Cookies by design

Story by Kate Leighton

Tasty and sweet, cookies can also serve as a blank canvas for beautiful artistic creations.  While decorated and iced cookies have been a favourite for decades, these little works of art are now becoming a hot trend.

Designer cookies, as they are called, go beyond the ordinary cookie we all grew up with. Imagine individual cookie place cards with guests’ names etched in a colourful icing, an edible bouquet of whimsical cookies for a child’s birthday or a plateful of silver snowflake-shaped cookies as a holiday centerpiece. Jennifer Snyder and Patricia Bullock operate a small company in Edmonton called Sugar Arts that specializes in made-to-order cookies, cakes and cupcakes and have noticed the growing trend. “Designer cookies are a big hit at weddings,” says Snyder.

Ready to design your own creation? Shari Laschuk, owner of Creative Cookies in Ardrossan recommends a flat sugar cookie and royal icing (an easy-to-prepare icing using confectioner’s sugar and egg whites). Simply add a little food colouring gel paste to the icing and tint to the desired colour. Spoon into a piping bag and start decorating. As Snyder says: “We love the elegance, sophistication and fun of designer cookies. When you make cookies like these and give them away, it’s like giving away a box of smiles!”

Shari Laschuk is co-owner of Creative Cookies along with Colette Freitas.