This summer, PYO (Paint-Your-Own) Cookies were all the hype. Why? They are so versatile! What I personally LOVE about PYO cookies is that there are so many variations to making them and they are totally customizable. Let's talk PYO cookies!
1. Size
Depending on the design you have in mind, you can do smaller 3-inch cookies or large 4-inch cookies.
I made PYO cookies for my nephew for the past 2 birthdays in a 3-inch size. These were the perfect size for a party activity to keep little hands busy. The kids were able to paint their designs and eat their creations without parents feeling their kid was getting filled up on sweets!
For my daughter's birthday, on the other hand, I made larger 4-inch cookies as I was handing them out as party favors and just wanted them to look bigger.
2. Shape
Depending on the party theme and size of the stencil on hand, you can pipe or stencil your image onto scalloped plaques, circles, hexagons, or simple squares! It takes the cookie that much over the edge to mesh with the theme of the party.
Here is a scalloped plaque I used as my very first PYO cookie for St. Patrick's Day.
On the other hand, here is a matching stencil and cookie shape that mesh nicely together and give it a clean design. Some cutter shops don't always have these available so I like to grab them when I see a cute design. I made these cute ballerina bunnies as an option for Easter pre-sales.
3. Stencils vs Piped Design
Stencils are the go-to to make PYO cookies quick and efficient and keep those costs low for the customer.
Often, I get a requested design that doesn't come in stencil form. Either it's because of copyright infringement laws or the available designs just don't go with what my customer or I are looking for. In that case, I hand-pipe the design (Cars and disco balls at the top of the page).
4. Paint Palette Variations
Paint palettes can be done in several ways. The first way I learned was to pipe a white dot on parchment, let it dry, airbrush it in the color I need, cornstarch it, then peel it from the parchment and stick it onto the cookie. The end product is a super cute edible cookie with the paint palette right on top, but the steps were a bit daunting, especially when pressed for time - not to mention the dried dots of icing were flying off the parchment paper when i was trying to airbrush them! This is a great airbrush to use if you are just starting out. I love that it is cordless! I use Amerimist food color with my airbrush and highly recommend!
Another option is to pipe the dots directly onto the cookie and VERY delicately brush gel food coloring onto the dot after it has dried, then proceeding to cornstarch it so the color does not transfer onto the packaging. Use gel food coloring here, not the airbrush colors. This saved me much more time, but I needed to have thick royal icing to be sure the dots stay nice and puffy. Piping with thicker icing can be a strain to the hand! I tried to go for a more "paint splatter" effect here so I don't have to focus on making those circles perfectly round!
The one I prefer today is simply purchasing a printed paint palette (printed with edible food coloring) and packaging it alongside the cookie. This saves me a ton of time and is totally worth the spend in my opinion. You can find these paint palettes here.
Of course, if you happen to own an edible food printer, you can print the design AND paint palette directly onto your cookie and call it a day!
5. Paint brush colors
I like to buy these mini brushes to package with my PYO cookies. Lately I have been finding colored, transparent, and pink ones and I love the idea of coordinating the brush to the theme!
6. Toppers
Toppers are a fun way to tie together the finished cookie product! For pre-sales, I like to top my cookies with a sign stating what it is with directions on how to paint them on the back.
For birthdays, I simply tie a bow at the top to keep it nice and simple!
I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed sharing this information and give the Paint Your Own cookie trend a try at your next event! Thanks for reading!
XO,
Priya
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