Growing up as a first-generation immigrant, the oven in Lisa’s house was used for storage, not baking. It wasn’t until college that she discovered baking and the stress-relieving benefits she experienced from the process.
While pursuing her engineering degree and then a career in biotech, Lisa fostered her love for cookie decorating and education. Her social media grew steadily and organically over time as she shared her journey and encouraged others to do the same. Eventually, her work was noticed and she had the opportunity to be featured on Netflix, Food Network, and in many publications.
Fifteen years ago, I started selling cookies out of my home kitchen with zero idea what I was doing. I didn't know my state's cottage food law existed (though, at a much more limited capacity at the time) I priced my first orders by "feeling it out", and I found out...
Hi everyone. I had shared this with my email subscribers in May and wanted to also post this publicly...... This letter has been sitting in my heart for a long time, and today, I finally feel ready to share it with you. On July 2, 2012, I posted my very first...
Let’s be real—I’m not 25 anymore. I've been consistently baking and decorating cookies since 2011, and I’ve learned that baking isn’t just a creative outlet; it's (sneakily) also incredibly physically demanding. Hours hunched over with our piping bags, standing on...
One of the main reasons I moved from California to Florida was to teach at The Florida Academy of Baking. Not only do I get to share my love for decorated baked goods, I now also get to share my love for Asian cuisine with everyone. Most people don't know that I cook...
Starting a cottage food business is an exciting venture, but getting customers to know about your delicious creations can feel like a daunting task, especially since as cottage food business owners, we wear ALL the hats! Whether you're selling bread, crafting homemade...
When it comes to flavoring your baked goods and culinary creations, you’ve probably come across both emulsions and extracts on ingredient labels and in recipes. But what’s the difference between these two, and which one should you choose? Plus, how do floral waters...
Quick answer: Both work well, but it comes down to how often you bake. Parchment paper wins for convenience, disposability, and crisp-bottomed bakes. Silicone mats win for frequent bakers, sticky sugar work, and cutting long-term cost and waste. After 15 years I now...
The long-awaited recipe for the softest, cakey-est cookies are here! Download the recipe PDF HERE. I made Christmas Tree versions last year and gave them away - I got sooo many praises that I decided to work out the kinks and share it with you all. To make this...
I'm currently renting so there's not a lot of control over the equipment in my home kitchen - I've noticed that the current oven has hot spots, making it difficult to achieve consistent cookie and macaron results - a few areas of my baking sheet will always overheat...
Pricing your baked goods correctly is crucial for the success of your baking business. In the video below, we’ll discuss the essential factors to consider when setting prices for your delicious creations. Whether you’re a home baker or running a bakery, these tips...
In celebration of AAPI month *and* the pre-order of my upcoming book, Matcha Meets Macaron, I'm extremely pleased to be sharing a recipe for these Ube cookies & creme Lofthouse style cookies. This recipe combines the American classic Lofthouse Cookie and cookies...
Delving into the world of cookie decorating offers endless opportunities for creativity and expression. While piping intricate designs with royal icing is a classic and timeliness technique, adding painted details (or doing the whole thing printed) can add depth and...
I'm typing this up early January and wanted to share two things: a 2024 cookie holiday/occasion calendar, also great for your guiding your marketing/content plus since Valentine's day is coming up FAST, I wanted to show you some super cute & affordable packaging...
I know it may not feel like it yet, but the holiday season is right around the corner, and for us cottage bakers, it's the busiest, most exciting and most financially impactful time of the year. Whether you're baking for friends, family, or customers, planning and...
A few months ago, Nancy from Cookie-a-thon had asked if I'd ever tried rolled buttercream - I had never tried it, and saw it again on a FB group, so I pulled up Pam Kennedy Bake's recipe as a starting point. Pam, thanks a bunch for sharing your knowledge with us. I...
If you're a passionate baker who gifts or sells your baked goods, you might also want your delicious treats to make a lasting impression. I've been obsessed with packaging early on in my cottage bakery career and *love* dressing up my bakes to enhance the customer...
Cratering in royal icing cookies can be a frustrating issue for cookie decorators. You've spent time meticulously decorating your cookies, only to find unsightly craters forming over time, ruining your hard work. It's not something that everyone will notice or care...
Friends, there's a new cookie event in town! If you're looking for a more intimate experience where you get to make new friends, learn different techniques and the business of baking, you don't want to miss out on Brown Sugar Retreats. Porsha and her team have been...
I hear and see everyone who has been asking for a "bare minimum" tools/equipment list for those who want to get into cookie decorating in this down economy... well, here it is... But keep the following in mind: the cookie decorating community is tight-knit and...
The first experience on our epic EU adventure was a pastry class at La Cuisine Paris. We opted in for a Private Event, and asked them to surprise us with the class topic- our only ask was that it included seasonal produce if possible. Watch our experience recap...
To reduce waste and get the most out of your icing, this post discusses how I'd recommend storing your icing.. of course.. like many other topics... this is nuanced and the answer is "it depends" on a few factors... and keep in mind there is a bit of wiggle room, so...
When I tell people that I spend 80-85%% of my time on the computer, most people are surprised. “I thought you had a bakery?” “Don’t you decorate cookies all day?” I don’t own a bakery (but we do sell all kinds of awesome supplies and merch in our shop, please check it...
In my twenties, I worked for biotech firms, and I had the privilege of enjoying travel as a part of work. Through these experiences, I met a lot of people from various cultures, all walks of life and each with stories that amazed and moved me. Traveling and exposure...
I started my first ecommerce "venture" when I was 11 - selling counterfeit k-pop bookmarks on Soompi forums (do not recommend doing this today), using free internet hours from the AOL discs that I gathered from my friends/family. I tied up the phone line a lot and my...
Last week, I visited the team at Bakers Bodegga Express. They are located in socal and sell all kinds of baking supplies to bakeries and the general public. I sat down with Manny and Phil to talk about my journey as a small business owner and a little bit of my life I...
.. dead serious. This is the story of how a butt cushion changed my life. If you work a desk job OR decorate your cookies sitting down like me, you might be familiar with lower back and/or hip discomfort. And that’s just one part of it, you probably have repetitive...
I've been decorating cookies since 2011, and you can imagine that my collection of tools and cutters has grown over time. A few years ago, I finally decided to organize my cutters so that it'd be easier to find a shape. Please learn from my experience, and think about...
This post is long overdue, but better late than never, right? I'll be providing an overview of The Sugar Art products that we carry in our store. Watch the video embedded in this blog post to get some visuals of use cases: To summarize the video.... The Sugar Art...
My friend Wendy texted me the other day and asked for a linzer cookie recipe.. which resulted in me thinking about how I don't have a recipe posted for cookie-press friendly cookies. I know, they're not the same cookie. But that's just how my brain worked. So here we...
Hi there! Lisa here, owner of Borderlands Bakery. In my ten years of cookie decorating, I spent 5 of them taking on custom orders for decorated sugar cookies and french macarons. Having lived that custom-order life and after talking with thousands of other bakers, we...
I see all of you getting ready for the holiday cookie season and one of the most commonly asked question right now is: Can you freeze cookies? The short answer is: HECK YES. But there are some important factors to consider, so let's dig in. Most cutout cookies can be...
One of my favorites treats as a kid were the chocolate truffles my dad used to buy from Costco. You know what I'm talking about: The texture was silky smooth, and I'd always choke a little on the cocoa powder. But it's all a part of the truffle experience. And at the...
My friend Dave of Baked by Dave has given the cookie decorating community a huge gift: his royal icing calculator. One of the challenges of decorating cookies is estimating how much icing you'll need for a project: make too much and it's wasteful. Make too little, and...
If you're looking for a fun project with the kids this Halloween, look no further. I've teamed up with my friends at Matcha Kari (matcha.com) to bring you an easy matcha based cookie recipe with easy decorations- a cute cookie with minimal work. This cookie base keeps...
I'm incredibly excited to be introducing a suite of courses taught by my friend Malek Binns and myself. I have known Malek a few years and we organically became friends via Instagram. We've met in person a few times, and for this collab, I invited Malek to stay with...
Birthday Cake with Buttercream Icing Recipe: A few months ago, I had the pleasure of hosting my friend Malek of Frosted by Malek Binns in my home in California. If you don't know how we met - you can watch our first Baking with Borderlands interviews, where we also...
For those of you who live and breathe Instagram (i.e. many creators/influencers/brands), the recent changes “officially” announced by head of IG Adam Mosseri probably didn’t come as much of a shock -- IG has been undergoing massive changes for the last year and have...
So... you want to talk about what we can do in the baking community to counteract climate change and pursue a sustainable baking ethos… so do I. So, here we go. I’m going to approach this from a practical perspective - nothing overly complicated but also keep in mind...
We held an Amazon Live in Feb 2021 on how to DIY Cookie Scribes. In this blog post, we'll summarize the process for you. Firstly- what is a cookie scribe? A cookie scribe is a sharp, pointy tool, often used in cookie decorating to redistribute icing/pop air bubbles in...
Our French Macaron Classes are FINALLY releasing Feb. 28 2021 at 8am PST -- we filmed the bulk of this in Jan 2020 right as COVID was starting to hit the US, and it felt like it has taken an eternity to get this out to you all! Hope you’re all as excited as I am, and...
I’ve been making these salted caramel pretzel rods for years and somehow never managed to record my process until now-- better late than never? Here’s a 2015 throwback (peep that old “watermark”, haha) How to Make no-bake Salted Caramel Pretzel Rods These are SUPER...
With Covid shutting down the world in 2020, we immediately saw normalcy go right out the window… and with that, it meant that in-person classes were canceled. We were already making plans for our digital baking course offerings but the timetable for that was quickly...
If you’ve been on the internet in the past year or so you’ve probably seen them, wanted them, or at least wanted one for yourself. I’m talking about Cocoa Bombs! Today, I’ll be sharing my method for making hot cocoa bombs. Along with a detailed how-to video, I’ve also...
We’re sharing an excerpt from our comprehensive online course today, related to how to heat seal your decorated sugar cookies. I see so many people struggle with this and many folks aren’t getting the *most* out of their heat sealer (using it on the wrong setting, not...
There are an INFINITE number of ways to package and mail cookies and it’s all dependent on what you’re shipping, the shape/quantity, etc. -- but I wanted to share ONE of the most commonly used methods I use for shipping treats to my friends and family. I like to keep...
Some of you may know this… I came to the US when I was 6 years old. My parents immigrated from China to the US to give me more opportunities, hoping that I’d grow up happier and thrive. My parents have made huge personal sacrifices when I was young to give me the...
I get a ton of questions every time I post about my new favorite thing in the world… my dough sheeter! Now, this handy gadget is not a necessity for many home bakers, but it does come in super handy when you are doing a large volume of cookies. This is especially...
What if you’re out in the wilderness with no cookie-cutter? Hi friends!! This is an informative blog post and video to show you how to hand-cut cookie dough if you don’t have the desired cutter shape available. There are a few instances where I want to hand-cut...
Baaaaby shark dooodoodoodoodoodoo baby shark… sorry, that’s going to be stuck in your head now but I couldn’t resist. To celebrate Shark Week this year, we put together a super simple tutorial on how to make the easiest shark cookies with ring buoys. This is a...
I hate boiling sugar. And I hate having to measure the temperature of sugar. So while I love the idea of making marshmallows, the follow-through usually lacks. And I know, I know, it’s a really easy thing but I can’t get over the mental hump of it. So I thought to...
Summer weather is in full swing here in the Sacramento area, and all I want to do is make summer-themed cookies. And with COVID-19 physical distancing protocols still in place, no traveling for us. But we can still decorate vacation-y cookies, right? I put together...
A little background - IG is my life when it comes to business/marketing. I also receive a lot of joy from scrolling through my feed and interacting with you. As a single human being with limited time, I made choices about how to prioritize where I spent my efforts....
Today, I’m sharing my recipe for home-made white modeling chocolate. It’s super easy and comes together SUPER quick, but there are some important things about the process and product that I will highlight. Disclaimer: I'm not a modeling chocolate pro. I know just...
"How to write with icing" may be my #1 MOST requested tutorial. Writing with royal icing is dependent on: font style, font size, icing consistency, piping tip/size, piping pressure, piping technique. Today, I’ll talk with you about how I approach writing with icing....
When Janis of Terra Cottage reached out and asked if I wanted to try some North Fork Chai Co. Chai Concentrate, I was intrigued. I love Chai flavors, but have only ever had it as a warm beverage, and just never pursued the opportunity to explore it further. With a new...
In an attempt to add more interest to the beloved traditional chocolate chip cookie, I drew inspiration from my friend Karen, who once told me she had a chocolate chip with rice cereal in it. Intrigued, I recently set out on an adventure to make some for myself. What...
One of the most life-changing pieces of cookie decorating tools for me has got to be the dehydrator. It has significantly helped reduce how long it takes for me to finish a batch of cookies, and improved the aesthetics of my cookies. By the end of this post, I hope...
Dalgona coffee (or whipped coffee) is a trend that has taken over the internet. I can't consume content on TikTok without coming across at least one dalgona coffee video. While whipped coffee has been around for a while in various cultures, it has gained (or...
We are all still social physical distancing -- and because we can’t easily go out to get boba, Brian and I wanted to try our hand at making Boba milk tea at home. If you don’t already follow us on TikTok, please do-- we post some SUPER sped up short-form content on...
During this quarantine, my husband and I had a craving for some Mochi Muffins(R) by Third Culture Bakery that we first tasted from the Boba Guys. Both of these businesses are amazing (and have been impacted by Covid-19 like all of us in some way) --so please go check...
The world is a strange place right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the world is on high alert, and us Californians are under “shelter-at-home” -- which basically means: “only go out and physically interact if absolutely needed” -- Yes, we’re still allowed to...
With the COVID-19 social distancing protocols, many of you have reached out asking for simple cookie decorating ideas for you and the kiddos at home. I'm putting together a few guides for you, starting with this simple summer themed guide! This PDF download contains...
Hi Everyone! In the midst of fighting the COVID-19, California residents are asked to shelter in place whenever possible. Critical functions and healthcare workers are all still working (THANK YOU for being on the front lines!!). Many of us who run our own small...
If you bake or make decorated cookies.. you know how our sprinkle (and supply) collection can get out of control. Today on the blog, a local cookier shares her sprinkle and accessories kitchen storage solution with us. Brandy shared her set up on IG DMs and it caught...
OK-- so this may be the shortest "blog post" in history (but it's packed with info!!) ... I attended my first Cookie Con in March 2019 in Reno Nevada -- I asked for your questions last year and this year, compiled them all and put together a little Q&A on our...
I've seen A LOT of recipes online for how to make valentine's day sugar cookies-- there are few easier ways to quickly whip up something adorable and delicious. I've taken my top 3 favorites and mashed them up to suit my tastes (taste, texture, aesthetics) and will be...
Many of you who follow me on Instagram know that as of Nov 1, 2019-- I went all-in on Borderlands Bakery. Up until that point, I had a super solid career in biotech and was quite "successful" by the traditional/socially normal definition (skillset, recognition,...
I'm frequently asked for a list of my bare minimum baking basics, so thought I'd put together a list of my absolute must-haves for everyone, regardless of what you're baking. The list is created with budget in mind, and models what I started out with when I first...
The holidays always remind me of meringue-- I love seeing festive meringue kisses pop up all over my Instagram feed, and with the recent rise of Meringue Art, thought I'd share how I make my base meringue. This is a recipe that is stable enough to pipe into various...
This recipe is VERY DIFFERENT from our "structural" gingerbread recipe we developed and sell in our shop (read about it HERE). I studied over 6 recipes and and tweaked until I got my desired result: a soft, moist, chewy gingerbread. This recipe is NOT good for...
You've seen the impossibly beautiful cookies all over Pinterest, Instagram + TikTok and now you're ready to try it yourself. The problem? You have no idea where to start. This is the guide I wish I'd had when I began. It covers the mindset, the recipes, the icing...
Edit Aug. 2021: These have gone through an upgrade! So excited to finally be sharing these beauties with you! I decided to design my own set of brushes -- a reflection my most commonly used brushes + I threw in a special brush that I've never seen before in the cookie...
Tipless piping bags are thin, disposable pastry bags that usually have a very small or non-impacting (flapping) seam. The point is generally very sharp/precise and it's easy to use since all you do is snip the tip of the bag to the desired shape and size, pipe away,...
Today, I released a set of nesting heart cutters you can see HERE. I'm taking the opportunity to also highlight some of my favorite The Sugar Art products, specifically Wedding Gold (now replaced by Golden Halo) and Nu Silver, my two most commonly used products in...
Royal icing transfers are icing motifs that you can make weeks (sometimes months if stored correctly) ahead of time to use on future projects! When you go to craft stores and see icing embellishments for purchase, those are essentially icing transfers or sometimes...
One of the most frequently asked questions I get from fellow bakers looking to get more exposure is: How do I grow my Instagram account? Instagram has a HUGE user base and it's no question why so many people want to get in on this tool! And I got some feedback after...
I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of competing on Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge - Season 2 Episode 5, which originally aired December 3, 2018. A casting director approached me after seeing my work on the internet and encouraged me to apply. Lesson...
(this post was updated August 14, 2026) "How much are sugar cookies" is probably one of the most commonly asked questions we get as cookie decorators. And when I quote a price, I regularly get sticker shock...a lot. So let's break down the materials, the process, and...
For those who don't like super sweet treats-- shortbread is a great alternative. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture with flavors that are limited only by your imagination. Today I'll share my favorite shortbread recipe with you. These cookies are lightly sweetened,...
I shared this photo on my Instastories and I got numerous requests to share my recipe-- so here we go! Edit Aug 6, 2023: updated this recipe since we made a plain version with Todd at Greydot Media. Here's the video: Equipment: Hand mixer or stand mixer cupcake tin -...
Please use the "search" or "find" function on your device to look for keywords in this post; it's a long one! I'll update this from time-time as I find new products I love-- I hope you find it helpful. Please visit my Amazon Shop for an ever growing list of my...
One of the most common questions I get is -- what projector do you use and how do you set it up? I use the Aaxa Technologies Pico Projector HERE (this is the latest version, I have an older model).This gets the job done for a VERY reasonable initial investment. PLENTY...
I get multiple messages a day of people asking for my recipes. You can find all my recipes in my SHOP. They are all digital downloads so you will get them immediately upon purchase. We keep our website ad-free and provide so many other free resources- this is a great...
While I absolutely LOVE Twix bars-- I personally find them too singularly sweet. So ... we took the beloved millionaire's shortbread and made it at home to suite our taste buds. We made these relatively small and individual instead of all in one pan and cutting at the...