She\u2019s now baking around 100 cookies every weekend, which have unsurprisingly become a big hit: they typically run out after a few hours of eager passersby scooping them up.<\/p>\n
And the best part? The cookies \u2014 only one per person, please \u2014 are completely free. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope was that people would walk by our street on the way to other places and come across this little joyful, whimsical library of cookies \u2014 not a library, a bakehouse \u2014 and be charmed by it,\u201d Tierney said in an interview last week. \u201cAnd it would bring them a smile, and it would bring them joy, and of course, the cookies would be free.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bakehouse2-1024x682.jpg\")
Batch Bakehouse creator Liz Tierney on July 30, 2026. Credit: Quinn Myers\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
For Tierney, 43, baking is a multi-generational family tradition that was passed down from her grandmother, who herself was a professional baker. <\/p>\n
As a kid, Tierney particularly loved Martha Stewart, whose shows and recipes proved to be a big influence on her. <\/p>\n
\u201cI used to wake up on Sunday mornings and watch the Martha Stewart show, and then look through her magazines. I had all of her cookbooks, and so I was baking when I was 10, cakes and all kinds of different things,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody always said, \u2018that\u2019s what you should do for a living,\u2019 and it just didn\u2019t seem like a feasible opportunity.\u201d <\/p>\n
After college, Tierney pursued a career in advertising, but she kept baking for friends and parties. She\u2019s lived in Bucktown since 2012 and has often brought cookies to neighbors as a way to make connections or support them during tough times.<\/p>\n
For years, she kept hearing the same thing from family and friends who loved her baked goods.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were always like, \u2018You should do something with this,’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
An opportunity to bake more presented itself in 2024, when Tierney was laid off from her job at a B2B publication. She suddenly had a lot of time on her hands, and soon came up with the idea of installing a free community bakehouse near her home.<\/p>\n
After a false start last summer, Tierney knew she wanted to make it happen this year. The annual Bucktown Garden Walk, which sees thousands of people strolling around the neighborhood every July, seemed like the perfect time to go for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do this. I obviously now, without a job, have more time on my hands, and things are bleak in the world,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd with the garden walk coming up, I had this idea. I said to my partner: \u201cWhat if we made a little library, but put cookies in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bakehouse3-1024x682.jpg\")
Liz Tierney tapes up a menu for her Batch Bakehouse, which she stocks with free cookies every weekend. Credit: Quinn Myers\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
After that, the little free bakery \u2014 which Tierney has dubbed Batch Bakehouse \u2014 came together quickly. <\/p>\n
She ordered the physical \u201clibrary\u201d online, added a fresh coat of paint and letters and attached it to a catalpa tree about midway down Churchill Street between Hoyne and Damen avenues.<\/p>\n
The cookies proved to be an immediate hit with neighbors and Tierney soon fell into a weekly rhythm.<\/p>\n
Every Thursday, she announces a menu of cookies for the weekend with a handwritten sign on the bakehouse and an Instagram post.<\/p>\n
Then at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Tierney stocks the bakehouse with anywhere from 40 to 60 cookies, all of which she bakes fresh that same morning.<\/p>\n
Her only real guideline has been asking people to take just one cookie at a time, on the honor system. So far, most neighbors have been good sports about it. <\/p>\n
This past weekend was Tierney\u2019s fourth cookie drop of the summer. Each one is labeled with its ingredients and a notice that it was produced in a home kitchen that\u2019s not subject to a public health inspection.<\/p>\n
And while she\u2019s reused a few favorite recipes, Tierney is trying to bring in new flavors as much as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sprinkles are a repeat because I had a couple people tell me that they missed it, but they really wanted it,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I\u2019m repeating classics and favorites, but in general, I\u2019m trying to keep it fresh and new.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_7968-1024x682.jpg\")
Liz Tierney\u2019s cookies in the Batch Bakehouse on July 30, 2026. Credit: Quinn Myers\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bakehouse4-1024x682.jpg\")
The Batch Bakehouse on the 2000 block of West Churchill Street in Bucktown on July 30, 2026. Credit: Quinn Myers\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
Giving away the cookies isn\u2019t the only endeavor Tierney has launched over the past month.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s currently in the process of registering the operation through the city<\/a> so she can sell cookies baked in her home kitchen, ideally for parties or other get-togethers.<\/p>\n Her initial menu<\/a> offers most options for $36 per dozen, with some specialty flavors going for $40.<\/p>\n Tierney said her goal with the \u201cfor sale\u201d portion of the project isn\u2019t to become a full-fledged business. Instead, she just wants to break even so she can continue to afford all the sugar, flour and butter that her free cookie library demands.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to be able to bake enough cookies for people who need them for classes, their kids\u2019 class or a work event or a party they\u2019re having, whatever it is, that I can do the bakehouse and keep it free,\u201d Tierney said. <\/p>\n \u201cObviously, it\u2019s not sustainable to bake 100 cookies every week for your neighbors in perpetuity. I would love to live in that world, but it\u2019s just not feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n So, how long can Tierney keep this going? <\/p>\n Right now, she\u2019s committed to the weekly schedule through at least the fall. <\/p>\n After that, the operation may become a bit more sporadic, although Tierney said she\u2019d like to do cookie drops around Hanukkah, Christmas and other holidays.<\/p>\n \u201cThen maybe take some time off when it\u2019s negative-10 and no one\u2019s walking by,\u201d Tierney said. \u201cOr [I\u2019ll] surprise people, because we still have to walk our dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n Something keeping Tierney motivated has been the overwhelmingly positive response her cookies have received. One kid even left a thank you note with a hand-drawn smiley face<\/a> that\u2019s now taped up in her kitchen.<\/p>\n The cookies are a simple \u201canalog\u201d way for Tierney to connect with her neighbors, and for neighbors to connect with each other, she said \u2014 an increasingly rare and valuable exchange in a world dominated by screens and social media.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted people to experience joy, and that is, I think, what we\u2019ve accomplished with the bakehouse,\u201d Tierney said. \u201cIt makes me really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n \t