Fairfield county mom Elizabeth Veltrie- founder and owner of Pour Some Sugar on It- sat down with us to chat about her spectacular cookies, which she creates for every occasion- from birthdays and anniversaries to bachelor parties and weddings.
GL: What inspired your interest in cookie-making?
EV: So, I have been using a sugar cookie recipe that has been passed down from my Grandmother. I can remember baking these cookies when I was young with my mom for all of the holidays! I started baking and selling cookie orders for Pour Some Sugar on It two years ago.
GL: What was the first cookie you ever baked?
EV: I’m not sure I can recall the very first cookie I ever baked, but the first cookie I baked for Pour Some Sugar on It were watermelon-shaped cookies. My daughter Addison loved posing with them!
GL: When did you decide to turn your passion into a career?
EV: I baked cookies for a get-together with my friends, and one of my closest friends asked me why I haven’t sold them. That is when the lightbulb went off and Pour Some Sugar on It was founded.
GL: What’s the most unique cookie you’ve ever been asked to design?
EV: This story makes me chuckle every time I think about it. I was asked by a customer to make an order of cookies for her daughter’s birthday. Her daughter happens to be in medical school at NYU and the customer requested I make sperm and ovary cookies. It was a riot and I’m pretty sure I laughed the entire time I decorated them!
GL: What’s the average time it takes you to fulfill a cookie order?
EV: For a custom order, I require at least a week’s notice in order for me to gather the proper supplies/cookie cutters/sprinkles/food coloring/exc that I would need. From start to finish, it takes me about 3-4 hours to bake and decorate a dozen cookies (this all depends on the design and amount of colors used).
GL: What’s your favorite cookie project you’ve ever made?
EV: To date, my favorite cookie project I’ve ever made were the cookies I created for Pure Barre Darien’s six year anniversary. Pure Barre has been near and dear to my heart for over a decade (and I happen to be an instructor!). They were incredibly fun to decorate, and it was even more exciting to see how impressed the clients were at my work.
GL: What is the hardest part about making cookies?
EV: One of the hardest parts about making cookies are the things you can’t control. If it is too humid outside, sometimes your dough won’t rise like you anticipate it would. During the summer months I tend to bake orders in the evening when it becomes cooler out. I also have two toddlers, so making cookies while they are around can be difficult, which is why I stay up during the wee hours of the night (usually into the morning) completing orders.
GL: Do you eat a lot of cookies?
EV: Nope! I grew up eating these cookies so I can honestly say I am a little sick of eating them. My mom would say the same if you were to ask her. I will occasionally sample one to make sure it tastes good before fulfilling an order. My husband Josh, on the other hand, LOVES my cookies and has even placed an order with me for him and his co-workers. My cookies flew from New Jersey to Connecticut for a Sunday Night Football game!
GL: How many cookies orders do you make a week?
EV: It varies greatly during the year. Some weeks I have no cookie orders, other weeks, like the week of Thanksgiving, I had about 50 orders!
GL: Do you bake other treats for your family?
EV: Occasionally I will bake other sweet treats for my family, like other types of cookies or cakes.
GL: Do you like to cook too?
EV: I enjoy cooking...doesn’t mean I am necessarily good at it!
GL: What inspires you?
EV: I follow a lot of other sugar cookie bakers on Instagram and I love to bounce ideas off of them and ask them for recommendations/suggestions. They are always so helpful! I love to look at cookie samples they have done and try and either recreate them (with their permission, of course) or design my own.
GL: Plans to expand?
EV: I have definitely considered either opening a cookie bake shop or even a cookie van or cookie cart! Who knows what the future will hold!