Once upon a time...I decorated my first cookies with royal icing. It was August of 2012 to be exact. I was planning a birthday party for my son at the neighborhood pool and I wanted a treat for the guests that would not melt in the St. Louis heat. I decided on royal icing cookies, however, the bakery price was not in my budget. I thought, "surely, I can make those myself." Famous last words, right?!
I started to search online for tutorials and I stumbled across Sweet Sugarbelle. Her website was just what I needed. She shared her recipes and tips and tricks for all things royal icing cookies. I devoured everything that she wrote and put her techniques into practice to create some beachball cookies for my son's party. I quickly found that actually decorating with royal icing is not as easy as it looks. The icing on my red, white and blue beachballs was bumpy and curvy, but I was feeling pretty proud of my first attempt.
Everyone at the party raved about my delicious cookies. I loved the feeling of having created something so yummy and just knew that I could do a better job of decorating the next time. My younger son's birthday was just 3 weeks later so, I tried my hand at some baseball cookies for his friends. This time my icing was more smooth and flat, but I definitely needed work out my outlining.
My baby's 1st birthday party was the following weekend, so I tried yet, again, this time with a teddy bear shape. With my third attempt, I felt like I finally made some delicious AND adorable cookies. I was totally hooked! I wanted to make more and more cookies!
My best friend's baby is the same age as mine, so I asked her if I could bring some cookies for his 1st birthday. She was planning a cowboy party and I was so excited to create a themed set.
Once again, everyone at the party raved about my cute and yummy cookies. They even suggested that I should sell them. I was really enjoying using my creativity to make something that brought so much joy to its recipients. My husband was my biggest fan and encouraged me to put myself out there. So, I posted my cookies on my social media and asked if anyone was interested in ordering from me. My first paid order came quickly...from my Mother in Law. Aren't moms the best?!
My Mother in Law requested cookies to share with her coworkers at her school. I remember what a challenge this set was for me because I had to mix so many different colors. Over the next few months, orders came in from supportive family and friends and then friends of friends and eventually strangers.
And that is the story of how Sweet Scarlet Baking was born. I wasn't looking for a new career or even a new hobby. But, it found me and it was just what I needed.