By a Pro: Custom Portrait Cookies | Personalized Dessert Table Food

the idea

Add some wow-factor photo-ops to your dessert table display with hand-painted custom portrait cookies of the guest of honor

personalized custom portrait cookie of Betty White's face

personalized custom portrait cookie of a young girls face

the how

Choose between cartoon or realistic style portrait
Choose quantity (multiples of 12 for cartoon style or no minimum for realistic)
Place order
Send clear, high quality photo via email

personalized custom portrait cookies of 3 African American men

personalized custom portrait cookie of Martha Stewart's face

the why

This Idea

Creative; adds a creative twist to familiar or everyday cookies
Special occasions should feel special; serving regular everyday treats is unimaginative
Customized; personalized treats are more special and show you made an effort
Unique; customization adds a point of difference and grabs people’s attention
Wow-factor; lends a creative, unique, and thoughtful look to your dessert table
Discovery; allows guests to keep discovering new and notable elements as party unfolds
Talking point; gives guests something to discuss and share with one another
Photo-worthy; a great photo-op for guests to share and tag on social media
Memorable; guests remember creative, unusual, or unexpected elements
Custom photo; opportunity to show guest of honor when they were younger or at different ages ‘through the years’
Funny; quirky, lighthearted, or self-deprecating photos will make guests smile
Unusual; a less common dessert table treat to impress guests
Bestseller; an idea that’s proved popular with many of my site’s visitors

personalized custom portrait cookie of a woman

personalized custom portrait cookie of a woman with curly hair and glasses

the why

variety of dessert table treats

Feeding v Entertaining; special event party food should have two objectives:
Feeding; 70% should be crowd-pleasing, familiar, and palatable ‘safe’ options intended to leave guests feeling well-fed
Entertaining; 30% should be to treat your guests, surprise them, indulge them, impress them, share experiences with them, and even help them discover new things
Unusual; 10% of that 30% should be quirky, unfamiliar, adventurous, fun treats that get people talking
Visual; 10% of that 30% should be visually arresting treats that contribute to presentation and add wow factor
Favorite things; 10% of that 30% should be treats that reflect your own personality and taste

personalized custom portrait cookie of a woman placed on every plate around a birthday dinner party

personalized custom portrait cookies of 2 young African American children

ADVICE FROM A PRO

Matt’s tip

“Any product that allows you to personalize it with—or based on—a photo is a great opportunity to use an old photo of the guest of honor from when they were younger.

In this case you could place multiple orders using either two ‘then & now’ style photos or three / four photos showing them ‘through the years’.

This makes the cookies even more unique and entertaining for party guests; especially for milestone birthdays and occasions such as anniversaries, graduation, and retirement.

As these cookies are all about adding a visual wow-factor to your dessert table, you don’t need to order one for every guest.

Instead, maximize your budget by presenting these more expensive cookies in a row on a serving plate, flanked either side by a row of regular, less expensive cookies. This way, they become more of an accent or feature.

Alternatively, if your budget permits, present them in individual cellophane bags for guests to take home as party favors. I love the way somebody put one of these on each place setting at a seated birthday dinner, as shown in the photo above.”