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The basics:

• Carson’s Cookie Dough provides job training for young adults with autism
• The Fair Lawn bakery also features products from NJ businesses with similar missions
• Founder Kelly Castro was inspired by son Carson

A newly opened retail shop is doing its part to create meaningful job opportunities for young adults with autism. Located at 25-05 Broadway in Fair Lawn, the space is home to Carson’s Cookie Dough, which sells cookies and cookie dough products, and Just a Taste of New Jersey, which features goods from other local businesses that employ differently abled individuals.

Besides being a place to purchase fresh cookies and unique gifts, owner Kelly Castro hopes it will inspire other small businesses to be more inclusive with their workforces.

Castro’s entrepreneurial journey was inspired by her 8-year-old son, Carson. After he was diagnosed with autism at an early age, the Oradell wife and mother of three began to learn that many programs and support for autistic children largely disappear after they turn 21.

Adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder struggle with unemployment or underemployment issues at an extremely high rate, with studies estimating that anywhere from 50%–75% of the 5.6 million autistic adults in the U.S. cannot find meaningful work due to a lack of opportunities available to them.

And while most (8 out of 10) eligible autistic people are enrolling in workforce training programs, only half are landing jobs, an April 2025 report by Autism Speaks found. Almost 50% of 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job — despite having the skill sets and expertise to excel in the workplace.

Castro said, “I was at an autism retreat. I’d spoke to all these other parents of adults with autism and they’re sharing how scary it is with an over 80% unemployment rate, so I found myself worrying what would my son do – even though he was only 6 years old at the time.”

At the event, Castro met the owners of Beloved Bath. Founded by two mothers whose adult sons have autism, the Maplewood-based bath products company employs many individuals who are autistic.

“It was definitely a lightbulb moment for me. I was like ‘I can do that – I can make a business for Carson.’ My husband has always wanted to start a business,” she said. “So, we put our heads together and came up with cookies because Carson loves cookies so much and he likes making them too,” she explained. “During the pandemic, when he was home and he had to do OT [occupational therapy] and speech therapies virtually, we found making cookie dough was a surprisingly good motivator for him for these therapies.”

Castro wanted to combine her love of baking and passion to make a difference for people, like her son, who face challenges. In launching Carson’s Cookie Dough in 2023, the goal was to expand and employ people with disabilities, she said.

After coordinating with specialists to learn more about what accommodations would be needed and how to develop on-the-job training, Castro began working with a handful of students with autism – showing them how to prepare and make cookies at a commercial kitchen space she was renting by the hour in the Westwood Community Center.

Initially, Carson’s Cookie Dough sold raw cookie dough for customers to bake at home. It soon evolved into selling baked cookies locally at schools and events and then shipping cookies nationwide last year.

Once Castro received some media attention, several local school districts with autism programs reached out about having their students work with her. As the business became busier and Castro teamed up with additional schools, she outgrew the space in Westwood.

Six months into her search for a commercial kitchen to rent, Castro realized there aren’t many available in Bergen County and changed her approach. One day she discovered that the Daily Fresh Manna Pastries and Savory retail bakery was for sale in Fair Lawn.

“When we found the bakery and the space, we needed to do some fundraising, so we ended up doing a Kickstarter because we had so many people reaching out asking how to donate,” she said. “We raised $52,000 in 30 days, which is incredible. And we were able to use that money to purchase all the equipment and everything for the bakery.”

‘Just a taste’

Along with allowing the cookie business to expand operations, it also enabled Castro to provide even more employment opportunities to people with disabilities.

Since the location in Fair Lawn also contained retail space, Castro decided to use the storefront to showcase other small businesses with similar missions. Those goods include body lotions and candles from Beloved Bath, popcorn from Popcorn for the People (Piscataway), coffee from Ethan & Bean (Little Falls, Morristown), honey from Pony Power Therapies (Mahwah), and socks from John’s Crazy Socks (Farmingdale, N.Y.)

“They’ve all been awesome and such a pleasure to work with, so we are excited to fill our storefront with all these products. We decided to call it Just a Taste because it is just a taste of what these individuals can do,” she said.

At the store, students have roles that range from measuring ingredients and making prep bags or running the mixing station, to operating the front register and interacting with customers. Both the kitchen and retail areas are set up with step-by-step instructions to ensure they feel at ease.

Currently, Carson’s Cookie Dough offers five flavors: chocolate chip, chocolate crinkle, sprinkle sugar, M&Ms and molasses.

“We definitely want to come up with more, but for now, I think we’re going to stick with the five because our kitchen is set up in such a way where it’s very specific. We have over 20 adults with special needs – mostly between the ages of 18 and 21 – here every single week. So, it works for our purposes to make sure everything is pretty consistent and it sets them up for success and to make sure everything that goes to a customer is a good quality,” she said.

According to Castro, the purpose of the kitchen and store is “not for someone to come here and work for 20 years.”

“I don’t want adults with disabilities to work here and adults without disabilities to work everywhere else,” she said. “I want them to start here, get some confidence, and then go and use the skills and the competency at a job somewhere else where their real dream is. And so, I really focus on the teamwork because I think that’s something you need no matter where you work and no matter what you do in life.”

Just a few of the places that students have moved onto include postsecondary programs for young adults with intellectual disabilities at Bergen Community College, The College of New Jersey and Rutgers University.

According to Castro, Carson’s Cookie Dough has expanded its customer base significantly through its e-commerce site. About 80% of its business is done via shipping, which, she said, “Has been something that has really enabled us to afford all the expenses of owning a business, especially in this area.”

“Everything kind of fell into space and it felt very meant to be,” she said. “Fair Lawn has been so welcoming, so encouraging and so supportive of the mission … It’s been a wonderful gift because the public can come in and engage with these adults and see how amazing and capable they are.”

Castro went on to say, “I think these individuals bring out the best in everyone … Some people come in here because they know our mission and what we’re doing, and some just come in here because we’re a neighborhood bakery. And even those who don’t understand the mission, or they didn’t know before they walked in here, you can see once they realize what’s going on, they just soften and everyone’s been very kind and very nice to the employees, so it’s pretty cool to see.”

A sweet opportunity

A CPA with a background in tax auditing, Castro previously worked in corporate finance at HBO.

“That’s where I met my husband and then I stayed home to take care of my kids,” she said. “I was president of our PTA for two years and that kind of got my brain back in shape and in a working mode. After that, I was like, ‘Now what should I do?’”

Castro said she and her husband, V.J., “thoroughly enjoyed the process” of starting their very first business.

“It was really cool to see just how everything is structured. It kind of puts things into perspective because when you’re in a corporate finance for a huge organization, you just see one small piece of the business and you don’t really see the entire financial statement usually. So, it was really interesting to see the operations side of it, the structural side of it, and just the millions of decisions that go into putting a business together. So, it was a lot of fun,” Castro said.

The couple also connected with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Investment and Innovation, which, Castro said was “very helpful.”

“I’d never even read a business plan, let alone written one. So, thanks to their resources, I was able to write two business plans, one for Just A Taste and one for Carson’s Cookie Dough. And figure out all the licensing requirements and everything that goes into having a bakery, and then that goes into having a storefront,” she said.

As for the recipe development, Castro said they spent about a year tweaking it.

“I always joke that I don’t think my neighbors ever loved us more than when we were coming up with our recipes. We were constantly wrapping them up in taste test containers and asking for feedback,” she said. “Our neighbors were awesome and very, very helpful in having us come up with our final recipes that we use now.”

Looking ahead, Castro said her goal is to “put all we have into this to make sure it succeeds.”

“I want to make sure I’m utilizing this time to make thoughtful, strong decisions, to build a very strong foundation for a company that will last for decades hopefully, and hopefully one day employ Carson – so he’s not 28 years old and sitting home on my couch, regressing,” she said. “I’m grateful for this time and I’m hoping to build something that can be shared … if I were to start this business when Carson was older, I feel like I would be making a lot of decisions under duress and would not be thinking them through clearly … I know myself and I would just be throwing together something that probably wouldn’t really work well.”

After seeing the outpouring of support for her business, Castro believes the reason why the unemployment rate is so high for autistic individuals is simply because “it’s not on enough people’s radar.”

“It wasn’t on mine until my son was 6 years old – even though I have two sons with autism … and if it is on the radar, I think they don’t know how to get from A to B,” she said. “My hope for this business, of course, is to help support these individuals so they can gain confidence and go out to the real world. And also, to help employers kind of bridge the gap because we’re not going to go from an 80% unemployment rate to a 10% unemployment rate just by saying ‘we should do this.’

“There needs to be a map, there needs to be a bridge. I’m hoping to be a part of that bridge to show the various accommodations that can be put in place to set someone up – whether it be an office away from loud noises, a particular job with certain strengths that are needed or maybe just educating the other employees,” she said. “And I think that these are very easy bridges to build, but I can understand the hesitation. We’d never done it before, so I was also anxious about it. But doing it and seeing it in action – and seeing it working – I think it’s very promising.

“I hope myself and these other organizations that have inspired me so much can somehow put more of a spotlight on that aspect of it,” she said. “These are very much an untapped resource and they’re very capable adults, and they are, honest to God, the best coworkers you’ll ever have. Someone said to me, ‘Oh my gosh, you must have so much patience.’ I laughed and said, ‘I do, but honestly, I needed more patience working with my coworkers in corporate finance.’”

Castro admitted that a few years ago, she would have expected it to be more of a challenge.

“But now that I’m doing it, I mean, they’re the best. They really are such a pleasure to work with,” she said.

‘This business isn’t charity’

Fair Lawn Mayor Cristina Cutrone described Castro’s business as “truly something special.”

“What stands out most to me is how powerfully and subtly it delivers the message that everyone deserves a seat at the table, and that individuals with special needs are not ‘less than.’ They are talented, capable and deserving of meaningful opportunities. This business isn’t charity, it’s empowerment. And it’s going to make a real difference, not just for those employed there, but for every person who walks through the door and sees what’s possible when compassion meets purpose,” she said.

The mayor went on to express how the borough’s growing and robust business community fills her with “tremendous pride.”

“Whether it’s a brand-new venture with a social mission like Kelly Castro’s business or a multigenerational family-run store we try to ensure that our businesses are deeply woven into the fabric of our town. As mayor, watching our residents rally behind these establishments – and watching the businesses give back in return – reminds me just how special Fair Lawn really is,” she said.

“There are really two key reasons I believe Fair Lawn continues to attract such unique and fresh businesses. First, it’s the result of intentional work by the governing body over the past few years. We’ve updated ordinances, restructured our special improvement districts, secured grant funding which launched our Main Street Inc. All of this has helped position Fair Lawn as a truly business-friendly community,” Cutrone explained.

“Second, Fair Lawn is a town that leads with heart. We are a community that values innovation, inclusivity and connection. I think business owners can really feel that when they come here,” she continued. “They know this is a place where creative ideas and meaningful missions are embraced, where businesses like Just a Taste of NJ don’t just open their doors, they become part of our family.”

Just a Taste of New Jersey/Carson’s Cookie Dough is open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.