'Tis the season for cookie decorating classes — and TikTok videos

Maddie Gartmann, a cookie decoration instructor and content creator, started selling decorated sugar cookies baked out of her home in South St. Paul, Minnesota more than a decade ago, but pivoted in 2024 to focusing solely on classes and social media.

Today, she’s still teaching and recording TikTok videos (where she has more than 900,000 followers), and the holidays are her busy season.

“I think of it like the the Minnesota State Fair,” said Gartmann. “I make a lot of my income during one chunk of the year, and then a smaller portion comes from my video content.”

“Marketplace” host Kristin Schwab spoke with Gartmann about what it’s like to make content for TikTok, and why her cookie decorating classes are a lot more stable.

To listen, use the “play” button at the top of this page.