Lily P’s Cookies

Sweet, FrostedDelicacies! Delicacies!

Lily P’s Cookies

By Hayli Zuccola Holly Frazier Photography

Five years ago, Francheska Powell’s pastry skills were limited to oven-ready confections whipped up by a cheerful doughboy, jarred frosting and a handful of sprinkles, which may come as a surprise to anyone who’s ever set sight on an assortment of her painstakingly decorated cookies. Of course, founding a cookie company was never part of the plan, at least, not until the birth of her daughter put her on a sugarcoated path to a tasty new venture. Looking for a sweet present to gift her labor and delivery nurses, Francheska was instantly fascinated with the idea of hand-piped sugar cookies, but with only a couple of weeks of her pregnancy left, nearby bakeries were either booked for new orders or too expensive for the mom-to-be, so, she opted to frost a few dozen herself with the assistance of YouTube tutorials and recipe suggestions from a friend who worked as a baker in Virginia. Equipped with a themed set of cookie-cutters and plenty of piping bags and tools from her mom’s stash of holiday cakemaking supplies, she formed an assembly line of cookies until she painted around four dozen rookie cookies to pass out to the delight of hospital staff .

What she considered a one-time experience became a life-changing one after a picture her mom posted of the process garnered the attention of a friend who in-turn requested a batch of the baked goods for an upcoming baby shower. More inquiries soon followed, and with them, Lily P’s Cookies—named after her daughter who inspired it all— became a full-fl edged business. “She was the reason that I started, and doing these cookies gave me the opportunity to stay home with her,” Francheska says. Today, Francheska is the queen of royal icing and has made edible works of art for countless special occasions, local events and holiday celebrations. Nevertheless, while she can translate any idea into a bitesized illustration, she leaves the baking aspect to her mom, Tammy, whose soft, melt-in-the-mouth cookies are a tweaked, elevated version of the original recipe from years ago. With a unique fl avor and texture that surpasses the profi le of a traditional sugar cookie, this dough, in particular, makes for a delicious cookie canvas not even Francheska herself can replicate—and not from a lack of trying. “She’s my lifesaver, so she bakes the cookies and I decorate them,” she says. Though the taste remains consistent, Lily P’s prides itself on creating truly customized desserts tailored to each customer, pulling inspiration from invitations, business logos and color palettes to produce intricate one-of-a-kind treats.

“I want all the things so that I can create a truly custom set of cookies that are specifi c to your event, like it’s not just something that everyone’s had at their party,” she says. “That helps me feel like I’m getting to use my creativity and not just slapping some icing on a cookie.” When an order comes in, Francheska delves into her 28 boxes of cookie cutters to narrow down the shapes best-suited for the occasion, whether it’s a wedding reception, baby shower or business launch party. She then outlines the colors, layout and style for each cookie before adding the request to the weekly baking rotation at her mom’s house, no more than four days before the date of the event. The Powells may be tight-lipped on their crave-worthy recipe, but Tammy has everything from the ingredient order, temperature and cooking time down to a T—repeating the process until all the cookies are golden and cooled with the leftover scraps repurposed into a so-called “smash cookie” designated for Francheska’s dad. Trays of bare cookies in tow, Francheska then spends the following days coloring, piping and fl ooding icing designs for every order. It’s a timeconsuming, detail-oriented career choice, but one her daughter, Lily, is

all too eager to replicate. Though she’s too young to assist with customer cookies, Lily is already living up to the company namesake by opting to decorate Christmas cookies for friends and family—paving the way for a possible three-generation business. Only time will tell if Francheska’s son, Levi, will share in the enthusiasm for the embellished desserts. Though filling customer orders certainly keeps her busy with three to four bookings a week—each of which can contain anywhere from one to six dozen cookies—in April 2021, Lily P’s began offering cookie decorating classes for both private and public events. Whether it’s a collaboration with Painting with a Twist or a pre-scheduled monthly visit at Halpatter Brewing Company, it’s all about the prep work for the self-taught cookie artist. After choosing three to four base shapes, Francheska traces the selected cookie cutters and builds easy-to-replicate drawings tailored to the specific season, current trends or private party request while using colored pencils to determine the perfect icing shades for the overall look. Kits are then put together with pre-baked, individuallywrapped cookies; colored and bagged frosting; and decorating tools for each person signed up for the session. “I love the socialization aspect of the in-person classes, like that is just so fun to me. I’ve always been a social person, so getting to get up there and be with people and talk to people and help them, like show them something that I love doing and watch them have fun doing it too is the coolest thing ever,” she says. The concept of teaching her practiced techniques began as a far-fetched idea—one that initially made her nervous to attempt outside the comfort of her home—but in the end, it was an expansion that only furthered her overall desire to share her passion for the art form and advice with others. “When you get started in the industry, you feel like everyone’s your competition, but it’s not that way, and it’s taken me a while to learn that,” she says. “I love to encourage other bakers: cookie bakers, other cake people, cupcakes, cake pops—all the things. I’m a huge proponent of community over competition and I know and am friends with several other bakers and cookiers in the area, and we’re able to bounce not only ideas off of each other, but clients. When one of us is booked, we have a list of other people we can send them to, and I’m just really—I love to encourage other cookiers,” What began as a gift idea for a group of pregnancy care nurses forged an entirely new career for Francheska, who acknowledges her family’s continued support as the reason behind Lily P’s success. “I couldn’t do any of it without my husband. He’s my rock,” she says. “He’s like my biggest cheerleader, which is the coolest thing, and I love that, but having my mom be a part of it too is amazing, and Lily just showing the interest and intrigue that she does.” Approaching year six in the candy-coated trade, Francheska’s future goals include opening a brick-and-mortar location where she can bake and decorate custom orders, teach classes and sell her beautiful and equally delicious cookies all in one place. Of course, when that day does arrives, don’t expect cakes, cupcakes or other bakery items to be added to the menu, because at Lily P’s, cookies reign supreme. To see more of Lily P’s cookie designs or to sign up for an upcoming class, visit their Facebook page at Facebook.com/lilypssugarcookies.