Adorable 3-year-old bakes and delivers over 1,000 cookies to pandemic essential workers

At just 3 years of age, little Mia Villa has found the most adorable way to bring a smile to the faces of the brave heroes helping keep society afloat while we fight this pandemic. Donning her chef's hat and apron, this young lady has been baking up a storm of cookies for hospital staff, supermarket employees, veterinarians, and fire and police departments as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation for their ongoing work amid the Coronavirus pandemic. While her peers are busy learning the ABCs, Mia has already mastered the art of baking her homemade choco-chip treats and no longer needs a recipe to know how much of each ingredient goes into a batch of cookies.

The youngster has spent her summer whipping up over 1000 cookies for essential workers by standing on a stool to reach the kitchen counter and carefully measures out enough sugar, baking soda, and flour. "The world was feeling down and we needed some kindness," Mia's mom, Devin Villa of Stillwater, New York, told Good Morning America. "I thought, 'Who doesn't love a chocolate chip cookie?' This little 3-year-old could spread smiles and I hope it teaches her lessons."

"With the pandemic and everything being shut down, [there’s] a lot of pressure on the first-responders," the mom-of-two explained to The Daily Gazette. "I use this is a way to teach her about the people that we are most grateful for and she can do something she loves." Mia, who is the great-granddaughter of former Amsterdam Mayor Mario Villa and the granddaughter of former Amsterdam Mayor Michael Villa, has already built quite a fan following — or as she calls it, "cookies followers" — on Facebook and Instagram where her parents post regular updates of her baking sessions.

While the young baker's "Mia's Cookie Jar" project started small, it has grown quite a lot in recent weeks after a number of publications picked up her story. Despite her sudden shot to fame, Mis is sticking to her motto of "learning lessons and spreading kindness one cookie at a time" while enthusiastically baking new batches of cookies. Singing songs like "Pat-a-cake" to help her remember to pack in the brown sugar, the youngster thoroughly enjoys her time in the kitchen. She even has a signature "mixer dance" for every time she turns on the mixer and it is truly the cutest thing we've ever seen.

According to her mother, Mia rarely—if ever—asks for help as she prefers doing it all by herself. The only step of the baking process Villa handles is putting the cookies in the oven. "She does it all by herself," the proud mom explained. Meanwhile, Mia's younger brother Gino fulfills the role of the quality assurance team, taste-testing cookies whenever his service is required. Every cookie delivery contains cookies freshly baked that morning and then boxed up with a hand-drawn picture from Mia.

"Every picture is different and she won't let me look at them until she's done," Villa revealed. "Then she can say her explanation. That's my favorite part of the whole thing and it's always geared toward where we're going so it proves to me that she's understanding what she's learning." Mia has gotten to learn a bit more about what first responders do with each delivery and often receives gifts in return. She's received junior police badges, a patch from Knolls Atomic Laboratory, and other tokens, which have left both Mia and her mom pleasantly surprised.

"She can't wait to see where we're going," said Villa. "There's always something new to learn. It's been a great thing. It's a way for her to express kindness and bring people her cookies." The family plans to continue the project in the coming months, delivering cookies and joy to different emergency services agencies all over the Capital Region. "I'm proud of her. Its good to see," said Villa. "If a three-year-old can do something like this then we all should be able to do something kind for someone."