Our Cookier

About the Cookier

The one-and-only designer and cookier for Just Add Cookies is Tina Bhargava, who grew up in Kent, Ohio, the home of Just Add Cookies!

Tina always aspired to be an artist (of some sort). She learned the basics of cake decorating as a Girl Scout at Holden elementary, and did some simple cake decorating (along with face painting) for children's parties when she was in high school.

She reinvigorated this baking/decorating hobby during graduate school in Pittsburgh, PA, by adventuring into gingerbreading. Hosting annual gingerbread parties for friends and making her own gingerbread creations become a joyful and delightful break from work and grad school. And the gingerbread parties became an annual occasion for friends to share in the fun--making gingerbread yurts, gingerbread mansions, and even gingerbread strip clubs!

In January of 2021--after completing her annual gingerbread creation--she decided to give decorated cookies a try as a way to sustain the joy and creativity beyond the winter holiday season. After more than a year of practicing on friends and family, she decided to make things official, and launched Just Add Cookies, LLC, on May 5, 2022.

The Cookie Creation Process

Ever wonder how our homemade, hand-decorated cookies are created and what makes them so special?

Before the baking even starts, there is a design process. Inspirations come from many places--including imagination, other artists and mediums, creations of other cookiers, and client ideas. Design ideas are pulled together with the selection of appropriate fonts, colors, and "mood." When needed, special cookie cutters are ordered or created.

Our cookie dough is made fresh from ingredients like real vanilla bean paste, fresh lemon juice, and organic brown sugar. The dough is rolled and cut into the chosen shapes, then baked to perfection in our professional-grade convection oven. We aim for a firm cookie with just-caramelized edges and a soft, chewy inside. After the cookies are completely cooled, the icing begins!

You may not be aware, but decorating roll-out cookies takes at least a couple days. Typically, a base layer of royal icing is "flooded" onto the cookie, and then allowed to dry before adding additional royal icing designs and details. Sometimes there are several layers of details, with drying time between each. Then embellishments like hard sugar decorations, edible metallic accents, and fine details in edible ink are added. Once all the decorations are completed, cookies need to dry fully to set the icing and designs before the cookies are individually heat-sealed or arranged on a party platter.

From baking to bagging, these delicious hand-decorated cookies often take 3-4 days to complete--longer when special ingredients, cutters, or embellishments need to be purchased. The end results are delicious, one-of-a-kind, homemade, hand-decorated delights! Every cookie is hand-created--no two cookies are exactly alike! We pride ourselves in this creative, "not-perfect" approach.