Have you ever wondered what Taylor Swift’s face tastes like? At Funny Face Bakery, you can find out. Founded by Sarah Silverman (the chef, not the comedian), the trendy shop has been in business since 2016. It has two locations–NoHo and Seaport–both of which subscribe to the same design aesthetic as Sharpay Evans’ locker. Heart-shaped decor and glitter are scattered across pastel purple walls, with a mirror that encourages guests to, “Make a funny face!”
Funny Face stands at the intersection of cookies and pop culture, distinguishing itself from other bakeries with its Twitter meme and fandom-themed baked goods. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a crying Kim Kardashian peer out from behind the glass counter, attracting Gen Z like a moth to a flame.
Celebrity sugar cookies range from Rhianna to Jennifer Coolidge, with evident favoritism towards Taylor Swift. In reference to the singer’s recent single “Anti-Hero,” the words, “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem” are written in blue icing below a cookie likeness of Swift’s face, one of at least four varieties baked in her honor.
Funny Face also sells a range of large, doughy cookies reminiscent of the ones available at New York fixture Levain Bakery. Flavors include chocolate chip, crumbfetti, s’mores, oatmeal raisin and crispy-mallow crunch. These go for $5-6 a piece, a reasonable price for their size.
The signature hand-decorated sugar cookies will cost you a whopping $16 each, which might be worth it if they tasted good. Unfortunately, these designer cookies are more satisfying to look at than to eat. While the ideal sugar cookie is buttery, sweet, and slightly crumbly, Funny Face’s are reminiscent of biting into a sugary slab of plaster.
These cookies are tough to chew and benefit greatly from a cup of hot tea to dunk them in. The flavor is inoffensive yet lacks depth. It is decidedly sweet, but misses a warm, buttery component. The icing doesn’t add much to the eating experience, but can be forgiven with all the work it’s doing for the cookie’s immaculate appearance. It is impossible to fault Funny Face for its artistry.
After almost breaking a tooth on a Harry Styles sugar cookie, one might be wary of Funny Face’s other treats. Thankfully, the bakery redeems itself with its classic chocolate chip. This gigantic cookie is beautifully crisp on the outside, which seems impossible considering how gooey its center is. For those who prefer their cookies slightly underbaked, Funny Face’s recipe can do no wrong. Even after a 30 minute commute through New York in January, the chocolate remains perfectly melted.
Like most confetti-themed food items, Funny Face’s “crumbfetti” cookie borders on sickly sweet. It’s not something you can eat more than a couple of bites at once. Regardless, its texture is perfectly soft. Rainbow sprinkles add bursts of color throughout the cookie, but don’t do much for its taste. Between the sugar and chocolate chip cookies, crumbfetti sits squarely in the middle of the pack.
Although the bakery slacks on flavor at times, Funny Face should be commended for its originality. Founder Sarah Silverman has filled a culinary vacuum for food we can laugh at. While there are certainly better tasting sugar cookies in New York, you’d be hard-pressed to find another one that reads, “Future real housewife.”