EAST LONGMEADOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- An East Longmeadow bakery owner said Wednesday that she’s facing death threats and online harassment after posting controversial cookies on social media, but her community is rallying behind her.

Nikki Moran said her home address was posted online, strangers wished death on her children, threatened to assault her employees, and promised to burn down her bakery with her inside all because of cookies. However, the owner of The Sweet Boutique isn’t backing down and Wednesday morning, her community lined up to show their support.

She said she never expected this when she decorated a batch of cookies. “People have wished illness and death on my family and my children. We’ve gotten a lot of death threats, hoping me and all my female employees get raped and my male employees get robbed, that they’re going to lock me in the building and burn the place down with me inside. It’s just been, it’s been a lot,” she explained.

When you speak up about what you believe, what happens? For this East Longmeadow baker, that decision brought both terror and overwhelming support. The trigger? Cookies with a four-letter word followed by three letters: ICE. Moran made them to express her frustration about current events regarding immigration raids and deportations happening across the country. “There was just a lot going on in the news and we are very...we just get really mad. It’s just really frustrating and sometimes we just need to express it and there were a lot of protests going on and it was really just kind of on a whim and I was like, ‘What if I put this on a cookie?’ and that was it,” she added.

The cookies went viral, but so did the backlash. Her home address was posted online, the threats came fast, and Moran and her team implemented safety protocols, including East Longmeadow Police. The department told Western Mass News a report was filed by the bakery, but there is no word on their investigation.

However, something else went viral too: support. By Wednesday morning, The Sweet Boutique was jam-packed with customers from near and far. “It was definitely overwhelming, but today has been so much better because I’ve just seen all of the positives and there’s so many people here. It’s crazy,” Moran noted.

Western Mass News spoke with one brand-new customer who wished to remain anonymous. She drove to The Sweet Boutique with hopes of getting one of the controversial cookies. They were sold out and she settled for a cupcake instead, but said she’ll be back. “I think showing support for a small business that is not afraid to use their Freedom of Speech is important,” the customer explained.

For Moran, the cookies represent more than just frosting and flour. They’re about using her small business as a platform for her beliefs and she hopes it encourages others to stand up for themselves, even when it’s scary.

The controversial cookies are sold out for now, but the conversation they started is just beginning as another batch of cookies is expected Thursday.

Copyright 2026 Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.