For Baking Cookies Day, Treats from The Flour Gardener

By Jill Brooke

Mary Mansfield’s whimsical flower-inspired cookies not only charm but are a go-to favorite for people who want to create edible pizazz for parties and special occasions.

Considering that holiday baking is a popular time for cookies, she has created an array of beautiful themed culinary delights.

Plus, it’s “Bake Cookies Day” every December 18th.

Not only are cookies a welcome gift, but family and friends enjoy both the taste and creativity! Mansfield gives great tutorials and just looking at these cookies is like looking at art.

“Decorated cookies freeze beautifully if properly sealed, so anyone concerned about time can work ahead to get a jump on holiday gifting and entertaining,” says Mary Mansfield, the owner of The Flour Gardener.

Perhaps make a new recipe or design. Or make a party of baking cookies and remember that no act of love is ever wasted. Plus everyone loves cookies and they connect people to the festive holiday – and you too.

Some other tips?

TIPS

1) Tip: Annie Clark Cookie Cutters is a go-to source

2) Roll dough between parchment so you don’t add more flour.

3) Cut shapes and pop in the freezer before baking to reduce spread.

4) I always refer people to @cookiesbycamilia for icing.

5) Curving your lines, adds dimension. Use a scribe to drag through the lines. create lines. Reverse direction each time.

6) Wet on wet is fine. Meaning you can play with the creations.

A lifelong gardener, Mansfield had worked in a law school before her family moved from Rhode Island to Rochester, New York which has colder winters and far fewer gardening opportunities.

“Living in Rochester means we have only a few months out of the year to enjoy flowers, so I love being able to create them anytime I choose,” she says of her baked goods. ”My love of gardening coupled with my interest in cookie decorating and baking inspired my name, “The Flour Gardener.”

She says she’s been baking and decorating as a “hobby” for about 25 years – not a surprise since this type of skill doesn’t happen overnight.  Cake decorating was her first love and she made delicious treats for neighbors, colleagues, and friends.

But there’s a reason she shifted from cakes to cookies – and it has to do with love and respect, two qualities that are her signature.

“My son married into a large family and I quickly learned that my daughter-in-law’s beloved aunt was the cake decorator in the family and I wasn’t about to step on any toes, so I focused on learning to decorate cookies so that I could contribute to the many family events that lay ahead,” she said. “There were countless bridal and baby showers, birthdays, etc… so I had lots of opportunities to practice.”

When her own grandchildren came along, she then made their birthday cakes and cookies every year, a tradition that continues to this day. She also improved her skills by working at a local bakery. The owner of the bakery encouraged her to launch her home-based business which she did and is now “The Flour Gardener.”

With her growing fan base, she now is instructing people how to create memories pegged to different holidays.

Here are her holiday selections and you can follow her and get her tips on Instagram.

 

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD and a contributor to Florists Review magazine.