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Jennifer Smith launched Traditions By Jennifer in February. She creates themed royal iced butter cookies for parties, special occasions or holidays for sale from her home-based kitchen. She also offers cookie decorating classes at artisan stores in Gibsonville and Elon.
Pictured is a photograph of Ruth Scott on the back cover of a cookbook featuring the recipes she prepared for family. Scott is the grandmother of Jennifer Smith, who said she learned how to cook and bake while staying with her grandma after school. The cookbook, featuring Scott's recipes, was created by Smith's sister.
Five different colors of royal icing are mixed, bagged and ready to use to create colorfully decorated cookies at Traditions by Jennifer home bakery near Gibsonville.
Some of baker Jennifer Smith's summer-themed cookies are pictured with the cookbook Smith's sister created of their grandmother's recipes. Smith's baking skills began in her grandmother Ruth Scott's kitchen.
This elephant-shaped cookie is the first batch of royal iced cookies baker Jennifer Smith made when before she launched her home-based bakery. She said she was not completely happy with the appearance, but it still tasted good.
Times-News
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Smith, Times-News
Jennifer Smith has opened Traditions By Jennifer bakery, which specialized in royal-iced butter cookies. Her over the tops designs are eye-catching and tasty.
For many years, Jennifer Smith's bus stop was at grandmother Ruth Scott's home.
Her school day was over, but a new kind of learning was continuing in grandma's kitchen. Smith knew she was going to get some hands-on time baking and cooking with Scott, measuring ingredients for cakes, cookies, pies and meals.
Pictured is a photograph of Ruth Scott on the back cover of a cookbook featuring the recipes she prepared for family. Scott is the grandmother of Jennifer Smith, who said she learned how to cook and bake while staying with her grandma after school. The cookbook, featuring Scott's recipes, was created by Smith's sister.
Those skills and memories sparked Smith's imagination years later when the pandemic made it difficult to find employment. She decided to dust off those baking skills and begin Traditions by Jennifer, a home-based decorative cookie business.
These aren't your run-of-the-mill chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Smith creates art with flour, sugar and butter. Need cookies with your child's high school or college mascot? She can do that. Need cookies with your company's logo? She can do that. Need cookies with a baby shower, wedding, or birthday theme? She can do that, too.
Jennifer Smith launched Traditions By Jennifer in February. She creates themed royal iced butter cookies for parties, special occasions or holidays for sale from her home-based kitchen. She also offers cookie decorating classes at artisan stores in Gibsonville and Elon.
Smith, who lives near Gibsonville, is turning out pieces of edible art in her home-based bakery. Locals have taken note of her cookies not just for their artistic designs, but also for their flavor. This style of decorated cookie with layers of royal icing has a reputation for looking pretty but sometimes offering little in the flavor department.
In addition, some of the mass factory-produced decorator cookies purchased in stores near the cash register during the holidays are also extremely hard to bite into and crumbly.
Instead of the usual bland sugar cookie base, Smith makes a rich butter or shortbread cookie she cuts out in the needed shape using either a cookie cutter or freehand cuts out the design from her dough.
Once baked, the artistry of her craft takes over. She layers on two, three or more colors to make animals, baby carriages, school mascots, flowers, and more using royal icing.
Five different colors of royal icing are mixed, bagged and ready to use to create colorfully decorated cookies at Traditions by Jennifer home bakery near Gibsonville.
"I started my business in February," she said. I saw a photo of these decorated cookies on Pinterest. I just wanted to do that. They were so beautiful. I never really thought it would turn into what it has turned into."
Since 2013, Smith has worked in the healthcare industry. Her job allows her to work from home, so there is little downtime in driving back and forth between work and home. She has her ingredients out and ready to begin baking as soon as her healthcare work day ends.
Ask her about her first batch of butter cookies decorated with yellow and red royal icing and she laughs, It was an elephant-shaped cookie for a co-worker. To this reporter's untrained eye, the cookie is beautiful.
This elephant-shaped cookie is the first batch of royal iced cookies baker Jennifer Smith made when before she launched her home-based bakery. She said she was not completely happy with the appearance, but it still tasted good.
Times-News
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Smith, Times-News
"I laugh when I remember that first cookie," she said. "I tried to do a Mandela design in red on the elephant after the base coat in yellow. I see the problems, but it still tasted good. I want my cookies to look good and taste good."
Looking good came with hours of practice.
Smith developed her butter cookie recipe and royal icing recipe from a base recipe she found on Pinterest.
Customers' responses and word of mouth have helped grow her business quickly. She is already looking for a place to take Traditions by Jennifer out of her home kitchen into a commercial kitchen. She is even considering making the baking business her only job instead of a side hustle.
"I'm grateful to everyone who came to me and keeps coming back for cookies," she said. "It's to the point I can't keep doing this in my home. I really need a shared commercial space."
Anyone can order her cookies for their special events, or her themed cookie boxes she creates for holidays. On Tuesday, she was experimenting with Fourth of July/summer-themed cookies that ranged from American flags and red, white and blue star cookies to ice cream cones and sunshine cookies.
Simply search for Traditions By Jennifer on the social media platforms and like and follow her Facebook page or Instagram page and use the Google form on either to place your order. You can also call her at (336) 312-2583.
Placing the cookie on a small Lazy Susan that turns makes decorating cookies easier for Traditions By Jennifer owner Jennifer Smith.
Another way to try her cookies is through The Main Line artisan store in Graham. She sells her cookies in the shop.
It takes Smith about two to three days to finish a typical order. She has to bake the cookies and let them be completely cool before decorating. Each new color in the design has to allow the previous royal icing layer to completely set or dry before adding another color to avoid the colors bleeding into one another.
"Right now, it's really humid here, so it can take longer for things to dry," she said. "I try to remedy the wait time some. I have a dehydrator that helps."
In addition to selling at an Alamance County store, she offers cookie decorating classes at The Paisley Tree House in Gibsonville and Simply Oak in Elon. Smith arrives at the classes with prebaked cookies and pre-colored icing. Students get to decorate the cookies and take home to enjoy. Her classes are also advertised on her Facebook and Instagram pages, but you can also call or message her if you want to have a private class for you and friends for a girl's night out..
Some of baker Jennifer Smith's summer-themed cookies are pictured with the cookbook Smith's sister created of their grandmother's recipes. Smith's baking skills began in her grandmother Ruth Scott's kitchen.
- Jill Doss-Raines is the food and restaurant writer for the Times-News. She is always looking for tips about Alamance County's food scene. Contact me at jill.doss-raines@the-dispatch.com.
