A little holiday mischief, baked in.
Holiday baking has always been one of my favorite traditions.
There’s something about the cookies that show up year after year, the recipes people look forward to, and the flavors tied to a particular season or memory that makes them feel like more than just dessert.
That was the inspiration behind this little holiday Cookie Challenge.
For the first challenge, I invited cookie makers to send me something delicious and gave myself one job: dream up a stop-motion concept inspired by their cookies.
It was partly a creative experiment and partly a way to give something fun back to brands I admired, while celebrating the cookies, flavors, and traditions that make this time of year feel special.
The result?
A little baking magic, a little Santa mischief, and two very fun reasons to play with cookies on set.
Two brands joined that first challenge: Doughpanine and Ethel’s Bakery.
Doughpamine
Doughpamine sent their Fudge Blackout cookies.
This one leaned into the making of the cookie itself, from freezer to oven, finished with sea salt and crushed candy cane (for an extra punch of holiday cheer), before Santa managed to make an appearance.
Ethel’s Baking Co.
Ethel’s sent over their gluten-free Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookies.
For the finished stop-motion, the cookie became part of the classic holiday moment: milk, cookies, and a certain red-sleeved visitor who apparently couldn’t resist getting involved.
One challenge, two cookies, plenty of room to play
That’s the part of the project I enjoy most.
Each cookie brings its own shape, texture, flavor, personality, and brand behind it. The fun is figuring out what kind of movement and visual story makes sense for the product in front of me.
It’s the same thing I bring to seasonal stop-motion campaigns for brands, where the product becomes part of the idea instead of simply sitting inside a holiday setup.
The goal isn’t for every Cookie Challenge stop-motion to follow the same formula, or even the same holiday tradition.
It’s to use the cookie as the creative starting point and see where the idea goes.
And because the movement is only half the fun…
Sound was part of the creative process, too.
For each animation, I chose a unique piece of holiday music and built the movement and timing to work with it. The actions, transitions, and little visual beats were timed to the soundtrack so the sound and motion could work together as one piece.
So these are definitely worth watching with the sound on.
The Cookie Challenge is back, and I’m looking for more cookie brands and makers to join in.
If you’re a cookie brand, bakery, or make something cookie-adjacent that belongs at the holiday table, I’d love to hear from you.
And if you’re thinking beyond cookies, I’ve also shared a few thoughts on creating seasonal product photography that still feels like your brand.
Send me a message for the latest holiday Cookie Challenge details.