We could watch videos of beautiful food being prepared all. day. long. Don't believe us? We've got plenty of cake videos and behind-the-scenes GIFs to prove it. So, when we stumbled upon the Instagram account Baked Ideas and saw perfectly illustrated cookie replicas of emojis, animals, food, and more, we just had to see how the magic is made. Patti Paige, the cookie artist behind the popular account, and author of You Can't Judge a Cookie by Its Cutter, showed us how it's done in the above clip of the most perfect avocado cookie we've ever seen. (It might also be the only avocado cookie we've ever seen, but that is beside the point.) She also gave us some insight into what it's like to be a cookie artist — dream job alert. Check out her answers below and we won't judge if you end up watching her video on repeat.
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How long does it take to decorate an intricate cookie?
This is a little hard to say because sometimes you have to wait in-between steps for areas of icing to dry. That's why I prefer to work on many cookies at once. But generally, a fairly intricate cookie can take 10 minutes, while a super intricate one might take as much as 20 minutes or more!
This is a little hard to say because sometimes you have to wait in-between steps for areas of icing to dry. That's why I prefer to work on many cookies at once. But generally, a fairly intricate cookie can take 10 minutes, while a super intricate one might take as much as 20 minutes or more!
How do you come up with your cookie designs?
I gravitate to iconic images of objects whose shape and colours I like. Some come from pop culture, others from things I see on the street, like a graphic design on a truck or storefront. My taste runs a little bit toward the primitive, nothing too slick.
I gravitate to iconic images of objects whose shape and colours I like. Some come from pop culture, others from things I see on the street, like a graphic design on a truck or storefront. My taste runs a little bit toward the primitive, nothing too slick.
I make my own cookie cutters which allows me to make shapes that are exactly what I want them to be. I love crafting the cutters and probably have almost 3,000 at this point.
Do you ever use store-bought cookie cutters?
I really do not. The only time I did use them was for my book, You Can't Judge a Cookie by Its Cutter. I took 25 commercial cutters and turned them into 100 different cookie designs by studying the outlines and seeing what else I could find in the shape. For instance, a baby chick cutter could be used to make a paper cone of French fries. The state of Texas shape became a Chinese takeout container..
I really do not. The only time I did use them was for my book, You Can't Judge a Cookie by Its Cutter. I took 25 commercial cutters and turned them into 100 different cookie designs by studying the outlines and seeing what else I could find in the shape. For instance, a baby chick cutter could be used to make a paper cone of French fries. The state of Texas shape became a Chinese takeout container..
What is the most unexpected cookie you have ever made?
Recently I made a cookie of a dead rat. It was for a Roald Dahl celebration.
Recently I made a cookie of a dead rat. It was for a Roald Dahl celebration.
What is your all-time favourite cookie to make?
That's a hard one, but I tend to like to make cookies that look like other foods. I recently made a a lot of sliced vegetable cookies and using the colour and texture of the icing to get them to look right was a challenge.
That's a hard one, but I tend to like to make cookies that look like other foods. I recently made a a lot of sliced vegetable cookies and using the colour and texture of the icing to get them to look right was a challenge.