Cookie decorating is not only a hobby — recently, it has become an art.
From simple sugar cookies with icing on top to intricate details that may make one think “this cookie is just too beautiful to eat,” Katie Wood has made them all. Wood, the owner of Ainslie Lane Cookie Studio in Lodi, began teaching classes more than 20 year ago to help locals step up their cookie decorating game.
It all started when her mom owned a cooking school here in Stockton. Wood would attend decorating classes and eventually started teaching cookie decorating classes at the school.
PHOTO BY: MARIA ABUGARADE RAYO
“I started teaching myself because back then there was no Youtube or Instagram videos. Now you can see cookie decorating videos all day long,” said Wood.
Typically, Wood teaches at least once a month, but during the holidays she can have up to eight classes. Ranging from beginner to intermediate to advanced classes, Wood has a starting point for everyone.
PHOTO BY: MARIA ABUGARADE RAYO
It has been around five years since Wood begun selling her Instagram-worthy cookies to nothing but great reviews.
One of her friends “urged me to finally get licensed and sell my cookies” and ever since it has “been a whirlwind.”
For being a self-taught cookie decorator, you can expect to order anything from custom birthday designs to adorable Christmas cookies. Wood can get you those extra points at your events by bringing these phenomenally decorated cookies.
Creating such masterpieces may seem like it only takes a couple hours. However, the process from beginning —the dough making — to end —finished product, fully decorated — can take several days, depending on the amount of detail in the design.
“Lots of different layers [are used] to get them to the way they look,” said Wood.
PHOTO BY: MARIA ABUGARADE RAYO
There’s even been days where she has stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning finishing up orders.
At the end of the day, Wood’s goal for Ainslie Lane Cookie Studio is to continue what she is doing, but maybe take it back a notch on custom orders to be able to enjoy some time with her family, as she has a granddaughter.If you’re interested in taking any of Wood’s cookie decorating classes, you can go to linktr.ee/ainslielanecookiestudio.You can also follow Ainslie Lane Cookie Studio on Instagram @ainslielanecookiestudio to see what other beautiful cookie art she has in store.
