Meet Anabel Rider | Owner of Ro’s Gluten-Free Treats

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anabel Rider and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anabel, what do you want your legacy to be?
There are so many things that change when you become a mom, I think this was something that changed for me. I have always been one to try to keep true to myself and not worry much about what others think about me, good or bad. Now as a new mom, I find myself wondering “what do I want my daughter to learn from me?” Even more so than before, I try to be myself and speak lovingly of myself and others. I want her to learn from watching me to do everything with love, to be proud of our culture, to lean on God, and always have faith. I hope I can teach her and help her see that being a woman is a strength, that you can be sensitive and strong at the same time, and you don’t have to apologize for either. I want her to grow up knowing that she can do anything she sets her mind to and that being a woman doesn’t stop her from that.

As a baker, I hope that people remember me as someone who was able to help them make a special day just a tiny bit sweeter and was able to help make their cookie vision come to life!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make gluten-free cookies and specialize in decorated sugar cookies. I bake everything fresh when I receive an order. I am bilingual and am blessed to be able to work with my Spanish speaking community as well. When I decided to start selling my cookies, I wanted to make sweet treats more accessible for people, who like me, can not have regular cookies. I have been gluten-free for six years; I know how hard it is to find gluten-free treats that taste good and are fresh. We have limited options and often our options are frozen and don’t always have the best flavor.

I have always enjoyed baking and always made cookies around the holidays, but I started really focusing on decorated sugar cookies a couple of months after my daughter was born. I realized it was something that I enjoyed doing and that I could do once the baby was down for a couple of hours of sleep or for her nap. I was in that post-partum stage where I was trying to find something to do for myself that I enjoyed, something as an individual and not a mom. I started daydreaming of taking cookies to her school one day and someone saying, “Ro’s mom makes the best cookies!” I named my little business after my daughter, Ro is one of her nicknames and she’s our little chick, hence why my logo is a little chick.

I am self-taught, so I put a lot of time into practicing and getting better at decorating as well getting my recipe to be just right. I have only been taking orders and selling my cookies for a couple years, so I still consider myself relatively new at this and am always looking to grow and learn. I am a vendor every other weekend in an artisan market. This has given me the opportunity to meet and connect with other gluten-free cottage bakers in the area and other local business owners. It’s nice to have those connections and friendships, we support each other and refer clients and to one another when it’s something we don’t specialize in.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My best friend and I love to drink coffee. There is a little local café on Main Street in Euless that I know we would be visiting throughout the week. Being an introvert, I enjoy a good movie or a good book, so I know we would visit a bookstore or catch a movie while she’s in town. Maybe because I am a small business owner, I like to support small businesses. I also have a little Argentinian bakery off Beltline in Irving that I like to visit, they have delicious coffee and treats. I am not Argentinian, but I love the vibe there, they are always welcoming and have upbeat music playing. For lunch, I know we would either visit my favorite taco truck in Bedford or pick up a poke bowl from my favorite Hawaiian restaurant in Hurst.

I grew up in small town Texas, so I like to visit business that make me think of “home” and give me that small town feeling even though I live in the middle of the big city.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have a couple of people I want to give a shoutout to.

First, my wonderful husband, he is one of the sweetest and most supportive humans that I have the privilege of having in my life and tribe. He has always been super supportive and encouraging of all my dreams, and he was the one that kept encouraging me to start my cookie business.

My daughter, who I named my cookie business after, she is my little light and the motor behind everything I do.

Lastly, to my friends and family who have encouraged me from the start and to the new friends I have made through the artisanal community.

Instagram: rosgftreats

Facebook: rosgftreats

Other: Email: rosgftreats@gmail.com

Image Credits
Photos by: Little Light Photography-DFW