Sweet Success: Lilac Heights Bakery Brings Homemade Treats and Community Spirit to Ramona
From a pandemic hobby to a small business that gives back, Leslie Delaney has created a sugar cookie recipe for success.
For Leslie Delaney, baking started as a way to pass the time during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, her licensed home business, Lilac Heights Bakery, has become a beloved local source for custom cookies, brownies, and other sweet treats while also giving back to the community she loves.
Delaney and her family have deep roots in Ramona. Her family moved from Lemon Grove when she was in elementary school, and she spent her childhood near Mt. Woodson. After marrying her husband, Ted, and raising their two children, the family settled in the San Diego Country Estates in 2013.
Their journey briefly took them overseas when Ted's work with the Navy provided an opportunity to live in Italy from 2016 to 2019. When the family returned to the United States, they came back home to the Estates.
The bakery's name pays tribute to Delaney's childhood neighborhood.
"The old timers called the area Lilac Heights because of the abundance of white and yellow lilacs that used to bloom there every spring," Delaney said. "I always loved the name and wanted to honor where I grew up."
Lilac Heights Bakery was born from an unexpected hobby. During the pandemic, Delaney's friend, Renee Sinema, introduced her to the art of sugar cookie decorating. What began as a fun creative outlet quickly turned into a serious pursuit.
"We spent hours making cookies and perfecting our skills," Delaney said. "But we were making far more cookies than our families and friends could eat."
As ingredient costs added up, the pair researched how to legally sell their baked goods and learned about Cottage Food Operations. Both obtained permits through San Diego County and began offering homemade treats to customers.
Today, decorated sugar cookies remain the bakery's specialty, but the menu extends well beyond cookies. Popular offerings include gourmet drop cookies such as spicy ginger, peanut butter, and chocolate chip, as well as stuffed brownies filled with chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cups, or s'mores-inspired ingredients. Rice crispy treats are also customer favorites.
The bakery creates treats for virtually every occasion imaginable, from birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and graduations to teacher gifts, thank-you presents, celebrations of life, and recovery gifts for friends and family members. What truly sets Lilac Heights Bakery apart, however, is Delaney's commitment to giving back.
"About 25 percent of my sales are donated to various nonprofit organizations in Ramona," Delaney said. Community service has long been part of her family's lifestyle, and she views the bakery as another way to support local causes.
In addition to running the bakery, Delaney serves as Activity Coordinator at the Ramona Senior Center, where she organizes classes, workshops, fitness programs, games, arts and crafts activities, and special events for local seniors. She is also a volunteer curator at the Ramona Heritage Museum on Main Street, where she manages collections, designs exhibits, helps maintain the property, and coordinates special events, including the museum's upcoming Antique Quilt Show.
Delaney believes Ramona's strong support of local businesses has helped Lilac Heights Bakery thrive.
"Ramona is a great place to have a small business," she said. "People really try to support local businesses whenever they can."
Most of the bakery's business comes through custom orders, which are designed in collaboration with customers and picked up from Delaney's home or arranged at a convenient location in town. She also participates in select community events, including the Art and Wine Festival and the Ramona Tree Lighting.
For customers with dietary preferences, the bakery offers dye-free options using natural colors, as well as organic ingredients and specialty flours upon request. All products are homemade without added preservatives.
Lilac Heights Bakery products can also be found locally at Gathering Grounds in the San Diego Country Estates and Rise & Shine in Ramona.
Those interested in placing an order can contact Lilac Heights Bakery through Facebook or Instagram, call 760-653-8993, or email leslieannedelaney@gmail.com.
For Delaney, the bakery is about much more than cookies. It is an opportunity to connect with neighbors, celebrate life's milestones, and invest in the community she has proudly called home for most of her life.
Photos provided by Leslie Delaney
