Moonstone Baking

On Sunday mornings at the Texas Farmers’ Market at Mueller, it’s easy to spot Kelsie Jones. Just look for the purple Moonstone Baking Company sign and the line of eager regulars waiting for a taste of her Texan–Czech pastries.

Jones’ inspiration runs deeper than her recipes. It begins with her great-grandmother, Anna Pokluda, born in Hallettsville, Texas, in 1899 to Czech parents. Pokluda’s husband, Frank, emigrated from Moravia with his family in 1901, part of a growing Czech community drawn to the affordable farmland of South and Central Texas. After their marriage in 1918, the couple moved to Houston, where Frank worked in several bakeries before becoming a baker at the historic Ben Milam Hotel.

Jones grew up hearing stories from her father, who spent summers with his grandparents. “He had the sweetest stories of going to work with my great-grandfather and baking with my great-grandmother,” Jones recalls. “She sold her treats in their neighborhood and at their church.” Those memories would eventually shape Jones’ own culinary path.

Roots 

Raised in Conroe, just north of Houston, Jones moved to Austin in 2016 and carried her family’s heritage with her. “Kolaches are traditionally filled with fruit, sort of like a Danish,” she explains. “But the Texas style, with smoked sausage, was created here in the ’50s by Czech immigrants. I think you can feel that connection when you taste my baked goods.” As anyone who’s traveled to Prague might notice, kolaches there are sweet, while Texans have proudly embraced the savory twist.

Ambitious and entrepreneurial, Jones secured a small business loan through DreamSpring and quickly proved her momentum. Today, you can find Moonstone’s offerings not only at the Mueller market but also at Mañana Dos in Austin, as well as at Thorn & Bred and Chaparral Coffee in Lockhart, where Jones now lives.

At the Mueller market, her best-selling item is the Jalapeño, Sausage & Cheese Kolache, followed closely by her Brioche Cinnamon Rolls. “I started attending the market in 2018, and it’s been incredible to watch it grow,” she says. “With that growth, I’ve met so many regular customers, including lots of Mueller residents. Connecting with customers and fellow vendors each week, that’s the heart of the market. It’s a special community.”

Moonstone Baking Co. has recently expanded into custom cakes, and Jones now receives four to five orders a month, with July through September being the busiest season. She also brings individual cake slices to the market, delighting customers who love discovering new flavor combinations. This fall, her apple cider donuts developed a devoted following. “I try to keep up with a ‘baked good of the week,’” she says. “It keeps my creative side happy.”

As for the business name, Jones says it honors her great-grandmother. “Moonstone, a beautiful purplish-pink crystal, represents the divine feminine. It felt fitting, because my great-grandmother never had the chance to have her own business. This is my tribute to her.”

You’ll find Moonstone Baking Co. just outside the pavilion at the Mueller market, facing the splash pad. And if a trip to the Czech Republic isn’t on your calendar anytime soon, Jones’ kolaches offer a delicious taste of heritage much closer to home.

Photographs courtesy of Moonstone Baking Co.