When it comes to edible art, Jean Boyle takes the biscuit.

And those biscuits come in all shapes and sizes, from a rugby ball to a polka dot bikini, a pint of beer to a little black dress.

Working from home in Clayton Heights, Jean has combined her passions of baking, arts and crafts to produce a range of cookies for her Cookielicious enterprise.

They come in boxes with a hand-written message and are being snapped up by gift shops and delicatessens. Now Jean has set her sights on major retailers such as Harvey Nichols.

“I launched the business last October, and it’s snowballed,” she said. “I’ve been into arts and crafts all my life and I’ve been baking since the age of four.

“The business started when a friend bought an iced cookie and said ‘I bet you could make something like that’. I tried 24 different recipes; my mum, Cathy, and I spent hours in the kitchen and eventually I found one I liked.

“My twin sons, Joseph and James, and their friends were my 'guinea pigs.”

The cookie-in-a-giftbox concept originated in America and Jean says Cookielicious is the only such business in Yorkshire.

She designs for occasions such as weddings, birthdays and anniversaries and has designs supporting the Pink Ribbon Foundation, funding projects for breast cancer patients. A pound is donated from every Pink Ribbon cookie bought and £3 from each collection.

“Home and Garden in Saltaire is stocking the cookies. Garden centres have expressed an interest too.

“It’s a cottage industry and I keep everything local. The photography is by Imajination, run by Mike Croft of Allerton, and the printing is by Print Logistics of Idle.”