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Saugus High Student Finds Success With New Cookie Business Amid Pandemic

Saugus High School senior Bethany Chan has found a silver lining in the middle of a shutdown by decorating custom-made cookies.

Chan’s Saugus-based sugar cookie baking and decorating business “Cookies by Bethany Chan,” which she launched in January of 2019 after sustaining an injury while dancing, has grown since the start of quarantine as she has had more time to invest into the cookie trade.

The Saugus student explains before launching her cookie business, she had been injured while dancing, which prevented her from being able to participate in dance competitions.

Camping cookies made by "Cookies by Bethany Chan"

Camping cookies made by “Cookies by Bethany Chan”, courtesy of Cookies by Bethany Chan on Facebook.

“When I was a kid, I expressed my emotions through dance,” said Chan. After her injury, however, she needed to find a new outlet, which was where baking came in.

The former dancer had been baking since she was a child. She cites her dad as the person who inspired her to begin baking as a hobby. “My dad was always cooking in the kitchen,” added Chan. She remembers him making meals for her family and “being joyful while cooking”.

Because she was not able to dance at her studio anymore, Chan decorated cookies for their Nutcracker performance instead. Everyone loved the cookies, and she had the idea to make a business out of custom-making cookies for events and parties. “That is when I started getting orders,” said Chan.

Wedding cookies made by "Cookies by Bethany Chan"

Wedding cookies made by “Cookies by Bethany Chan”, courtesy of Cookies by Bethany Chan Facebook.

The COVID shutdown also gave “Cookies by Bethany Chan” a boost. “Because school is online, I have more time to bake and take orders,” explained Chan.

Additionally, the shutdown has inspired her to sell cookie kits. “Since people aren’t allowed to get together in big groups… I made DIY home baking kits to help as a family activity,” said the teenager, adding that people were “really enthusiastic” about the idea.

Chan makes sugar cookies from her home kitchen. She takes custom orders for birthday parties, weddings, and other events and sells ready-made cookie decorating kits.

A Halloween cookie kit from "Cookies By Bethany Chan"

A Halloween cookie kit from “Cookies by Bethany Chan”, courtesy of Cookies by Bethany Chan on Facebook

For custom orders, her clients send her designs which she replicates in frosting by hand onto cookies she bakes. She has recently been able to purchase a projector that projects images onto the cookies to make the frosting process faster.

“I also make cookies that I donate to friends and neighbors,” added the baker. Those cookies can feature her own designs, rather than custom-made ones.

In fact, the entrepreneur’s favorite design she’s made so far was one she created on her own. She made Halloween cookies featuring ghosts, which are the cookies she has liked the most to date. “I thought they were super cute,” said Chan.

“I do want to do this in the long run,” added the student. She plans to obtain a degree in business or marketing to improve her business skills, then go to culinary school.

When asked about her advice for other people looking to launch their own businesses, Chan emphasized the importance of practice. “Practice makes perfect really applies, because when I first started I was not that good… It just takes time to get to the level of getting better.”

“I have always wanted to help people and make people happy,” concluded the student.

To view “Cookies by Bethany Chan” products and past projects, visit the company’s Facebook and Instagram pages. To order, send a direct message to the business over Instagram or contact the bakery on Facebook.


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Saugus High Student Finds Success With New Cookie Business Amid Pandemic

8 comments

  1. I can’t believe the picture posted with the story: four people standing shoulder-to-shoulder with NO ONE wearing masks. This after a headline in yesterday’s Signal newspaper pointing out, “COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 81” — that’s 81 NEW cases. I don’t know what they’re trying to prove but one thing is perfectly clear, they’re playing with their own deaths and the deaths of everyone around them. Put…on…a…fuc&$%g mask!

  2. Get a grip and stay in your cave. Can people like you celebrate anything good!

  3. Why so eager to condemn? Did you stop to think for a a moment that the picture was possibly taken pre-covid mask requirements? There is no evidence to suggest it was taken recently. Give it a rest with your foul mouth negativity.

  4. Double standard. People scream quarantine and mask yet they have friends over like the rules don’t apply to them. Happens daily on our street. Loudmouth tik tok Inst lib but they themselves are not distancing at all. Like we see with Pelosi and her hair appointment.

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About Zena Taher

Zena Taher moved to Santa Clarita when she was 12 years old. She has always been a voracious reader, which led her to take an interest in writing professionally. She graduated College of the Canyons in 2021 with a double major in journalism and communications and is currently attending California State University Northridge.