Hey Besties! Today’s cookies have more of a somber tone which is not our norm, but they are special and unique for other reasons. Historically, we’ve considered baked goods more reserved for celebrations. But in recent years, people are looking to decorated sugar cookies and other beautiful treats as art to be enjoyed for all kinds of occasions. Food, especially comfort food, is very good at well…comforting. And given all the creative options we have available now, there’s never been a better time to use baked art to heal broken hearts. I hope you enjoy these special pet sympathy cookies and consider how you might be able to use your baking talent to raise the spirits of others!
A Neighborhood Loss
A couple weeks ago, our closest neighbors lost their dog, due to old age. He was such a good boy and was a bestie to our two dogs as well. It was devastating to their family, and especially their three young kids. If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know how utterly devastating it can be. No matter how hard you try, there’s really no preparing yourself for that loss of a best friend and family member.
And if you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for a way to help those in pain or grieving. And in our case, baking something to bring a smile or warm a tummy can be helpful. Especially in this case, when the family loves your cookies already, it was a no-brainer to create something special. If it helps them forget about their sadness for a few minutes, it was worth it!
A Word To Bakery Owners
If you are a bakery owner who offers custom goods, I highly encourage you to ensure your customers know they can count on you for special and thoughtful orders like this. People are always looking for ways to help others going through heartbreak or a hardship and unfortunately, there’s not a lot of great options to help in these situations. But by offering unique and thoughtful baked art, is a something many would enjoy. Is it different than Christmas and Easter cookies? Absolutely. But I’d argue that even more love is baked into special sets like these. It’s a sweet and touching gift for someone who needs cheering up.
Recipes
Let’s start with a delicious canvas. You may already have a go-to favorite cutout cookie recipe. But I highly encourage you to look at the 20+ easy, no-chill and yummy-flavored cutout cookie recipes, available to you HERE. For today’s set, I opted to go with our caramel cutout cookie recipe. It’s SO delicious and brings a sense of warmth and comfort.
For our royal icing, you can find our recipe and exactly our method for making it, HERE. Not all royal icing is created equal and some is definitely more delicious than others. If you’re looking for a fabulous, simple, yet beautiful royal icing recipe, I encourage you to give it a try.
Designs
For these special pet sympathy cookies, I knew I wanted to include photos. So, you’ll see that I incorporated both edible image elements with more traditional cookie decorating techniques. This is my favorite way to work with edible images; using the to enhance and elevate the designs with personal touches.
If you’re new to working with edible images, THIS post includes everything you need to know about our edible image setup, how we print them and more. For today’s cookie set, I created my graphics and formatted all my images in Canva. Then it’s as simple as printing and adhering them into my cookie designs during decorating.
I chose basic cookie cutter shapes and simple yet thoughtful designs that I think others would appreciate.
While normally we’re all positive around here, today’s set is a departure but one that resonates with anyone who’s lost a pet. I thought these cookies turned out just beautiful and they are a touching memorial.
Besties, I know what kind of baking talent you’ve got. I hope these pet sympathy cookies inspire you to make or offer something special to help bring joy.
Lastly, make sure you’re subscribed to receive my weekly newsletter! You definitely don’t want to miss out on a new recipe, technique, Featured Baker or free printables. Happy Baking, Besties!