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Em's Cafe chocolate chip cookie on a bright aqua background

Em's Cafe · Family cookie kitchen in Cincinnati

Made by Family.Made for Sharing.

Really good food has a way of bringing people together. Around here, it usually starts with a cookie.

Get the cookies

Fair warning: sharing is encouraged. Not required.

Meet the cookies everyone kept asking for.

For more than 50 years, Emily Raffel made her chocolate chip cookies for family, friends, birthdays, parties, coworkers and pretty much anyone who was lucky enough to be nearby when a batch came out of the oven.

Today, every cookie here is Maggie's: her own takes on the family favorites, baked while she rediscovers Mom's original recipes one batch at a time.

Lemon zest cookie topped with white chocolate chips, toasted coconut and fresh lemon zest

Lemon Zest

Bright, buttery and just the right amount of trouble.

Fresh lemon zest brings the sunshine. Basically sunshine in cookie form.

Baker's Dozen · $20

I need these
Apple pie cookie with chunks of apple, caramel and cinnamon crumble

Apple Pie

Apple pie got tired of needing a fork.

Real apple, buttery cookie goodness and warm spices. Easy as pie. Way easier to hide.

Baker's Dozen · $20

I need these
S'mores cookie with melted marshmallow, chocolate chips and graham cracker pieces

S'mores

Campfire optional.

Our chocolate chip cookie loaded up with gooey marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker goodness.

Baker's Dozen · $20

I need these

Made with gluten friendly ingredients and extra care. Our kitchen is not a dedicated gluten free facility, so cross contact may occur.

Cookies tomorrow? Good decision.

Order your Baker's Dozen by 4 PM and we'll have them ready beginning at 10 AM the next business day, Monday through Friday.

Need cookies Monday? Get your order in by 4 PM Friday. Tell us your pickup date and preferred pickup time when you call.

  • 1 Dozen
  • 2 Dozen
  • 3 Dozen

Need more than three dozen? Well, now we're talking.

Call us about a big order
Black-and-white photo collage of Emily Raffel baking with her daughters and trays of her cookies

Emily's Story

She never really wanted to sell her cookies. She wanted to share them.

For more than 50 years, our mom, Emily Raffel, has been making cookies for the people she loves.

  • Birthdays
  • School parties
  • Sports teams
  • Friends
  • Family
  • The people at her salon
  • Special customers at Raffel's Catering

If Mom thought you needed a little love, there was a pretty good chance that love was going to arrive in the form of a cookie.

People begged her to sell them.She never really wanted to.

Not because she didn't think they were good. She knew they were good. She just never wanted something she loved giving away to become something people expected her to change.

So the cookies remained a bit of a family secret.

Until now.

We're Emily's daughters, Nicki and Maggie, and Em's Cafe is our way of sharing a little more of our mom with all of you.

Every cookie we sell today is Maggie's.She's rediscovering Mom's recipes one batch at a time.And together, we're keeping Mom's legacy going.

Made by Family. Made for Sharing.

A Little Island Attitude

Our mom believed in taking a breath. Slowing down. Laughing a little louder. Sharing something good with somebody you love.

Around here, we call it a little Caribbean attitude.

Life's Short.Eat a Cookie.

Emily Raffel smiling with a bouquet of daisies and yellow roses while getting a hug
Rows of freshly baked cookies lined up for a big order

Cookies make people happy. We checked. It's science.

  • Bring a Baker's Dozen to the office.
  • Send some to a client.
  • Show up at a party carrying cookies and immediately become everyone's favorite person.

Birthdays, thank-yous, corporate gifts, celebrations or Tuesdays that need a little help.

Whatever the occasion, we've got you.

Need more than three dozen?

Let's talk cookies

Don't just take our word for it.

  • “I'm obsessed with these cookies.”

    Seriously. Crispy around the edges, soft in the middle, and way too easy to eat. I'm already planning my next order.

    — Ami

  • “The S'mores cookie about kicked me in the face with childhood.”

    Gooey marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker... all of it. I bought a dozen and I'm coming back for more.

    — Kelli N.

  • “I know the Cookie Lady!”

    Emily made the most wonderful basket of cookies for us when we got married. I honestly can't remember another bridal gift I received, but I remember those cookies.

    — Ralph E.

  • “Gluten free is usually code for free of taste.”

    I almost cried eating a chocolate chip cookie again that actually tasted like a REAL chocolate chip cookie. So. Good.

    — Chad P.
Grilled chicken wrap with spinach, tomatoes and pickled red onion

Coming January 2027

Cookies are only Chapter One.

Things are about to get delicious. Beginning January 2027, Em's Cafe gets a whole lot bigger.

  • Sandwiches
  • Wraps
  • Salads
  • Sides
  • Desserts

Fresh weekday lunch made for grabbing, sharing and making the middle of your day considerably better.

For now?Eat the cookies.

Feeding more than your cookie craving?

Em's Cafe grew up inside a family that's been feeding Cincinnati for generations.

If you're planning a corporate event, celebration, wedding or gathering that requires slightly more than a Baker's Dozen, our family at Raffel's Catering has you covered.

I need catering

Life's short. Eat the cookie.

Made by Family. Made for Sharing.

Order a Baker's Dozen