EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Michelle Gellar Launches Line of Baking and Food Decorating Kits

Surprise! Sarah Michelle Gellar has started a new cooking and lifestyle brand called Foodstirs!

The kid-friendly line, which will be sold online starting in October, includes three signature baking mixes (for brownies, cupcakes and cookies), frostings and specialty curated food crafting kits that come complete with decorative supplies and tools. The products also contain non-gmo ingredients that are free of artificial preservatives, flavors and colors. (A portion of the proceeds from each sale will also go to charity.)

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So, what inspired the mom-of-two to launch the line? Pinterest and a playdate, Gellar tells PEOPLE.

After setting up a day of baking with their daughters, Gellar and Foodstirs co-founder Galit Laibow (“mom friend” Gia Russo is the third co-founder) went in search of an artificial-free mix. “We went to the supermarket to get a mix and were really surprised that there was no better-for-you baking option,” says Gellar. “I thought baking included butter, sugar and water and I couldn’t even pronounce half the ingredients in these mixes. So, we did some research and made our own from scratch.”

And Gellar — who had looked to Pinterest for fun, food crafting projects — wanted to offer other busy moms a line that made it easy to actually buy and make the treats like the ones found on the site. “Our whole idea is to bridge the gap between inspiration and execution,” says Gellar.

And to also inspire more family time.

“There’s really a great connection you only truly get when you unplug for a bit,” Gellar says of spending time in the kitchen with her kids. “And you realize cooking is so much more than just cooking — [it’s learning] math skills, language skills, motor skills, life skills and it’s confidence building because kids start to believe they can accomplish this stuff. The pride and confidence I see in my daughter [5-year-old, Charlotte] when she’s baking with me, is exciting.”

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Cooking has also created more bonding time in her own household. “It doesn’t hurt that my husband [Freddie Prinze Jr.] when to culinary school and is an amazing chef. But I’m not, so it’s great to have this experience alongside my kids,” she says. “He was always the chef and I was always the creative one. I’ll paint anything! It’s really brought our family together.”

As for Gellar’s goals for the brand, she’s hoping to eventually launch a line of kitchen tools for kids and “ultimately have DIY crafting stores.”

The star is also set to release a new book (to be published by Hachette Book Group) described as “a comprehensive, fun and inspiring guide to the art of food crafting from concept to execution” in the spring of 2017.

–Michelle Ward Trainor