Project Gilmore: If I was my Own Client
The Ask
Gilmore Girls Diner Themed Painted Cookies
To know me is to know I’m a lifelong Gilmore Girls stan. I love the show as much as Lorelai loves coffee, Rory loves books, and Jess loves a dramatic exit, reappearance, and then exit again.
So when I decided to learn new cookie decorating techniques earlier this fall, the obvious choice was to design cookies I would want if I was the client.
So I present to you, the Gilmore-Girls-Diner-Themed set of cookies (rolls right off the tongue, right?)
Behind the Scenes
I love a subtle reference. So in designing this set of cookies, I narrowed my overall Gilmore Girls theme to be diner specific. This gave my set of cookies a single point of view - would this be found in a diner?
If the answer was yes, the next question was, “How can I create a reference to Gilmore Girls in this design?” The goal being that the designs would work even if you don’t know anything about the show.
A Diner visit isn’t complete with a bowl of lemon wedges and packets of sugar
Luckily, I created a set of Gilmore Girl’s themed recipe cards last year. So I used those as my jumping off point.
New Royal Icing Technique used for iced tea themed cookie
The first designs were all about Coffee Coffee Coffee. I went with true diner vibes and landed on spilled drips & coffee rings. I did 2 variations of this design, my favorite being the one that spells “Luke’s” in the spilled coffee.
Personally, I’m not a big coffee drinker, but I do love a cup of tea. And lucky for me, a tea reference in Gilmore Girls does exist!
So I tried a new icing technique with a thin layer scraped across the entire cookie and then the shape I want to paint being piped on top of that for contrast. This is how I landed on a tea bag design which I branded as being from The Dragonfly Inn, where Sookie famously realized she was pregnant after Norman Mailer ordered one too many cups of iced tea.
What goes better with a cup of iced tea than sugar packets and lemon wedges?
These cookies were small but so fun to create! The sugar packets used 2 new icing techniques with parchment paper and added texture to make the edges look crimped.
The final major technique I used was really to satisfy my original curiosity, I wonder if I can make a cookie that looks like a recipe card?
Naturally, I designed the cookie to look like the recipe cards I previously designed on paper. But this time I included a recipe on it in edible ink for the Gilmore Girls reference.
Painted the spilled coffee rings at Luke’s diner
The Delivery
Since this was a practice set of cookies, the delivery was simply sharing the process on social media.
It is always fun sharing new designs, but when they’re themed toward my favorite show it’s even better! I loved connecting other fans online and hearing where you are in your annual (or year-round) rewatch of the show!
The Results
My goal in creating this set was to learn new techniques and create subtle references to a show I love but make sure the designs could be repurposed for other themes in the future. Coffee with the Engaged Couple? Bridgerton High Tea?
I love how this set turned out and I’ve already used some of these techniques (alongside other new ones) for custom orders. So I consider that a success!
“So nostalgic to my childhood love it!”
A few of the responses on Instagram to the Gilmore Girls Diner set of cookies
Let’s Create Something Beautiful Together
If you’ve got a launch, event, or idea that deserves something a little extra special, I’d love to dream it up with you.
Fill out my inquiry form and let’s make something unforgettable
