There’s a story out there that says the first sugar cookie was made in the Middle East … 1,300 years ago! As for when the delicious treat reached our borders in North America, that dates back three centuries to the Pennsylvania area.

And today it’s how Gilbert High School sophomore Abigail Randall is making a little bit of spending money as she heads into the holiday season.

Sounds fun and pretty easy, right? It is fun, Abigail says, but her finished products are anything but easy. In actuality, they’re really works of art, and art takes time.

As someone who enjoys art and has a knack for detail, decorating sugar cookies comes naturally to Abigail. And as it turns out, there’s a nice-sized market for impeccably frosted sugar cookies during the holidays.

“I’ve seen cute cookies on my Pinterest feed and I thought, I could do that,” Abigail says. “I’m not in any art classes right now, but this kind of thing has always come naturally to me. Paying attention to detail is part of my personality.”

Knowing her daughter needed some money to help pay for her car, LeeAnn Randall came up with the idea of selling sugar cookies to those with a sweet tooth. With a clever post on Facebook, a small business was in place and the orders began to flood in.

“I’ve always liked (making) sugar cookies and frosting them with my family, and some friends of my mom had some and said, ‘Oh my gosh, these are so amazing!’ Really? Are you sure they are? That’s what I said, but my mom said this would be a great way to earn money. So that’s where we’re at.”

A few cookies here and there has quickly turned into a little more work than Abigail originally envisioned. Early in the venture, she says it took upwards of 10 minutes to frost each cookie, but as the orders have increased — when she sat down to talk, she had the stress of getting 60 cookies ready for a client in a few days — so has her productivity. She’s since switched to an assembly line type system that takes less time. Now she can handle 20 cookies in two hours.

“I’m getting a lot of requests, which is very unexpected,” Abigail says. “I told my mom she has to say no to some of this because I don’t have enough time. But I’m grateful for my family, specifically my mom for helping me so much.”

And if you think Abigail is handing off her frosting duties to family members to save time, well, think again. Her cookies are unique to her artistic abilities.

“I can’t give away cookies that I’m not proud of,” she says with a chuckle.

So what is it about Abigail’s cookies that makes them so popular? Well, just look at them! Her Christmas tree design is flawless, and she can make a cookie look better than even a professional’s perfectly-wrapped present. Her talent is obvious through the various designs.

Taking a hobby and making it lucrative shows ingenuity, but that’s what it is — a hobby.

“It’s a nice way to earn some money and you can get a lot of money off sugar cookies apparently,” Abigail says.

Abigail sells her cookies through her mom’s Facebook page. The cost is six cookies for $15, or $25 for a dozen cookies. So if you’re looking for something to brighten up your holiday display …