After twenty years of being a nurse, the stress of COVID-19 was the final nail in the coffin for Tualatin’s Andrea Doss. She wanted a way out. While Andrea wanted to leave her career, her son Jacob wanted to pave the way for himself to become a full-time musician.
Unbeknownst to them, the way out was something Andrea had done her whole life: baking.
Jacob grew up on a steady diet of musical theater, and his mother’s cookies. When Jacob was four, he saw Cathy Rigby play Peter Pan at the Keller Auditorium. Seeing Rigby fly across the stage sparked a young Jacob’s obsession with musical theater. “I could never sit still growing up, but when I watched Peter Pan, I didn’t move. I didn’t want to leave during the intermission. When it was over, I wanted to see it again.”
While Jacob’s obsession with music began, Andrea would bake cakes for weddings and private events, but raising a family while operating a small business was becoming time-consuming. She knew it would be more practical to quit baking and go back to school to become a nurse, but she never stopped baking at home, much to the praise of Jacob.
“Whenever I went to my friend’s house, I couldn’t eat their cookies,” Jacob says, “My mom’s cookies were so good, but it is about the cookie, not the person.”
“We would always tell her to sell her cookies,” Jacob says, “She would bring cookies to her coworkers, and they would tell her that they would buy them, but she never listened.” According to Andrea, the timing of starting a baking company was never right, that is, until COVID-19 forced her to make a decision. Be a nurse in a stressful environment, or do what you love.
In 2021, Andrea would make that decision and founded Drea’s Badass Cookie Co. She would split her time as a part-time nurse and part-time baker for a year and a half, until she mustered the courage to bake full-time. She would start the company from scratch, leaving behind the benefits her prior job afforded her.
According to Jacob, his mother did not take out any loans, and despite the early struggles, she knew it was worth it. She had always wanted to do it throughout her career as a nurse, but now it was coming true.
Andrea would start baking in her kitchen and would sell her first cookies at the Tigard Farmers Market in April of 2022.
People know Drea’s Badass Cookie Co. for its organic ingredients and reputation, which is built on the back of having gluten-free, sugar-free, and vegan options; something that no other local cookie company provides. They ship to nine Market of Choice stores statewide, five different restaurants across the metropolitan area, and have cultivated a following at the Oregon City farmer’s market.
Jacob would join the company in 2022, helping her with deliveries, baking, and manning the booths at various farmers’ markets. According to Jacob, he gets to help his mom’s dreams become a reality, all while pursuing his. “I get to make my schedule and help my Mom’s dream come true,” says Jacob, “I get free time to pursue music.”
Jacob graduated from Tualatin High School in 2019, where he starred in Shrek the Musical, Once Upon a Mattress and The Little Mermaid. Since then he has worked as an extra in various productions by Netflix, Hulu, Paramount, Sony and TBS, only to go on an acting hiatus in 2022.
He has sung on and off since graduating, placing 30th at the National Karaoke Championship in 2022, and has produced multiple vocal covers on YouTube.
While working for his mother, Jacob would be contacted by JC Bones, drummer of Crystal Palace, in mid-2023. The band is known for their aggressive arena-rock Poison-inspired sound, something that Jacob had a hard time getting used to. “I did not like it, my voice did not like it. I can’t be Vince Neil,” Jacob says.
Jacob left in November of 2023, only to rejoin in October of 2024, realizing that if he wanted to pursue music, he could not do it alone. In his absence, Crystal Palace’s sound matured to be softer, much to Jacob’s liking.
Crystal Palace has been on a hiatus since November of 2024, with all members except Jacob going on a business trip to California. Despite the break, Jacob says he feels optimistic because he can collaborate with other musicians, something he hasn’t had the chance to do since he graduated.
Andrea and Jacob want to expand to more grocery stores, fill more orders and have more flavors of cookies available.
“Being able to make a product that everyone likes makes me very happy. Music and cookies are moving at a very fast pace, it is full steam ahead, and I love it,” Jacob says.
You can visit Drea’s Badass Cookie Co. online at www.dreasbadasscookieco.com and Jacob Doss’ YouTube covers at www.youtube.com/@jacobezradoss.
