Let’s just get this out of the way.

A “stuffer” is a cupcake baked inside of a square cookie frame. It’s both a frosted cupcake and a cookie.

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“You can’t eat it and drive,” says co-owner Darla McCuen.

That is the kind of self-taught culinary genius that makes the owners of Kookie Haven unique.

Three sisters — Nita Briggs, Kim Haynes and McCuen — opened the first Kookie Haven with their mother, who was known as Ms. Kookie, in Desoto in 2002.

That location closed two years later, and then their mother and sister died in the same year. 

They reopened in Mesquite in 2014, but more family tragedy struck, and they closed again.

Then they blessed Oak Cliff with their sweet kookiness, opening at Jefferson Tower about a year ago.

Did you know? Kookie Haven makes vegan desserts, including seven varieties of cake, two cookies and a stuffer.

All of the cookies are based on their mother’s recipes. She worked from her own memorized creations — a little of this and a little of that. When they decided to make it a business, the sisters had to watch their mother bake the treats and stop her at every turn to weigh her measurements. They were amazed to find that even though every recipe was different, every single one of them used the same amounts of sugar, flour and butter.

Ms. Kookie always encouraged her daughters to put their own unique spin on everything they do in the kitchen, and that spirit continues in their professional lives.

As kids, they baked and sold cookies and cakes to earn extra money for their family. About half of Kookie Haven’s recipes come from Briggs’ own creativity.

“Nita started cooking at age 9,” McCuen says. “She has a way of making things taste good.”

Kookie Haven 

337 W. Jefferson

Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 

11 a.m.-9 p.m. 

Friday-Saturday, 

closed Sunday-Monday

Price range: $2.25-$5.75

kookiehaven.com

Photo by Kathy Tran

Photo by Kathy Tran

Photo by Kathy Tran

Photo by Kathy Tran

Photo by Kathy Tran

Photo by Kathy Tran

Photography by Kathy Tran.