Kaytlin Robinson, owner of Joyful Macarons, began her business by accident. It began with a craving for macarons. That craving lead to four hours of watching how-to videos on YouTube, a trip to the store for almond flour and four more hours of baking, which resulted in a near perfect batch of macarons. She then posted a picture of her success and woke up the next morning to an inbox full of orders.
Within weeks of starting, Kaytlin Robinson and her husband made 67 dozen macarons in various flavors. It was at that point that she began to question why she was making the cookies.
“I was working in my kitchen listening to my worship music like I always do, and I started asking God, ‘Why am I doing this? Why is this bringing me so much joy?” Kaytlin Robinson said. “I knew God was telling me that I would use this business to bring joy to others as he brought joy to me.”
However, she said this joy was hard to come by.
“My husband and I have been struggling with infertility for a long time and have been told by doctors we will not be able to have children,” Kaytlin Robinson said. “I became very depressed because all I wanted was a baby and a family.”
Soon after, Kaytlin Robinson attended a conference through her church. The topic was joy.
“The speaker talked about how when you lose your joy you lose your strength to fight because the joy of the Lord is your strength, and I knew then that I had lost all my joy,” Kaytlin Robinson said.
However, following this conference she said God began to restore her joy.
“I saw a movie theater sign that said ‘Joy coming soon,’ and then when we were in New Orleans there was a theater called Joy Theatre,” Kaytlin Robinson said. “When we went to Colorado we rented skis and our skis had ‘Joy’ written all over.”
As the business grew, she began to call her bakery Joyful Macarons with the intention to bring joy to others.
“People know they are made by hand, they are made with joy and they are happy cookies, “Kaytlin Robinson said. “Whenever someone buys a box of joy, they give joy to children.”
Every month, Joyful Macarons makes a donation to a different children’s charity to provide necessities to children within that organization. Joyful Macarons has donated bunk beds, laundry baskets, pacifiers, clothes, sleepers and much more.
“We get to fulfill our joy and provide for them,” Kaytlin Robinson said. “The proceeds from these tiny finicky cookies help thousands of babies.”
She said the most rewarding part is buying the items the organizations need.
“When I click the pay button on Amazon or check-out at Walmart I see the reason why we do it,” Kaytlin Robinson said. “It brings me so much joy to be able to help someone in need; it shows Christ’s love, kindness and spreads joy.”
To Ben, his wife’s joy is the reason for the business.
“Seeing her happiness is what makes me happy,” Ben Robinson said. “She has found her dream and calling, and it shows.”
As the Robinsons wait on their own bundle of joy, they find a great reward in baking these cookies and providing an opportunity to help even more people.
“This business provides a constant reminder that God truly makes promises and that he is faithful to keep them,” Teresa Raney, mother to Kaytlin Robinson and baker at Joyful Macarons said. “It’s undeniable that God, not my daughter, started this business. She just followed where he led her, and for our family that means everything.”
Kaytlin Robinson is expecting to move from her home kitchen to her own storefront as business is rapidly growing.
Written by Lexi Hoagland and Raianne Mason
