Nut-Free Bakery In Wilton To Celebrate 7th Anniversary

WILTON, CT —Small-batch bakery The Painted Cookie, which touts itself as "the first and only 100 percent treenut, peanut and sesame-free bakery in Wilton," is celebrating seven years in business on Jan. 25.

Proprietor Susan Schmitt got into the nut-free confection biz when the food allergies of several of her sons' friends prevented them from enjoying The Good Life. "As a stay-at-home mom at the time, I decided to begin baking and decorating cookies that would deliver just what these kids needed," Schmitt said.

She may have gotten into the game to accommodate those with nut allergies, but over the past few years has made a point of adapting her menu and recipes to accommodate every restricted diet. Gluten-free treats? Check. Vegan sweets? No problem.

Since opening her shop, Schmitt's become a bit of a kitchen-table expert on food allergies, and says she has seen them become more pervasive. Most notable is an increase in dairy aversion over the past two years. The up-and-coming allergen is sesame, she predicts, noting that Illinois now mandates the seed be included on food ingredient labels there.

The success of The Painted Cookie begs the question, what the heck has happened to our biology? Boomers will happily point out that nobody they knew growing up was allergic to peanuts, and today it seems as though every other third-grader treats them as kryptonite. Some scientists believe improvements in hygiene over the past two decades have dumbed-down our immune systems (Boomers will also remind you they ate dirt, and liked it, when growing up), and there are lower rates of allergies in developing countries. Other researchers have pinned the blame on modern industrial food preparation techniques, and Schmitt concurs.

"My sugar cookie recipe is my grandmother's recipe. I don't think the flour she used 40 years is the same flour we are are getting at the grocery store today," she said. "It's over-processed, and we are now living with pesticides in all this stuff, too."

That sugar cookie is also her shop's bestseller. The Painted Cookie douses the traditional offering with royal icing, or, for vegans, a glazed icing that does not contain meringue. A white-iced sugar cookie is the center of attention at the events the bakery hosts: kids are provided markers of edible food coloring and invited to paint their own snacks.

The shop's other "huge seller" are the biscottis — quite possibly the last nosh you would expect could be made nut-free, but they are.

As for the trend toward using completely organic ingredients, the baker says that's a tough nut to crack. It's not enough to just find nut-free ingredients, Schmitt says, they must all be produced in facilities that are completely nut-free.

"That is huge," she says. The Painted Cookie now gets its chocolate from a French company that only makes chocolate, and whose "spec sheets are easier to read."

Schmitt is also very particular about her creme-filled cookies.

"We do chocolate covered Oreos here, but for the nut-free community, only regular Oreos and double-stuffed Oreos are considered safe," as they are known to be made in nut-free facilities.

At the bakery's anniversary celebration on Jan. 25, from noon to 4 pm, families are invited to taste some of The Painted Cookie's newest allergy-free creations, including edible cookie dough, chocolate covered s’mores and a "cookie jar bar" serving up oatmeal, chocolate chip, snickerdoodles and other favorites. Children will be invited to color a cookie and two lucky visitors will have a chance to win a $50 gift card to the shop.

The Painted Cookie is located at 196 Danbury Road in Wilton.