Homemade: Dixie Cookie Co. specializes in custom sugar cookies
NEWPORT — Bethany Bruni is enjoying the sweet success of owning her own business. The 34-year-old mother of two owns and operates Dixie Cookie Co.
Watching cookie decorating videos on social media, Bruni got hooked on the idea of creating cut-out confections and started making her own.
“I was enthralled,” Bethany Bruni said. “It was therapeutic to watch. After watching some of them, I wanted to try it and I loved it. I decided it was something I wanted to keep practicing.”
In celebration of her sister-in-law’s 37th birthday, she baked and iced cookies in the shape of flowers.
That special event opened a window of opportunity for the Newport resident. Soon, she started taking orders and making custom cookies.
In December 2023, she started her home-based business.
Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news and high school sports content.
“I provide custom sugar cookies for different events,” she said. “Baby showers, wedding showers. I do a lot of birthday-themed cookies. A lot of people like Barbie or Spider-Man. I provide whatever is custom to that event.”
Bruni said she will match colors. Customers will often send her invitations so that she can incorporate the design.
“I’ve always been a little artistic,” she said. “I used to do a side business and did painting classes for a large group. Now, I do cookie classes and I absolutely love that.”
Bruni uses her own sugar cookie recipe, a blending of a couple of her favorites. She prefers a thick, soft cookie.
“I took me a couple of months to get the recipe to where I wanted it,” she said. “I decorate with royal icing.”
When decorating, Bruni said drying time can vary. She uses a dehydrator to speed up the drying process, enabling her to work on the details. Before packaging any cookies, she recommends a drying time of at least 12 hours.
“When I bake, it’s usually an all-day affair,” she said. “I bake all my cookies for the week but sometimes it turns into a couple of days.”
Orders are typically booked months in advance and range in size. She recently decorated nine dozen for a baby shower, her largest order to date.
With Bruni's customers, trends in cookie designs include Winnie-the-Pooh, Barbie and muted colors.
“There are months that are busier than others. June is grad season, and I have August dates booked already with weddings,” Bruni said. “December is my busiest time.”
From noon to 2 p.m. April 27, Bruni is hosting a floral-themed Mother’s Day cookie decorating class at Little Brown Jug, 7697 Bluebush Road in Maybee.
The class is a “Mommy and Me” event where two people decorate a set of nine cookies. However, guests can decorate the entire set on their own.
Cost is $50 per person and includes nine cookies, bagged icing colors, access to an edible marker to personalize the tag and a box to take home the cookies in. Preregistration is required. For more information, log on to Dixie Cookie Co.’s Facebook page.
— Contact reporter Lisa Vidaurri-Bowling at lvidaurribowling@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Homemade: Dixie Cookie Co. specializes in custom sugar cookies
