Viewpoint – Amber Westerman
EDIBLE ART: We have never featured a baker in this section, but Amber Westerman is someone special. She is a true pastry artist, concocting cookies that taste great, but look even better. In 2015, she took her English grandma’s cookie recipe and her hard-earned royal icing skills and started Sweet Girly Girl Cookies. “I am self-taught,” she said. “I would watch YouTube videos, read blogs and Pinterest and all that stuff. I did that for a year before I even started decorating a cookie with the royal icing.” Westerman has made cookies for Vera Bradley, Parkview Hospital, the FAME Festival and the Michiana Wine Festival. She is currently home with three-year-old twins who don’t understand why they shouldn’t have all the cookies, so Sweet Girly Girl Cookies will stay a part-time business for now. But going full-time is the goal. instagram.com/sweetgirlygirlcookies