Danielle LeBlanc of Cloudy Lane Bakery

One sunny day in Bethel, I was interviewing Sara Oberhammer at her spot, Soulber Kitchen & Market, over lunch, smoothies, and at least one caffeinated beverage. That’s when a smiling face burst through the door with a cookie delivery.

Dani LeBlanc and I met ever so briefly, but right after she left, Sara said, “Have you had her cookies?”

“Nope,” I replied.

“Oh, we’re splitting a cookie!” she said enthusiastically.

I had no intentions of fighting this. Present me with a cookie and the answer is always “YES!”

I hadn’t heard of Dani’s bakery, Cloudy Lane, before this, but one bite of one of her fresh, giant cookies—we chose maple pecan, by the way—and I wouldn’t soon forget her, her bakery, or that cookie.

And what’s wild is I wouldn’t have even known that Dani’s cookies aren’t only gluten free, but dairy free as well. They’re also free of seed oils and refined sugars, if you’re keeping score.

Cloudy Lane’s website has a line that reads:

“Cloudy Lane was created to answer the call of the millions of people who just want a cookie that tastes like damn cookie.”

They damn sure do.

I was pretty blown away and I wanted to provide some of you who aren’t familiar with Dani or Cloudy Lane, much like I was, with an introduction to who she is, how she got started, and plenty about her bakery.

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I know you have a background as a competitive athlete and as a musician. Tell us about that? What sport or sports did you compete in and what instruments do you play?

I started playing classical violin at the age of four. I grew up in an athletic household, played a bunch of sports growing up, ranging from soccer lacrosse, diving, and I eventually moved to Vermont to pursue ski racing full time when I was 12. After one too many concussions and other injuries, I made the tough decision to quit ski racing during my junior year of high school, which allowed me more time to focus on the arts and creative pursuits. I began singing, taught myself the guitar and started writing songs. I joined the musical theater program at my school and dove headfirst into the arts, which led me to Berklee College of Music in Boston.

How did you first get into baking? Give that origin story?

The first memory I have of baking I was about seven years old and a friend came over. We were making apple crisp and I misread one teaspoon of cinnamon for one cup of cinnamon, so it wasn’t a great start, but it didn’t stop me. Soon after, I started making up my own recipes and writing them down. They weren’t very good and I didn’t even know what I was making, but I remember having fun. I have always loved creating, and thought it was so cool that baking is like making an art project and then being able to eat it. 

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How did you start Cloudy Lane?

After graduating college, I felt a little unsure how to pursue my passions and make a career out of it. I had moved home to my parents’ house on Cloudy Lane and spent my days comforting myself by baking. When following recipes, I always found myself making it my own, adding and taking away ingredients and adjusting measurements. Before I knew it, I was creating my own recipes entirely, and sharing them with friends and family. I loved that I could use my creativity and my knowledge of health to create truly delicious and nutritious baked goods.

When I briefly met you at Soulber, after you dropped off some cookies, Sara and I shared one. I couldn’t believe it was gluten free and dairy free! What was your process to create more healthy conscious baked goods? And why is this important?

When creating food, I am always searching for ways to up-level the nutrition and flavor. I find it so satisfying adding ingredients to baked goods that add an extra five grams of protein or fiber. 

When I was creating Cloudy Lane recipes, it was an obvious choice to choose ingredients with the highest quality and health possible. With a ton of batch testing, I was able to find a blend of flours that resembled traditional baked goods with great texture and flavor that anybody with or without dietary restrictions could enjoy fully, without feeling any sort of compromise. 

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What’s coming up in the near future for you and Cloudy Lane?

We are working on a partnership with Erewhon in LA, and growing our presence in stores around the country. We are also finishing up details to launch a new flavor of our Cookie Cloud bars, so stay tuned!

Tell the readers where we can find you and how we can order.

The best way to stay in the loop with latest updates is on Instagram @cloudylanebakery and you can place an order our website cloudylanebakery.com