82 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MAY 3, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Queen B. Sweets brings fun treats to Long Island City
BY CAMERON NORSWORTHY
Scan the Queen B. Sweets Instagram
account (@queenbsweetsny) and you’ll
fi nd spherical cookies, rainbow sweets
and raunchy, pop-cultural captions that
fully articulate how delicious the treats
really are. Th ese desserts are addictive,
and loyal Q.B.S. followers can’t help but
do as the account suggests and “order
now, Venmo later.” You’ve likely seen her
stuff at shops and gyms around Queens.
But who, exactly, is the “Queen B.”?
Long Island City local Joia Aliperti
founded her cookie business by happy
accident. While attending Manhattan
College, she took baking classes, giving
her friends the goods every few days.
“People started going nuts for it,”
Aliperti remembered, “and asked if they
could buy them.” Aliperti never intended
to turn it into a business, but the demand
escalated. In 2013 Q.B.S. offi cially turned
on its ovens, but profi ts were never the
focus — people were.
To Aliperti, the namesake “Q.B.S.” still
feels like a bit of an inside joke.
“I’m a huge pop culture addict,” she
explained. “Movies, TV, celebs — I love
it all.” Not only is she the queen of pop
culture, but she’s also the “Queen B.” of
eating her sweets. “If you can’t get high
on your own supply, how do you expect
other people to, right?” she
joked. “Anyone that knows
me knows I’m good to
slam two to four times the
amount of sweets to a normal
person.” Who’s up for
some friendly, cookie-eating
competition?
Th e Queen shares more of her
comedic personality on Instagram, giving
the sweets a voice of their own. Her
head teems with movie quotes, and she
captions her cookies accordingly. Under
a photo of handmade mini pop tarts spilling
out of a red plastic cup, the caption
reads, “Fill it up again! Fill it up again!
Once it hits your lips, it’s so good!” (“Old
School,” anyone?)
Silly captions feed into Aliperti’s overall
goal as a baker.
“Th e power of food is insane,” she said.
“It shapes the entire experience of social
events.” Th is connection between sweets
and socializing has revealed itself in her
friendships, as her friends’ enthusiasm
helped her to launch this passion project.
From the very start, Aliperti has always
had one primary goal: to make sweets
that “give people so much joy when they
choose to indulge.”
So which sweet would the Queen recommend
for initial indulging? Th e Oreo
sea salt cookie is a “game changer,” she
insisted. Th e original iteration of this
cookie, called the “Origi-nelly,” is her
best seller. In its fi rst form, it’s made with
chocolate chips and M&Ms, so adding
Oreo into the mix is next level.
Whether fi lled with chocolate chips
or covered in sprinkles, Aliperti’s signature
cookie is a crowd pleaser. In addition
to the spherical shape, a few other, um,
recognizable images emerge in Aliperti’s
sweets. Some are NSFW, but are pretty
perfect for a bachelorette soirée.
Formulating these cookies, she admitted,
“was a real ‘B’ for about a year.”
“I thought I was making them the same
every batch,” she recalled, “but some fell
fl at.” Th is literally led her to tears, but
taught her a vital lesson. Aliperti learned
to be exact about her ingredients — egg
size, butter temperature and specifi c fl our
brands have made all the diff erence.
For an indulgent treat, try the double
chocolate “Brow-nay-nays,” or the
“Blackout Barbies” — cocoa-packed
and made with walnuts and cranberries.
Looking for a dessert on the lighter side?
Oatmeal, coconut, walnuts, raisins, chocolate
chips and cinnamon “Kitchen Sink”
cookies might be for you. Can’t decide?
Might be best to order a dozen of each.
To taste some of the joy for yourself,
throw @queenbsweetsny a follow
on Instagram and DM her an order. All
of her sweets menus are available on her
profi le (along with those gut-busting captions,
too).
Photos courtesy of Joia Aliperti