With big events and parties on hold due to COVID-19, Sweets on a Stick owner Nicki Cooley says her business nearly came to a grinding halt. However, this self-taught baker and decorator, who always had a passion for creating sweets that are both beautiful and delicious, decided to apply lessons she learned from starting the business out of her home in 2012, and then opening a commercial kitchen at her shop in The Rail District in 2017.
Nicki pivoted to offering cookie kits, which were very popular during those first few months of the pandemic, and remained a sought-after item during the holidays. She also sells cake pops, hot cocoa bombs, already decorated cookies and chocolate-covered pretzels.
"We host cookie classes as well, so the kits started as a fun alternative to in-person classes. We got back to hosting private events in-person, and plan on offering socially distanced, semi-private classes in 2021," she reveals.
She says she's always done pre-sales and pop ups around holidays, and that her pre-coronavirus plan was to eventually expand to open a Sweets Counter to the public in 2021 after her youngest child headed to kindergarten. "But between lost income from canceled classes and larger party orders, it just seemed right to jump ahead and go for it in 2020. The response has been great, and we have fun things in the works for 2021," she adds.
6868 Pecan St., Frisco
972.214.9334
SweetsOnAStickFrisco.com
EASY GLAZE ICING FROM SWEETS ON A STICK BAKERY
[Makes enough icing for approximately 2 dozen cookies]
Ingredients
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon clear vanilla
Gel food coloring
Directions
1. In large bowl, mix all ingredients together with hand mixer or spatula until smooth. Glaze should be thick, but settle to flat surface after a few seconds. To reach desired consistency, add more milk to thin, or powdered sugar to thicken.
2. Separate glaze into multiple bowls to color. Keep icing covered when not working with it. Add coloring 1 drop at a time and thoroughly mix until desired color. Once colored, scoop icing into decorating bags. If not decorating right away, icing can be stored in fridge for 48 hours. (Let icing come to room temperature before using.)
3. Decorate favorite sugar cookie recipe with icing by cutting small hole in piping bag, and squeezing onto cookies. Remember to start with small hole -- it’s easy to continue cutting bigger. Enjoy cookies right away or wait 12 hours for icing to harden; then stack and store cookies in airtight container.