By Deb Malewski
Contributing Writer
Some artists paint on canvas, some paint murals on walls, some paint rocks. Kerry Colestock, of Eaton Rapids paints with royal icing on sugar cookies and has started a small cookie-making business. These cookies have no chocolate or peanut butter, but they are far from plain. Each sugar cookie is custom made and decorated with colorful icing. They are cut out and hand decorated with whimsical designs matching the request or the interests of the buyer. And they are made with love, Colestock said.
Colestock started approximately a year ago with her “Kerry’s Cookies” business. She sells through Facebook or word of mouth. She attended one cookie-decorating class, and it took off from there. She has two children and a husband, still works a full-time job and makes cookies in the evenings.
Colestock gets some assistance from Zoey, her six-year-old daughter.
“She can decorate a nice cookie,” Colestock proudly admitted.
Any profit Colestock makes from her cookie sales is set aside to purchase equipment for her son, Wesley, who is five years old and has special needs, she explained. She recently purchased a special bike called a Wee Hoo, as he is unable to ride a regular bike. Colestock also was able to upgrade his stroller to a larger, special-needs stroller. Next, she would like to purchase him a large swing.
Her goal is to make people happy, Colestock said, and her favorite part of the work is knowing her cookies are the “‘wow’ of the party.”
“I love to see the reaction of the person they were made for,” she said. “They’re personally designed with that person’s likes in mind, and I like to make the person feel special.”
Colestock usually asks for inspiration photos to make sure she knows what her customers want and creates a set of five to six different cookie designs based on that theme.
“People don’t realize how long it takes to research and prepare the cookies.”
She has received many compliments regarding the amount of detail she puts in her cookies. Some of her cookie themes include law enforcement, cartoon characters, construction vehicles, motorcycles, nursing, unicorns, island cookies and hunting.
“These cookies were so cute for my daughter’s baby shower,” said Robin Hernandez, about the Mama Bear cookies she ordered. “They weren’t only adorable, they were delicious — such a big hit.”
Colestock said it can take 12 hours to decorate 24 cookies, in addition to the actual cookie-baking process. Most cookie orders take four or five days to fill.
For more information, including pricing and ordering, visit Colestock’s Facebook page, “Kerry’s Cookies.”
PHOTO:
Photo by Deb Malewski
Kerry Colestock of Eaton Rapids is a cookie artist — hand-decorating sugar cookie masterpieces.
