Sugar cookies decorated to look like softballs are lined across rows of a display stand. They are the size of an open hand, wrapped with a bright green ribbon, inside clear plastic bags, atop a pink table cover.
Behind the table is local cookie artist Samantha Anderson, who has taken hours to bake and design each circular pastry, wearing a crew neck sweatshirt with a spatula, whisk and a rolling pin, one of her business logos.
Anderson, 34, is the woman behind “Confections of a Navy Wife,” a business she established following years of baking and practicing the art of cookie decorating — a hobby she started during a global pandemic.
“I was not expecting it,” said Anderson, who formerly worked as a hairstylist, of her passion for baking. “It’s not something I ever thought that I would do, but I enjoy it. It’s a stress relief for me to just sit and do cookies and I like the flexibility that it gives me.”
Establishing ‘Confections of a Navy Wife’
Like others, Anderson started this hobby during 2020 when COVID hit, while living with her parents in Riverside, and ever since, she has not stopped baking.
During a walk in September that year, Anderson said she and a close friend brainstormed things to keep busy. Among the list, was an online class from a cookie artist based in Southern California.
“By the time we got home, we were full-on researching and looking into the class and next thing you know that night we were signed up to take an online class,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she has also watched other artists across countless YouTube videos to learn different icing consistency techniques.
“It took a lot of just watching people,” she added.
Two years ago, Anderson made her business official after years of strictly making cookies for her relatives to enjoy. She said the decision gives her flexibility as a military spouse and busy mom to two sons who are involved in multiple after school activities.
“For the first three years I just kind of was honing in on my craft and doing it for fun,” said Anderson. “It started out as a hobby. I didn’t think I was going to start a business with it.”
As a Navy family, the Andersons moved to Virginia after marrying in 2011, then relocated to Washington state before returning to Riverside, and eventually Coronado in 2021.
“I wanted to be that constant for my kids,” said Anderson about her decision to base her business in Coronado.
Anderson officially started her business, “Confections of a Navy Wife,” in January of 2023.
“It’s such a small town community and the community support is really great which I think made it a little bit easier to start here,” said Anderson.
“I picked a business name that I feel like people will recognize,” she added. “I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘Oh, I see that you’re a Navy wife. I want to support you.’ So that’s been really cool.”
And living in a military neighborhood has led her to new customers.
Coronado resident Taylor Lanier, who lives in the neighborhood, said a holiday cookie table on Anderson’s driveway connected them.
“Any military family also loves to support other military families and this is a very heavily populated military area,” said Lanier. “And the word of mouth in the military community goes really far.”
Anderson, who loves decorating military designs, said she obtained her business license and cottage food license to legally operate out of her house.
“I do a lot of command cookies,” she said, “I like those because they’re unique.”
Crafting cookies
It can take Anderson a full week to bake and decorate dozens of cookies.
“It’s a process, but … I got it down,” says Anderson inside her kitchen where she spends hours preparing each order for customers, “just like an assembly line. … This is my space.”
A popular “Confections of a Navy Wife” design is the American flag sugar cookie.
For one dozen of those cookies, Anderson’s process begins mixing dough to bake the cookies.
She follows this by outlining white icing on three-fourths of each star-shaped cookie and filling in with a separate and thicker same colored icing. After both of those layers have dried, Anderson airbrushes red lines horizontally atop each cookie. She then outlines the remaining one-fourth with blue icing followed by a separate and thicker blue-colored icing.
Lastly, Anderson carefully adds miniature white stars into these blue corners to finalize the American flag design.
“I truly enjoy it,” said Anderson about the prep that goes behind each order. “I enjoy doing it and I look forward to it.”
Anderson is also a guest instructor who has led workshops at AR Workshop Coronado, a studio offering hands-on classes, teaching participants the art of cookie decorating through techniques, tips and tricks.
“I like the idea of teaching people what I love to do every day and what I’m literally doing all day every day,” she said.
Anderson also offers group classes at private venues within Coronado.
“Our professional relationship with Samantha began when we were looking for a new cookie decorator to collaborate with for the 2024 Taste of Coronado,” said Rej Tamares, AR Workshop Coronado manager, in an email. “One of our team members discovered Samantha on social media, and after several emails and a cookie sample, we knew she was the perfect fit.”
This year’s AR Workshop Coronado will offer a spring-themed class in March followed by a Mother’s Day-themed workshop.
“Her cookie decorating workshops have been a fantastic addition to our calendar, with all our 2024 classes selling out,” added Tamares.
In these workshops, Anderson walks participants through every single step of the process, said Lanier who has completed workshops, hired Anderson for a private group class on her birthday and placed cookie orders for her kids’ birthdays.
Lanier said Anderson’s attention to detail is visible across some of her favorite designs like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and monster truck cookies.
“At Easter she does these kits that have blank eggs in them and you decorate them yourself with edible paint,” said Lanier.
“She’s just a super mom, she’s a really great wife,” added Lanier. “She’s not just making cookies that taste great and look great, she’s a really great business woman.”
“The local community here has been amazing,” said Anderson. “If it wasn’t for them, I would have probably given up a long time ago.”
To connect with Anderson, visit her business social media page on Instagram.
