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Beverly pastry chef wins national Christmas cookie competition

BEVERLY, Mass. — A cookie shop owner in Beverly says her cookies not only look good, but they taste good too. Amy Pope backed up her claim by winning a contest on national television.

Aime Pope, owner of The Painted Pastry, shared her recipe for sweet success with Boston 25 News.

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The busy business, located inside her home, began with her offer to bake for her aunt's wedding.

"From that day, attendants of the wedding were asking, ‘Oh my gosh, where did you get these beautiful cookies,’ and they started asking me to make cookies for their own events," said Pope.

From family events to a head-to-head competition on national television, Pope competed against accomplished bakers from across the country.

"They all had to go through this really rigorous process as well, so I knew i was in for a pretty rough competition," said Pope.

Pope never expected to win the Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge.

"When I heard my name, it was just like, ‘This is unbelievable,’ and something that I just kind of didn't imagine would happen," said Pope.

Her following has exploded to more than 90,000 followers on Instagram.

"I really am excited about what I do and I really love what I do and I just post images of things that I create," said Pope.

As the holiday season kicks into high gear, the cookie queen shared her best piece of advice.

"The main thing about decorating cookies is it's supposed to be a really fun experience. Finish the cookie. When you're decorating and you're getting half way through and you're feeling like this is a total fail, just keep going. Most people I have spoken to about cookie decorating, they are always much more happy at the end," said Pope.

Pope plans on using her prize money to remodel her kitchen.

Aime Pope’s Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients: 
•    2 sticks of butter
•    1 cup of sugar
•    3 teaspoons of vanilla 
•    1 egg
•    3 cups of flour

Directions:
•    Cream butter and sugar
•    Add egg and vanilla, then mix
•    Gradually add flour
•    Divide into thirds and chill for 2 hours
•    Roll into ¼" thick
•    Bake at 350 °F until golden brown