Kirsten Brookins wasn’t necessarily the most artistic kid in her family and never gave any thought to becoming a baker, but something surprising happened when she and her family were confined to the house during quarantine.
“I’d been doing cookies here and there for friends,” she says of her then hobby. “Baking has always been something my family did together, especially at holidays. I loved the big board that we would roll the dough out on. It was my favorite part because mom or grandma would help me and it was fun cutting out all the shapes…getting to pick your colors.”
With encouragement from her brother, she began posting her cookie creations on social media and she recalls that soon “it was not just friends ordering, but people I didn’t know.”
She also came up with the idea to create a DIY cookie kit.
“At that time, a lot of parents were at home with their kids and looking for things to do. I was trying to figure out something fun—something kids could do, but also something they could do together,” she offers. “There are six cookies in a kit, three bags of frosting and a little bag of sprinkles.”
But Brookins’ real claim to fame are the elaborately decorated butter cookies she creates.
“What’s super cool is that I get to be a part of their celebration, whether it be a baby shower, wedding or a child’s birthday. They will sometimes send me inspiration photos and I love when they send me their invitation, so I can create a theme based on those elements.”
While she specializes in butter cookies, she also has created a chocolate fudge version, both topped with royal icing (which is commonly used on holiday cookies).
Her family, especially her mother Stacey Brookins, has been a tremendous help to her.
“When you’ve never done anything like this, there’s a learning curve,” Stacey offers. “Once it took off, she was like it’s all or nothing now! We all wanted to help. It was fun that we got to be a part of it. We’re amazed by how far she’s come.”
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