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    No Spread Sugar Cookies

    I’ve tried and tweaked a few different recipes over the years, and this recipe here has become my favorite for no spread sugar cookies. This is the ONLY sugar cookie recipe I use now.

    Rolled sugar cookies stacked perfectly 7 high

    [Recipe card and video is at bottom of page]

    *DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links which means that, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase from one of my links. I greatly appreciate your support!

    The base for this recipe started with the Preppy Kitchen sugar cookie recipe, however I tweaked it to my liking by adding more salt, more vanilla (and using vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract), reducing the amount of cornstarch and using both white and brown sugar.

    I wouldn’t say I’m an expert on the cookie recipe development front (I’d say my expertise is more on the royal icing side) as there are definitely softer/airier recipes out there (this recipe is on the denser side). I do, however, have enough experience with baking cookies to have answers to alllll your questions (see all the different FAQ sections below).

    But like I said: it’s become my go-to for a reason. The best parts about this recipe are that it keeps its shape with nice crisp edges (i.e. it barely spreads!), doesn’t need to be chilled (as long as your ingredients are the right temperature) and has great flavor (thanks to my tweaking of the salt, use of vanilla bean paste and addition of brown sugar). I use a lemon royal icing recipe that pairs incredibly well with this cookie recipe. Many have described my cookies as sugar cookie meets SweeTART. That’s a win in my book!

    I also often get asked if I make any other flavors than just a vanilla sugar cookie. The answer (today) is: nope! When I first started I experimented with gingerbread and chocolate recipes, but these days as I’ve settled into content creation I only make my vanilla sugar cookie recipe.

    Now enough of the preamble, let’s get to the deets on these no spread sugar cookies!

    (P.S. This post is a work in progress, so please do let me know in the comments *after the reading the full post* what you’d love to see pictures of and what questions you still have! This will help guide me as I continue to update this post!)

    What To Look For In No Spread Sugar Cookies

    For those brand new to cookie decorating, I want to make sure you’re looking for the right kind of cookie recipe: you need a ROLLOUT sugar cookie recipe. This is different from a DROP sugar cookie recipe.

    What’s the difference between rollout and drop? Drop cookies are the classic round cookies you’ll find more often (chocolate chip cookies, etc). The premixed cookie recipes from the grocery store are 9 times out of 10 going to be drop cookies.

    Drop cookies are designed to spread a lot and bake with a significant dome on top. NEITHER of these qualities are ideal for decorating with royal icing. You want a recipe that spreads very little and bakes up mostly flat (that said, no cookie is ever going to be perfectly flat in my experience).

    Given that, I would caution against buying the mixes from the grocery store as they’ll be quite challenging to work with. If you want to cut corners, I would suggest buying any premade cookies that are completely FLAT. I often think of those ginger snap cookies… you know what I mean?

    What Makes My No Spread Sugar Cookie Recipe Unique

    I use a lot of salt

    I like a lot of salt in my dough, which balances well with my lemon royal icing. The 15 grams called for in this recipe is 2-3 times more than most common recipes, so if you prefer less salt I would start with 5 grams of salt.

    I use corn starch

    The corn starch helps to get the sharp edges on the cookies (aka the no spread part of the no spread sugar cookies). If you prefer a softer cookie, use less corn starch (but note that the edges won’t be as crisp). Alternatively, you can use more corn starch if you’d like even sharper edges (no more than 60g per single recipe).

    Sugar cookies perfectly stacked on top of each other to show no spread

    You do NOT need to chill this dough

    A lot of recipes call for you to chill the dough, which will allow it to set faster and be less likely to spread. 99% of the time I do not chill my dough (I do usually give it about 15 minutes to set sitting on the counter, which helps) and my cookies do not spread!

    That said, if my butter & eggs are too warm and/or my kitchen is too hot, I will chill the dough for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator before using. In extreme cases when baking in the peak of summer heat, I will cut out the shapes, leave the shape on the parchment paper, transfer that to a baking sheet and chill in the fridge/freezer. Once chilled, I peel off the parchment paper and place the cookie on the perforated baking mat.

    Cookie cutter on top of freshly baked sugar cookies to show no spread

    I roll my dough to 5/16″

    Everyone has their preferred thickness, and 5/16″ is mine! I found 1/4″ to be too thin and 3/8″ to be too thick. You can say I found the goldilocks of dough thickness 🙂 No matter your preferred thickness, I always recommend using rolling guides or a rolling pin with guides. These are my favorite rolling guides.

    Cookie rollout setup with raw dough rolled out on parchment paper with rolling guides and a rolling pin

    I roll out my dough with powdered sugar

    Most people sprinkle flour on their dough/surface/rolling pin when rolling out their dough to keep the dough from sticking. I find that rolling with flour adds too much flour to my recipe and makes it dry. I also use all of my dough, so I roll out a decent number of times (and you’re adding more flour every time you roll).

    Powdered sugar being sprinkled on parchment paper with a small sifter before rolling the dough

    So, instead, I prefer to sprinkle powdered sugar. For me, this works just as well AND I don’t mess with the flour ratio. Sometimes this creates a bit of a sheen/shine on the surface of the baked cookie, which some people have assumed meant it was an underbaked cookie (which it is not). I use a small mesh strainer like this to sprinkle the powdered sugar.

    I’ve had no issues with the powdered sugar making the cookies spread, but I suppose that could happen if you use too much!

    My Tips & Tricks For No Spread Cookies Success

    • Use an oven thermometer: It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I learned that not all ovens heat to the temperature on the dial. In fact, most of them don’t! That’s why I always use an oven thermometer and recommend that everyone do! If you want to go next level you can even put one in the front and one in the back as sometimes these temps can vary.
    • Cream together the butter and sugar enough: You want to make sure you’ve incorporated enough air into the butter and sugar. This is indicated by the mixture turning a slightly lighter color and appearing fluffy.
    • Don’t over work your dough: you’ll want to mix the dough at the final stage JUST ENOUGH. It will be done when the dough sticks to the paddle/comes off the sides of the bowl. You ALSO do not want to over work your dough as you’re rolling it out. It is for this reason many cookiers only roll out twice. I personally roll as many times as I have dough, but I make sure to barely incorporate the scraps of dough (I let the rolling pin do all the work).
    • Roll your dough to a consistent thickness: by rolling your dough to a consistent thickness, you’ll make it much easier to bake your cookies evenly. I roll my dough to 5/16″.
    • Use powdered sugar instead of flour to roll your dough: if you’re like me and use every bit of your dough, I recommend using powdered sugar instead of flour to roll your dough. When I use flour it adds too much flour to the dough and makes it drier.
    • Roll out your dough on parchment paper: I always roll out my dough on parchment paper, which makes transferring the cookies to the pan a dream (I peel the dough off the parchment paper before transferring to the pan)! I like to use these precut parchment paper sheets.
    • Bake with perforated baking mats: I find that perforated baking mats are the best for no spread sugar cookies because they give the most even bake because air is allowed to flow under the cookie. Baking with perforated baking mats can take some getting used to. Make sure you read the instructions on the product website. For example, do NOT use a scented soap to clean them and make sure ALL of the soap is cleaned off (because of the perforations soap can get caught and make your cookies taste like soap). Alternatively, you can use standard silicone baking mats or parchment paper. –> Use code Chua15Grace23 for 15% off your order!!! – I use the HALF SHEET version 1 to fit the Nordic Ware pans (I use the Nordic Ware half sheet with their matching lids.)
    Fresh baked sugar cookies on a perforated baking mat
    Perforated baking mat
    • Don’t over bake your cookies: every recipe is different, but I’ve found with my recipe that the cookies are done when they are JUST set on the edges and cooked through the center. A tiny bit of golden brown is usually ok, but any more and they’re overcooked.
    • Flatten the cookies with a spatula after baking: this can get out an bubbles that formed while baking AND gives you a little extra peace of mind that the surfaces are actually flat 🙂

    The Tools & Supplies That I Use For My No Spread Sugar Cookies

    No Spread Sugar Cookie Recipe: Ingredient FAQs

    What does “room temperature” actually mean?

    Many baking recipes call for room temperature butter and eggs. According to my research on the internet, room temperature dairy ingredients form an emulsion which traps air. When baking, the trapped air expands and produces a fluffy baked good. Eggs usually take about 30 minutes to come to room temperature on the counter. Butter takes 30-60 minutes, all depending on the temperature of your kitchen. You should be able to put a small indent in the butter (not too much) with a light touch. The butter should still feel slightly cool (not warm), look smooth (not greasy) and definitely shouldn’t have any melted sections.

    Can I use vanilla extract (or another flavor extract) instead of vanilla bean paste?

    Yes, absolutely! I prefer to use vanilla bean paste because it has a stronger taste, but you can use vanilla extract (or really any other extract flavor) in a 1:1 ratio of the vanilla bean paste (i.e. 1 tsp vanilla bean paste = 1 tsp vanilla extract).

    Can I use self-rising or bread flour?

    No, not for this recipe! Self-rising flour has leavening and salt. Both self-rising and bread flour have higher protein contents, which will behave differently. I only recommend all-purpose flour for this recipe.

    Does the brand of butter matter?

    Technically, yes. But do I buy a specific brand of butter? Not really 🙂 Higher quality butters will have a higher fat content than lower quality (which will have more water). Some bakers swear by using the higher quality/higher fat butters like Kerry Gold, but I’ve personally never used it and I think my cookies turn out just fine. Usually I buy Cabot butter, but sometimes I’ll buy something else if it’s on sale (or the store brand from Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s).

    Do I have to use that much salt?

    No, you don’t! I use 2-3 times more salt than is usually found in sugar cookie recipes because I think a sugar cookie recipe needs it to have enough flavor. If you don’t like that much salt or are too scared to start with the 15g in my recipe, you can start with 5g and go from there 🙂

    Should I use just white sugar or a combination of white & brown?

    My original recipe calls for 200 grams/1 cup of white sugar. This is just fine! Since then I have experimented and now I prefer to use 134 g (2/3 cup) white sugar and 66g (1/3 cup) LIGHT brown sugar. The light brown sugar adds a little more depth to the flavor.

    Can I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar?

    NO! Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it, which means it has more moisture. This will mess with the science of the proportions of the ingredients.

    Will the clumps of brown sugar ruin my dough?

    Nope! Sometimes when they end up on the very edge of the cookie they will melt a bit and mess with the nice crisp edge, but otherwise think of them as little clumps of gold 🙂

    No Spread Sugar Cookie Recipe: Assembly/Mixing FAQs

    Does it matter if I weigh the ingredients or use cup measures?

    Yes, it does! Using a scale and weighing ingredients gives you the most precise measurement of all ingredients. Baking is quite literally a science and having the exact proportions of all ingredients sets you up for success!

    Flour in a large mixing bowl weighed on top of a kitchen scale
    (ignore the weight here!)

    But, I also understand that not everyone has a kitchen scale. It is very easy to use too much of a dry ingredient by using measuring cups/spoons.

    The worst culprit is flour. If you’re going to use a measuring cup for flour, spoon the flour into the cup instead of scooping out the flour with the cup.

    Does it matter if I add one egg at a time or all together?

    According to the smart people on the internet, if you add too much of any one ingredient at once it can “break” your batter. I have definitely found this to be the case with eggs. So while my video up on YouTube has me adding the eggs all at once, I have since revised my technique to add just one egg at a time.

    Does it matter if I gradually add the flour or all at one time?

    According to the smart people on the internet, if you add too much of any one ingredient at once it can “break” your dough. I’ve personally never experienced this with flour, and I’ve done everything from adding one cup at a time to adding it all at once. In my YouTube video I add just one cup at a time, but today I add all of the flour at once. My theory behind adding all the flour at once is that it mixes the dough for less time in total. If you’re going to add one cup at a time, do so pretty quickly (allowing the dough to JUST incorporate between in each cup and no more).

    When is my dough done mixing?

    Just like with just about any baking recipe, you do NOT want to over mix. Your dough is done when it all sticks to the paddle and comes off the sides of the bowl. If you feel like your dough should be done but it’s not doing this, chances are your kitchen is too warm and/or your butter/eggs were too warm and/or something is off in the ratio of wet to dry ingredients (maybe you used extra large eggs instead of large, or you measured the flour incorrectly…I’ve done it all!)

    Should I use a paddle or whisk attachment?

    99% of the time I use a paddle attachment for just about everything I do. For dough, you absolutely should be using a paddle attachment.

    I don’t have a stand mixer: can I use a hand mixer?

    You definitely CAN use a hand mixer, however, I personally do not have experience with this so I’m not able to give advice.

    Why is my dough crumbly?

    This can become apparent either while mixing the dough or even after the cookies have baked. It usually happens because either the dough was not mixed well enough and/or there is not enough liquid/wet in the dough. Double check that you added all of the ingredients correctly!

    No Spread Sugar Cookie Recipe: Baking FAQs

    How Many Cookies Can I Make With This Recipe?

    The answer to this question is going to depend on how big your cookies are AND how thick you roll them. A single batch of my dough makes approximately 18-20 3.5″ cookies rolled at 5/16″ (my perfect thickness is 5/16″, but yours might be different!)

    Should I chill the dough?

    Many people swear that the key to success for no spread sugar cookies is to freeze the dough. Who has the time/patience for that?? I certainly don’t 😉 The beauty of my recipe is that you don’t HAVE to chill the dough provided that your ingredients and/or your kitchen are not too warm. 99% of the time I use my dough straight from mixing. I do let it sit for about 15 minutes while I get the rest of my station set up for rolling and do my dishes, which allows the dough to set a little.

    Can I freeze the dough?

    Definitely! No matter how you freeze it, you want to make sure it’s wrapped tightly (in plastic wrap) so that it is not exposed to air. You can freeze the dough straight from the mixer (I would recommend at least smooshing into thinner discs so it’s easier to work with out of the freezer). You can also cut out the raw dough into the shapes and freeze the shapes. You can also bake the cookies and freeze them un-iced (I often do this with larger orders or when I know I have a lot to do at a time). It’s definitely good for a few weeks, however I wouldn’t freeze for more than a few months.

    If I make the dough ahead of time, how long will it keep in the refrigerator or freezer?

    You can definitely make the dough ahead of time! I would only leave it in the refrigerator for max 24-48 hours (it will dry out if left too long). In terms of freezing, I wouldn’t leave it in the freezer longer than 2-3 months. Either way, make sure the dough is VERY well wrapped and is not exposed to air at all.

    I made your recipe exactly but my cookies still spread a lot: why did that happen?

    I find this happens if your butter is too soft (it should just give into a thumb print). If the butter is in any way melty that’s too far! This can also happen if your kitchen is too hot and the dough starts to almost melt on the pan before it’s baked. To help with this you can chill the shapes once you cut them out or after you place them on the pan.

    Should I use flour or powdered sugar to roll out the dough?

    It’s really up to you! My personal preference is to use powdered sugar as I use all of my dough and roll out quite a few times. I’ve had no issues with the powdered sugar making the cookies spread, but I suppose that could happen if you use too much!

    Can I use a rolling pin with the thickness rings instead of the rolling guides?

    Yes, absolutely! I don’t use a rolling pin with thickness rings for two reasons. One, because when I needed one they didn’t come with 5/16″ and I would have had to order that custom separately. Two, because I work on a very small surface (hello small NYC apartment!) and the rolling guides give me more flexibility in how/where I can use the rolling pin.

    Raw sugar cookie dough rolled out on parchment paper with rolling guides and a rolling pin
    See the end of the rolling pin hanging over the edge of the counter??

    Do I need a fancy rolling pin?

    Definitely not! But I do recommend getting a completely flat rolling pin. Definitely not a tapered rolling pin and I personally don’t like the ones with handles. This is my favorite and the one that I use.

    How many times can I roll out the dough?

    This is personal preference. Some cookiers swear by only rolling out the dough twice. I personally roll as many times as I have dough (I don’t like to waste any dough), but I make sure to barely incorporate the scraps of dough (I let the rolling pin do all the work). It’s very easy to over work the dough when rolling, which is also why I prefer to use powdered sugar instead of flour to roll my dough.

    Does it matter if I use plastic or metal cookies cutters?

    No, it doesn’t! But I do generally prefer the plastic cutters. Quality 3D printed plastic cutters never lose their shape (unless you wash them in hot water) and they always have a perfect seam.

    Metal cutters do tend to have a sharper/cleaner cut than the plastic cutters, however there is often a visible seam, they can get misshapen easily and they can rust.

    How many cookies should I put on a cookie sheet/how far apart should they be?

    This all depends on how big the cookies are! Generally I’d give at least 1/2″ space around your cookies until you really know how much they spread (while my recipe is a “no spread” sugar cookie recipe it does spread the tiniest bit, which is normal).

    Baked sugar cookies on a perforated baking mat on a baking sheet

    However far apart they are it’s important they are evenly spaced to allow for even air flow around the cookies. Just remember: the closer they are and the more cookies on the sheet, the longer they’ll take to bake! (And vice versa: if there are fewer cookies farther apart, they’ll take less time to bake.)

    Can I bake two trays at a time?

    It all depends on your oven! You’ll need to experiment with your own oven to see if it can bake evenly enough. Either way, unless you have a convection bake option, you’ll need to take the trays out halfway through bake time to switch racks and turn the trays 180 degrees to get the most even bake. I find at the halfway mark that about 1/4″ of the cookie edge should be cooked, while the center is still very much raw.

    I use a gas oven that does not have a convection bake option. I do bake two sheets at a time (one rack on the highest and the second about 1/3 from the bottom of the oven) and find that with the above method it produces a good enough bake 🙂

    Does it matter what baking pan I use?

    Yes and no! You definitely want to use a cookie sheet (usually very large with a small rim/edge). For the best success with no spread sugar cookies I would recommend against using a darker and/or nonstick surface as they take longer to bake. These are my favorite pans. And I recommend getting the lids too!

    Why is there a range of time listed for the bake time?

    For my recipe I recommend baking at 375 degrees F for 8-12 minutes. How long you will need to bake your cookies depends on how accurate your oven temperature is (link to an oven thermometer), how evenly your oven bakes, what surface you are baking on (type of pans, parchment paper vs silicone mat, etc.), how thick you roll your cookies, how big the cookies are and how closely you’ve placed them together.

    How do I know when the cookies are done?

    Every recipe is different, but I’ve found with my recipe that the cookies are done when they are JUST set on the edges and cooked through the center. A tiny bit of golden brown is ok, but any more and they’re overcooked.

    Why do I have bubbles in my dough after they’re baked?

    This means that too much air was incorporated into the dough, likely at the butter/sugar creaming stage. Some air is good, but too much air in cookies will expand as they bake and could cause the cookies to lose their shape. I usually have 1-2 bubbles per pan of cookies, which seems to work out just fine 🙂 You can get rid of them by lightly flattening with a spatula when the cookies are fresh out of the oven and still hot.

    After Baking FAQs

    Will my cookies stay crisp?

    I believe the answer to this question depends on your royal icing recipe, but I’ll be honest I’m not 100% sure! I use a royal icing recipe that contains lemon juice, which I’m told is the reason that my cookies always soften more after the icing dries. So don’t use my royal icing recipe if you want crisp cookies! But also, as mentioned above, this particular cookie recipe does best when just baked enough (not to the browned/crisp stage).

    How long do the cookies stay fresh?

    I usually try to get cookies in bellies within 1 week of baking the cookies. If the cookies aren’t going to be eaten within a week, then I like to freeze them. I also always heat seal my cookies in food grade cellophane bags, which makes them last longer. I’ve had several people eat my cookies after a month on the counter and they said they’re still good! I personally wouldn’t want to eat them after a month on the counter, but good for them 😉

    Can the baked cookies (iced or uniced) be frozen?

    The short answer is yes! Baked cookies can either be frozen uniced (I call these “naked” cookies) or they cab be frozen iced (the icing must be COMPLETELY dry). Either way, I recommend layering the cookies in between PARCHMENT (not wax) paper in a tupperware container (unless you heat seat them like I do, then you don’t need to do this!). When you’re ready to defrost, you MUST leave the cookies in the tupperware on the container until they are fully defrosted. If you take them out too early when they’re iced the icing will melt/bleed as it defrosts. I usually give them at least 6 hours to defrost.

    Here are some recipe alternatives for dietary restrictions:

    Hope you enjoyed these no spread sugar cookies! Please do let me know below what you’d love to see pictures of and what questions you still have! This will help guide me as I continue to update this post 🙂

    Up next: we move on to royal icing! The next two posts will be: 1) What is royal icing? AND 2) My recipe for royal icing!

    [Until then: if you’re looking for more reading, check out my posts on my introduction, my life background before cookies, how I got into royal icing cookies and all of the cookies I made before I became a cookie video queen!]

    Yield: 20 3.5″ cookies

    No Spread Sugar Cookies

    No Spread Sugar Cookies

    My signature no spread sugar cookie recipe. It’s practical and tastes so good!

    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 12 minutes
    Total Time 32 minutes

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C)
    2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, corn starch and salt.
    3. In a small bowl, measure out the sugar.
    4. In a small bowl, crack in the eggs.
    5. In a small bowl, measure out the vanilla bean paste.
    6. Using paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Beat on medium high until mixture is well-incorporated and is slightly lighter in color. It should be airy and fluffy.
    7. Add in the eggs one at a time, just barely incorporating the mixture after each egg.
    8. Add in the vanilla. Mix on low first to incorporate until the mixture is viscous, then beat on medium high until the mixture is fluffy again. Do not over mix!
    9. Add in the flour mixture. Be careful not to over mix the dough. The dough is done when it starts to clumb on the paddle and pulls away from the sides.
    10. Roll dough out to 5/16″, cut out shapes and plan on pan (I prefer to use perforated silicone baking mats).
    11. Bake for 8-12 minutes at 375 degrees F (bake time depends on size of cookies & how closely placed together)

    Notes

    My Tips & Tricks For Success

    • Use an oven thermometer: It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I learned that not all ovens heat to the temperature on the dial. In fact, most of them don’t! That’s why I always use an oven thermometer and recommend that everyone do! If you want to go next level you can even put one in the front and one in the back as sometimes these temps can vary.
    • Cream together the butter and sugar enough: You want to make sure you’ve incorporated enough air into the butter and sugar. This is indicated by the mixture turning a slightly lighter color and appearing fluffy.
    • Don’t over work your dough: you’ll want to mix the dough at the final stage JUST ENOUGH. It will be done when the dough sticks to the paddle/comes off the sides of the bowl. You ALSO do not want to over work your dough as you’re rolling it out. It is for this reason many cookiers only roll out twice. I personally roll as many times as I have dough, but I make sure to barely incorporate the scraps of dough (I let the rolling pin do all the work).
    • Roll your dough to a consistent thickness: by rolling your dough to a consistent thickness, you’ll make it much easier to bake your cookies evenly. I roll my dough to 5/16″.
    • Use powdered sugar instead of flour to roll your dough: if you’re like me and use every bit of your dough, I recommend using powdered sugar instead of flour to roll your dough. When I use flour it adds too much flour to the dough and makes it drier.
    • Roll out your dough on parchment paper: I always roll out my dough on parchment paper, which makes transferring the cookies to the pan a dream (I peel the dough off the parchment paper before transferring to the pan)! I like to use these precut parchment paper sheets.
    • Bake with perforated baking mats: I find that perforated baking mats give the most even bake because air is allowed to flow under the cookie. Baking with perforated baking mats can take some getting used to. Make sure you read the instructions on the product website. For example, do NOT use a scented soap to clean them and make sure ALL of the soap is cleaned off (because of the perforations soap can get caught and make your cookies taste like soap). Alternatively, you can use standard silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
    • Don’t over bake your cookies: every recipe is different, but I’ve found with my recipe that the cookies are done when they are JUST set on the edges and cooked through the center. A tiny bit of golden brown is usually ok, but any more and they’re overcooked.
    • Flatten the cookies with a spatula after baking: this can get out an bubbles that formed while baking AND gives you a little extra peace of mind that the surfaces are actually flat 🙂

    The Tools & Supplies That I Use

    Pin to Pinterest!

    Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

  • Before The Graceful Baker Videos: When Cookies Were For Sale [About Me: Part 4]

    Before The Graceful Baker Videos: When Cookies Were For Sale [About Me: Part 4]

    Two of my most-asked questions are: 1) what did my first ever cookies look like? and 2) do I sell my cookies?

    To the first question: You can check out this post here for the very first cookies I ever made from 2010 to the beginning of 2017 (before The Graceful Baker® was born).

    To the second question: today, I do not sell cookies. But, I did start out my cookie journey selling cookies. After The Graceful Baker® was born in April 2017, but before I became known as the (unofficial) Cookie Video Queen (around the end of 2018), I dipped my toes into taking orders and creating cookies for events (while still making cookies for friends and family).

    My first pop-up shop!

    So, here is a post dedicated to just that year of cookies! It’s always fun to see the evolution of skill and style (and at the end I share my very first cookie videos).

    Buckle up for ALL OF THE PHOTOS 🥳

    My Very First Cookie Orders in 2017

    For my first ever order, I made cookies for a spirit day at a local school (my very first order for a dear friend and colleague whom I lovingly dubbed my “cookie patron”–she was my biggest supporter from day one and placed the most orders for my cookies):

    Cookies for a spirit day at school

    I made cookies for a fundraising event (my first time color matching a brand and doing a logo…WOW was this a stressful order with very long days and lots of tears…and I’m pretty sure there were around 100 cookies for this!):

    Cookies for a fundraising event

    For my mom’s birthday (I started to get smarter with my cookies…the same color palette/icing as I used for the fundraising event):

    Cookies for my mom’s birthday

    For a bridal shower (also an order for the friend of a dear friend and colleague):

    Cookies for a bridal shower

    For a colleague’s last day:

    Cookies for a colleague’s last day

    For a visit to my aunt’s house (I still loved any excuse to experiment with new designs):

    Cookies for my aunt

    For teacher appreciation at a local school (my first repeat customer and my first order where I delivered my cookies in nice boxes):

    Cookies for a local school teacher appreciation

    For wedding favors (when I learned just how much more stressful orders for weddings are!):

    For the 2 year anniversary of a local business (when I learned the pressure of accurately representing the vision of a a business owner):

    Cookies for the anniversary of a local business

    For a book club (matching the imagery from the book):

    Cookies for a book club meeting

    For a Christmas party (complete creative freedom, but a huge order!):

    For my family’s Christmas dinner place cards (for a hot second I thought I had a real future in making personalized dinner place cards):

    Cookies for Christmas dinner place cards

    And for Cookies and Carols 2017 — one of my favorite sets every that I will be forever bummed never made it into videos (maybe I will have to remake these??):

    One of my favorite Christmas sets ever

    And of course I needed to make a sugar cookie option for the Christmas party (design courtesy of Sweet Sugarbelle):

    Sugar cookie trees

    My First Cookie Videos

    It was during Christmas 2017 that I made my FIRST ever cookie videos.

    I’m honestly not sure what inspired me to do this! I would imagine I saw some on Instagram and thought to myself: I can do that! This was at a time when videos on Instagram were still square and most people were just holding their camera with one hand while decorating with the other.

    For this one my sister held the camera:

    And for this one I held the camera with my left hand and decorated with my right hand (it’s both challenging and easier than it sounds!):

    The Cookie Orders Continued in 2018

    Even after I started making cookie videos, I continued to sell my cookies in various capacities. While my heart was in the videos, the increased exposure gave me opportunities to sell my cookies that I didn’t have before.

    My cousin’s baby shower:

    Cookies for my cousin’s baby shower

    The opening of my best friend’s business (making logos are HARD):

    Opening of my best friend’s business

    Spirit day at the school I worked for:

    Cookies for spirit day at my school

    Favors for guests at a concert:

    Cookies for a concert

    For my family reunion:

    Cookies for a family reunion

    Samples I made for my first order for a stranger’s daughter’s birthday party (that ended in the person ghosting me…oh the joys of taking orders!):

    Cookies for my first (ghosted) order

    Cookies ordered by a cake artist to complement the cake at a sweet sixteen:

    Cookies for a Sweet Sixteen

    Cookies for a painting party:

    Cookies for a painting party

    My First (And Only) Pop-Up Shops

    After taking orders for a bit, I decided to venture into pop-up shops when a local business approached me.

    I preferred pop-up shops because I had more creative freedom to do the designs I wanted. But, the most nerve-wracking part was how many cookies to make. Will they sell out? What if I’m left with a bunch of cookies that I don’t know what to do with?

    (Spoiler alert: I didn’t sell all my cookies both times which was both heartbreaking in the moment and a great lesson.)

    I did my very first pop-up shop in November 2018:

    First pop-up shop in November 2018

    That was such a success that I did a second pop-up shop in December 2018 (I also took pre-orders from colleagues for these cookies–I MUCH prefer pre-orders because you know exactly how many cookies to make instead of having to guess):

    My second pop-up shop in December 2018

    My Takeaways from Selling Cookies

    I’m very grateful for this time when I was able to experiment with taking orders for different kinds of events.

    And honestly… I learned quite quickly that I didn’t like taking orders and selling cookies. Decorating with royal icing is already stressful enough, but add the layer of it being for someone else AND paid… the stress level is through the roof!

    I was also still pretty new to cookie decorating, so it took me a lot longer to do everything than it does now. I had many, many long days and late nights of decorating and a LOT of tears.

    I was still working my full-time job, so I did cookies evenings after work (after 5/6pm) and weekends. Sometimes I would spend my entire weekend (12 hour+ days) doing cookies.

    I had never been the kind of person that loved to work that much, but I had finally found something that I loved: cookie decorating.

    There was one catch though: I did NOT love taking orders and selling cookies. It quickly took the joy out of something that once brought me so much joy.

    I thought for sure I’d never have a future with cookies. That is, until I starting posting cookie decorating videos on Instagram…

    Coming soon: a post about why I finally quit my job to be a full-time cookie artist and content creator!

  • How I Got Into Royal Icing Cookies (Including My First Cookies!) [About Me: Part 3]

    How I Got Into Royal Icing Cookies (Including My First Cookies!) [About Me: Part 3]

    I often get asked: how did you become a cookie artist? Why cookies? Why royal icing?

    Buckle up for another installment of The Graceful Baker® story. This time, it’s all about how I got into royal icing cookies in the first place.

    Grace Gaylord decorating royal icing cookies
    One of the very rare photos of me decorating!

    In my last post I shared about my story before cookies. Here, I’m going to dive into how and when I started working with royal icing cookies. And, the beginnings of how it evolved into where it is today…

    Baking Runs In The Family

    Not only did I grow up in an artistic family, but I also grew up in a family that loved homemade baked goods.

    There are many signature desserts that my mom makes. Certain times of year just aren’t the same without them!

    Like the cake she makes every year for my dad’s birthday: an apple cake with a caramel/brown sugar frosting. HEAVENLY.

    apple cake with caramel icing
    The apple cake my mom makes every year for my dad’s birthday

    My mom is an excellent baker and she learned from her mother.

    Many of the recipes and tweaks she uses are from her mom, like this lemon pound cake.

    lemon pound cake with lemon icing
    My Mom’s Signature Lemon Pound Cake

    It was one of those households where I’d often come home after school to fresh baked chocolate chip cookies on the counter.

    And Christmas was never the same without her raspberry thumb prints!

    raspberry thumb print cookies
    Mom’s signature raspberry thumb prints

    The whole family loves a good baked good.

    Every year for Christmas my dad makes an English pudding with hard sauce.

    We also love pie, but we are VERY picky pie eaters.

    A 1:1 (person:pie) ratio is a necessity at Thanksgiving. My sister, dad and mom all excel in the pie crust department, so my contribution is always just a crustless vegan pumpkin pie (it’s seriously SO GOOD).

    Pumpkin pie, cherry pie, pecan pie, mince meat pie, vegan pumpkin pie
    Pumpkin pie, cherry pie, pecan pie, mince meat pie, vegan pumpkin pie

    Baking was an expression of love in my family (and a delicious one at that!)

    My Love For Baking

    I loved baking too, and I often used any excuse to bake some delicious goodies.

    peanut butter cookies
    A mountain of mom’s peanut butter cookies I made for a bake sale

    I love perfecting different recipes, but my specialities were definitely drop cookies and cake/cupcakes.

    You’ve probably heard me say: I’d rather have a chocolate chip cookie than a rollout sugar cookie… gasp!

    snickerdoodle cookies
    The best snickerdoodle cookies

    While drop cookies were all about the taste, I enjoyed working with cake because it was an art to present the icing.

    At one point I was most proud of my chocolate cake with chocolate (American) buttercream.

    chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing
    Chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing

    I soon became a favorite to my colleagues at work, often bringing in goodies to share.

    Pumpkin muffins with a cream cheese icing
    Pumpkin muffins with a cream cheese icing

    It lit me up to see how happy people were to indulge in a homemade baked good.

    Baking for people was one way that I showed love and it was a therapeutic outlet for me.

    raspberry chocolate layer cake
    Raspberry chocolate cake

    It made sense that I was equally concerned with how the goodies tasted, but also how they looked.

    People often didn’t believe I made them… they assumed I bought them! (Although the plastic cupcake containers I bought from Amazon to transport my mini cupcakes probably didn’t help LOL)

    Peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate frosting
    Peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate frosting

    I guess you could say that piping buttercream was where my piping skills were born…

    My Very First Royal Icing Cookies

    The first time I decorated cookies with royal icing was Christmas of 2010. It was for my family’s annual Cookies and Carols Christmas party.

    Gingerbread cookies decorated with royal icing
    My very first batch of cookies!

    What’s a Cookies and Carols party? Well, the marriage of the two best parts of Christmas!

    We sing Christmas carols (accompanied by my incredibly talented sister on the piano) and everyone brings a plate of cookies.

    Gingerbread cookies decorated with royal icing

    We all indulge during the party and then everyone is instructed to bring home a selection of cookies on the plate they brought with them.

    The party is a cookie swap of sorts. No cookies are to be left on the table when everyone leaves!

    Gingerbread cookies decorated with royal icing

    Christmas of 2010 was the winter break of my senior year of college when I was overworked and depressed and lacking motivation (you can read more about that here).

    (For the record: I did seek help for my depression at the time and am now in a much better place.)

    Gingerbread cookies decorated with royal icing

    This year, the Christmas of 2010, I wanted to do something extra special and somehow my Google search led me to royal icing cookies.

    Clearly I am a glutton for punishment… it would be quite awhile before I attempted this beast again!

    The Summer of Experimentation

    The second time I attempted royal icing was almost 2 years later in the summer of 2012.

    The occasion was my cousin’s birthday when I was living in my aunt and uncle’s basement in Bethesda, MD and working for free for a national security non-profit in DC. 

    royal icing sugar cookies: rollout sugar cookies decorated with royal icing
    The second time I made royal icing cookies

    I spent that summer playing with royal icing as much as I could. I was HOOKED!

    Instagram wasn’t really a thing yet, so I learned everything I could from blogs and YouTube.

    sugar cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies
    My third batch of royal icing cookies

    (Can you peep those EPIC craters on the blue and white dots??)

    But most importantly: I just experimented as much as I could.

    My favorite way to do a set early on was to come up with a theme and colors and have at it.

    My third batch of royal icing cookies

    I did just about every cookie differently, experimenting with different techniques. Some worked and some didn’t.

    And honestly… I think that’s the best way to do it!

    My third batch of royal icing cookies

    In many ways, these first sets were inspiration for the shape series sets I do today: I give myself limitations (color palette and shape) and then I let my imagination run wild.

    I give myself the space and permission to fail, which as an artist is invaluable. It’s in the space to fail that you grow!

    My ninth time making royal icing cookies

    I experimented as much as I could, and I saw my skills improve exponentially the more that I did it.

    It was quite clear from the beginning I had a knack for this royal icing thing…as frustrating as it could be at times!

    My sixth batch of royal icing cookies

    I was making them so often that I just didn’t have the patience to always bake the cookies first.

    I remember one time when I bought pre-made cookies from the grocery store so I could easily crank out citrus slices for a church potluck.

    My fourth batch of royal icing cookies

    During this time I caught the eye of a local chocolate vendor that wanted to sell my cookies at her market stand.

    I very quickly latched onto this idea and made Halloween and fall cookies to try first.

    My seventh time making royal icing cookies

    And proof with these spider webs that I didn’t have the most steady hand in the beginning… 😉

    My seventh time making royal icing cookies

    But just about as soon as I almost sold these cookies at her stand, I didn’t…

    This was my first experience having someone else direct my creative process. She wanted simpler cookies so they could be sold for less money.

    I felt my essence as an artist was being taken from me and it no longer felt like my own. I knew right then and there that selling cookies, at least at this time, was not right for me.

    Cookies For Christmas 2012

    Then came Christmas of 2012 and I went ALL out yet again for my family’s Cookies and Carols Christmas party.

    One of the rare photos of me actually decorating cookies!

    When I made cookies purely for the joy and fun of spreading love with a cookie, I poured hours and hours of backbreaking work into creating the most beautiful creations I could.

    I think just about any artist can relate to how different it feels to create just for the sake of creating… can you?

    It was so easy for me to get lost in cookies… in the best and worst ways.

    I have a very mild case of lymphedema in both legs, which I’ve had since I was 13. In essence: I have an underperforming lymphatic system, which results in my legs and feet swelling. It’s not painful, but it can be quite uncomfortable.

    gingerbread cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    Decorating cookies can easy result in a 12+ hour day of standing on your feet and then sitting for HOURS. Both the gravity of standing and the compression of the lymph nodes in the hip area during sitting result in a lot more swelling of my legs and feet.

    I loved what I was creating, but the toll it was taking on my body made me start to feel a bit of resentment for a craft that I loved so much.

    gingerbread cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    This budding resentment, however, didn’t stop me from continuing to experiment when I could!

    The Cookies From 2013

    Throughout 2013 I made some cookies sporadically for friends and family events, which were my favorite occasions to make cookies.

    I made cookies for a colleague’s birthday:

    sugar cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    I loved using the information I knew about a person to craft a set that represented them in cookies, both through the designs and the color palette.

    sugar cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    One of my first idols and cookie “teachers” was SweetAmbs. I know her as being the OG cookie queen for filigree and brush embroidery.

    sugar cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    I made cookies for my cousin’s baby shower:

    I made a ridiculous amount of large cookies for a bake sale (for something I don’t even remember…):

    sugar cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    I made cookies to celebrate another colleague’s birthday:

    sugar cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    At this point my elaborately decorated cookies became a staple at our Cookies and Carols Christmas party.

    I couldn’t let everyone down, so royal icing cookies made an appearance again for Christmas 2013.

    gingerbread cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    A Break From Royal Icing

    The next couple Christmases though I found myself burned out from work, which left me not wanting to attempt royal icing cookies.

    Royal icing is hard to work with in the first place, but when you are doing it so intermittently every time is like you’ve never done it before… which tends to result in way more tears!

    So, instead, my sister and I started a tradition of making elaborate gingerbread houses to be the centerpiece at the Cookies and Carols parties. Ironically it still used royal icing… but a fraction of the pressure for technical excellence and execution.

    gingerbread house decorated with royal icing and candies

    It would be another 3 years until I decorated another cookies with royal icing…

    The Cookie Itch Struck Again in 2016

    The next time I picked up royal icing was October 2016, just over one year into my job at The Juilliard School. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check out this post here.)

    I had always loved to bake for my colleagues in the various jobs I had, but for whatever reason royal icing called me this time around and I made a batch of Halloween cookies that I brought to the office.

    sugar cookies decorated with royal icing: royal icing cookies

    They were a HUGE hit. In many ways, that was the real beginning of my cookie career. I caught the spark and kept bringing in batch after batch of cookies to my colleagues.

    Christmas 2016 I went ALL out for the Cookies and Carols Party (duh!!!)

    Soon my colleagues became my first paying customers and my biggest fans. After much encouragement and persuasion, I finally started an Instagram for my cookies. 

    But what to call my Instagram account?

    The Graceful Baker® Is Born

    In April 2017 The Graceful Baker® was born.

    I have a vivid memory of the day I sat down on my colleague’s blue “collaborative cushion” to brainstorm ideas for my account name.

    The name The Graceful Baker was a play on the name of his favorite bakery in his town (The Able Baker) and my first name (Grace).

    I will forever credit the birth of the name to him (thank you!!) and to this day he jokes about where his 10% cut is…

    By this point I liked to say that I finally found my medium: royal icing. I thrived with a piping bag in my hand and I spent all of my free time decorating cookies.

    What Happened Next…

    For the next year I made cookies as often as I could, even dabbling in taking orders and selling cookies.

    It wasn’t until spring of 2018 when the first The Graceful Baker® cookie videos hit the Instagram scene…

    But what about all those cookies in between?

    Coming soon: a post all of the cookies I made after The Graceful Baker® was born, but before I started making videos. [And later: why AND how I quit my job to be The Graceful Baker® full-time]

  • My Story Before The Graceful Baker [About Me: Part 2]

    My Story Before The Graceful Baker [About Me: Part 2]

    My path to becoming The Graceful Baker® (aka a full-time cookie artist and content creator) has been anything but straight. But, I do truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Every life choice I made led me to where I am today, and for that I am grateful.

    Read on for my story before the birth of The Graceful Baker®.

    My Childhood in Vermont

    I was born and raised in Williston, Vermont to two loving parents and an older sister.

    I come from a very artistic family: my mom is a professional oil painter, my dad has a master’s degree in theatre and my sister is a bassoonist and makes beautiful hand-crafted clay jewelry.

    I have always been artistic as well, but leaning more toward the performing arts.

    I even tried ballet, but quickly realized my budding 5’11” frame was not meant for ballet.

    I dabbled in theater (I have always LOVED the stage) from elementary to high school.

    My favorite production ever was my junior year of high school when I was Madame Thénardier in Les Mis.

    While I loved theater, I loved music even more. I started playing the piano at age 6 and played 12 different instruments between age 6 and my senior year of high school.

    In high school I predominantly played tuba in concert band and baritone saxophone in jazz band (my pride and joy having played in the Vermont All State Jazz Ensemble all 4 years of high school).

    I also played viola in the Vermont Youth Orchestra, eventually becoming principal viola my senior year of high school (playing in the VYO even brought me to Carnegie Hall…which is where I ironically worked for my first job out of college).

    Growing up I tried my hand at visual arts many times, and often I feel like I failed. My mom even tried to teach both my sister and me how to paint.

    My sister caught on quickly: she has always been incredibly skilled with her hands, perfecting everything from origami to calligraphy growing up. She was even great at painting and drawing.

    Me? I couldn’t paint or draw to save my life.

    I did have an eye for color, but I just figured that visual arts were not my calling.

    Ok ok… upon closer examination of these photos I asked my mom to dig up: I wasn’t quite as bad at visual arts as I remembered. I just didn’t have the natural spark and talent to really do anything with it (or so I thought).

    While I did find great joy in the performing arts, I was heavily devoted to school and had big dreams for my future in the field of (international) politics.

    The College Years

    From 2007-2011 I pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in International Politics from American University (AU) in Washington, DC. It was my life goal to be a career ambassador in the US Foreign Service and then President of the United States. (As you do, right?)

    Photo of Grace with her diploma on graduation day from American University

    Even though I spent most of my time on my schoolwork, I still found time to play my baritone saxophone in the AU jazz ensemble and classical saxophone quartet.

    Photo of Grace in college with her baritone saxophone

    I spent my junior year in Paris studying the European Union in French at Sciences Po (one of the most elite universities in France).

    It was a whirlwind year that left me basically fluent in French and…depressed.

    The pressure I put on myself to maintain my perfect GPA was crippling.

    But, I did manage to eat my weight in macarons several times over. Hands-down one of my favorite memories of my time in Paris.

    I later interned during my senior year in the Western Europe office at the US Department of State.

    (No photos from the State Department… but apparently I did get one in the press room at the Pentagon!)

    I was even offered a full-time job in the Western Europe office before graduation. However, I declined the offer, much to the surprise of just about everyone around me (including myself).

    Why did I decline what was presumably the stepping stone to the job of my dreams?

    Because I was overworked, still depressed and couldn’t imagine working full-time while finishing my degree later than my graduation date.

    Was that the beginning of the end of my path to be an ambassador? Well, let’s see…

    After College: Quarter Life Crisis #1

    Upon graduating from AU in 2011 I experienced what I think was my first of many quarter life crises to come.

    Impulsive and lacking direction, I moved from DC to NYC to live with my sister.

    I took the first job that was offered to me: government fundraising at Carnegie Hall. Since I had played music just about all my life and studied politics in college, by some stretch this made sense.

    During my year working at Carnegie Hall I took the foreign service exam twice (and passed). Unfortunately, both times I wasn’t chosen for the final stage of the interview process to actually join the US Foreign Service.

    In so many words my mentors told me that my resume wasn’t enough. Speaking “just” French fluently wasn’t enough. If I were to be taken seriously I would need to learn a “critical” language (e.g. Russian, Arabic, Chinese, etc).

    So I zeroed in on Chinese and even considered moving to China to learn the language.

    Read that again: I considered moving to China to learn Chinese. I’m sorry… WHAT?!

    Quarter Life Crisis #2?

    And then it hit me one day: I was enough just the way I was and I wasn’t going to let the foreign service tell me otherwise.

    I am smart, went to a great college, speak French, am an excellent writer and have a background in the performing arts, among other things.

    Certainly there was something out there that would embrace my talents just as they were…

    Given this new realization I spent the next 4 years jumping around from NYC then back to DC. I worked in everything from arts administration to national security to politics to political fundraising and even a short stint in nutrition.

    I even applied to be in the Clandestine Service in the CIA (think: James Bond) and seriously considered commissioning in the US Air Force as an intelligence officer.

    Now THAT was quite the chapter of my life…

    For the first time in my life I had no clear path and it scared the living daylights out of me. Where did my 30-year life plan go?

    I had been goal-oriented my whole life and suddenly the options were endless. Having so many interests in my opinion is both a blessing AND a curse.

    I had the tremendous privilege of the support of my family to spend these four years experimenting (especially thanks to my aunt and uncle who let me live in their basement for a year in DC).

    By the end of it I was left with a long list of things I did NOT want to do with my life.

    But when would I find THE thing?

    Back to NYC: My One True Love

    By mid-2015 I felt I had exhausted my employment options in DC. Nothing felt right. I felt lost, yet again.

    What next?

    Lacking professional direction this time, I decided that I missed NYC too much and it was the one place I wanted to be.

    I had no idea what I was going to do there, I just knew of all the places I had lived so far THIS was the place for me.

    For the third time in my short life of 26 years I made the move to a new(ish) city without a job and lived with family friends (thank you!!) for a month while interviewing.

    I had coffee one day with a former colleague from Carnegie Hall. The stars aligned: she was hiring for a new project, and the rest was history! 

    I spent the next 6 years working in the K–12 Programs and Initiatives department at The Juilliard School. Our team developed and implemented a global k–12 performing arts curriculum for music, dance and drama.

    The view from our office…

    I found myself yet again in arts administration and for a period of time saw myself living out my professional career at Juilliard. I loved the people that I worked with and the mission of the work that we did.

    After all, I was the product of a general performing arts education and I saw the value in making that available to others. 

    Had I finally found my calling?

    The Missing Piece

    But as the years passed, I realized something was still missing. I spent most days sitting behind a computer writing contracts and crunching numbers.

    What was missing? I am an artist at my core and needed an artistic outlet.

    For the first couple years I continued to play my instruments (viola and baritone saxophone) in community ensembles.

    But one by one I ended up quitting all of the ensembles for one reason or another.

    Coincidentally, at the same time I was playing music less and less, I started baking more and more in my free time. Baking became my primary creative outlet and source of joy.

    And then eventually I picked up decorating cookies again after a several year hiatus. Quickly cookies took over all of my free time.

    Cookies Full-Time?

    This hobby of mine eventually (albeit somewhat reluctantly) became a side hustle.

    And so I often got asked: will you pursue cookies full-time?

    I always answered: absolutely not. I loved my job and I loved the life and security that it gave me.

    Not only did I prefer the life of a steady salary, paid benefits and paid vacation, but I knew that having a job that allowed for balance was rare. I wasn’t going to let this go.

    Back when I made time for things other than cookies… I ran a bunch of half-marathons!

    For years I insisted I would never quit my job to be self-employed making cookies.

    Well, you know how that ended up. Clearly, one day I eventually did.

    Why did I change my mind? When did things change? HOW did I make it happen?

    But wait, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. I skipped a whole chapter here: how did I get into royal icing cookies in the first place??

    Want the next installment in The Graceful Baker® story? Check out this post on how I got into royal icing cookies.

  • Meet Grace Gaylord, a.k.a The Graceful Baker [About Me: Part 1]

    Meet Grace Gaylord, a.k.a The Graceful Baker [About Me: Part 1]

    Hi, there! I’m Grace and I’m so excited you’re here.

    I am the force behind The Graceful Baker® on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and YouTube. I am a royal icing cookie artist that creates accessible cookie decorating content made to inspire, educate, and satisfy.

    Completely self-taught as a cookie artist, I have poured countless hours into mastering royal icing and growing a community of loyal followers who turn to me both for decorating tutorials and royal icing prowess, as well as a source for stress-relief, highly effective child entertainment (it’s true!) and a side of education about a variety of topics.

    Some of the most popular collections I have created include Pride Month 2021, a set celebrating Black women’s beauty and contributions to history, Super Bowl LVI, various diverse holidays (such as Lunar New Year, Diwali, Easter, Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, and Christmas), and my signature shape series sets (like hearts, circles, trees and clovers) where I do a wide variety of different designs with one shape.

    Born and raised in Vermont, my roots are in the woods but my heart is here in the big city of NYC.

    P.S. I’m on a mission to get to 50,000 sessions in the most recent 30 day period so that I can apply for my dream ad management company–this means that I can have ads on my blog, which means I can create more FREE content for YOU!! As of December 18, 2022 we’re at 20,946 sessions. Set a daily alarm to visit the site and let’s do this!!!

    *DISCLOSURE: This site contains affiliate links which means that, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase from one of my links. I greatly appreciate your support!

    Want to learn more about me? Check out these additional posts:

    About Me: My Story Before The Graceful Baker

    The Graceful Baker Story: How I Got Into Royal Icing Cookies