Cookies by Shannon started not with a craving for sweets but with a desire for a creative side hustle. Two years after posting her first Valentine’s Day cookie presale on Instagram, Kentfield resident Shannon Terschluse is now booking months in advance as demand grows for her intricately decorated sugar cookies that can double as centerpieces, party favors or an event activity.

She starts with a classic sugar cookie recipe and customizes each batch with unique shapes and precise royal icing piping, adjusted like paint in consistency to achieve different visual effects.

These are popular for baby showers, birthdays, company milestones, school events, weddings and seasonal holidays.

Pricing is based on design complexity. Simpler sets include basic piping, florals or lettering in a limited color palette, while more ornate designs may feature metallics, airbrushing, hand-painting, fine linework and expanded color schemes. Cookies range from 3.5 to 5 inches and are sold by the dozen, with a two-dozen minimum per order.

Terschluse also offers custom paint-your-own cookie kits, which she’s created for classroom celebrations, birthdays, holidays and other gatherings. Each kit includes a plain cookie canvas, an outlined design or a mix of both, along with royal icing, an edible paint palette, a brush and instructions. These are either individually wrapped or boxed for larger groups.

She also makes double-sized rectangular cookies to highlight a name or theme that can serve as a focal point on a dessert table.

Originally from Minnesota, Terschluse spent a decade in Chicago working in public relations and teaching yoga and fitness before relocating to the Bay Area nine years ago for her husband’s job in San Francisco. The family settled in Marin four years later.

In 2023, with three young daughters at home and a growing desire for a creative outlet, she decided to turn cookie making for friends and family into a more established enterprise, focusing more on meticulous decoration and presentation than culinary experimentation.

Terschluse is entirely self-taught, learning by doing and following countless cookie-decorating videos online. She describes her “love language” as artfully creating and appreciates the start-to-finish nature of the work.

For design inspiration, visit @cookiesbyshannon on Instagram. Order requests can be submitted at bakesy.shop/b/cookies-by-shannon, with pickups available in Kentfield on Fridays or Saturdays. Delivery within Marin and San Francisco is offered for an additional fee. Summer is fully booked, but September through December dates are now open.