Home Sweet New Home for Painted Cookie to Celebrate 10th Anniversary

A familiar Wilton favorite is now cooking closer to home …

Today, Friday, March 24, The Painted Cookie — an independently owned nut-free, sesame-free sweet shop — celebrates its grand re-opening after moving to new Wilton Center digs at 101 Old Ridgefield Rd., just left of Subway, Marly’s, and Wilton Pizza, in the back of the Village Green.

After 10 years on Rte. 7, owner Susan Schmitt decided to find a larger, more wide-open space to augment her burgeoning business, which focuses on a range of hand-decorated cookies and more — all nut-free and sesame-free treats.

“This works so much better,” she said of the new space. “We actually have room to move around.”

Schmitt credits her husband, Matthew Schmitt, a Wilton native and a professional foreman carpenter with the town of Greenwich, for helping to get so much of the work done at the new location in a timely manner.

“The town was very responsive as well,” she said, expediting the permit process so she’d lose as little time as possible during the month-long transition.

Schmitt originally began baking at home when her two sons were little, following a secret cookie recipe handed down from her grandmother, Marion Searles, who lived in Orange.

“We baked a lot of cookies when I was little,” Schmitt said.

For many years people enjoyed the fruits of Schmitt’s baking labors for free, as historically Connecticut law didn’t allow at-home baking businesses and she wasn’t ready to open a separate shop.

But when Schmitt finally decided to take her art to the next level as a commercial enterprise in 2013, knowledge of the sometimes life-threatening allergies that faced some of her children’s friends led her to make allergy-free desserts her specific focus.

“My younger son had friends who had nut allergies,” she said. “That’s when we made a decision to go nut- and sesame-free.”

Schmitt’s shop is stocked with a range of products, including fudge, ice cream, edible cookie dough, and several different kinds of nut-free biscottis that are made in-house.

“The bulk of our business is the decorated cookies and custom orders,” she said, with both hand-drawn decorations by her staff, as well as the use of an in-house “printer” meeting the edible decorative needs.

Lisa Gioffre Baird of Wilton is one of The Painted Cookie’s loyal customers.

“My nephew has a nut allergy,” she said, “so it’s so nice to know what I’m bringing doesn’t have to be screened. It’s completely safe.”

She called the desserts at the shop “spectacular,” commending Schmitt for her commitment to the business.

“She cares so much about her product and her customers,” Baird said. “She puts her heart and soul into everything.”

Schmitt explained that she carefully sources all of her ingredients to make sure they qualify as safe, noting that her cookies can be brought into schools for parties for this reason.

Of course the appeal is also a visual one, with the variety of designs and timely decorations Schmitt and her team of bakers create. They’re clearly a hit with customers of all ages, notably younger ones who often squeal with delight when visiting the shop.

With the new location, Schmitt is particularly looking forward to foot traffic, especially from those who want and need a nut-free sweet alternative. 

“We’re all about being inclusive,” she said, “with sweet treats for everyone.”

For more information, visit The Painted Cookie website.