Pretty in Blue Cookies

My good friend Martilda is expecting her sweet baby boy next month. Of course we needed blue cookies for her baby shower! Blue is also Martilda's favorite color!

For the large cookie, I used a small salad plate as a guide to cut out a big circle of dough. I only added a couple of minutes to the baking time. The night before the baby shower, I used glacé icing to flood the cookie with white. The next day, once the icing was set, I used royal icing to pipe the words and to make the brush embroidery flowers. 

I love the bright white of the royal icing against the soft white of the glacé icing.

The polka dot cookies were decorated using the wet on wet technique with glacé icing.

I decorated these cookies with tiny roses using a similar technique. I love using glacé icing for cookies because it sets well, but doesn't get rock hard like royal icing.

Congratulations, Martilda! I can't wait to meet your sweet new baby!

STATS:

No Fail Sugar Cookies

http://www.cakecentral.com/recipe/2055/no-fail-sugar-cookies

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-roll-out-cookies-240668

Glacé Icing

http://www.thatreallyfrostsme.com/2010/05/glace-icing.html

Royal Icing

http://www.marthastewart.com/316888/royal-icing-for-sugar-cookies

Brush Embroidery Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqbDTaauGO0

"Wet on Wet" Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAIBpsXgtRE

Sweet Ambs Tiny Flowers Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUD4BGWNpsc

The 120 Mile Cookie!

This summer, the kids set a goal to walk 120 miles together. It was a hot summer, and it took a lot of work and dedication, but they did it! We had an awards ceremony to celebrate. I baked and decorated a giant sugar cookie to commemorate their accomplishment.

You can read more about our summer at my other blog: The Cake Runner

http://thecakerunner.blogspot.com/2013/09/we-reached-our-goals.html

After rolling out the dough, I used a salad plate for a template and cut out a large circle. I transferred the circle of dough to a parchment lined baking sheet. Then, I made some fork prints to prevent the cookie from rising too much during baking.

I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe (linked below). I just added a few minutes to the cooking time since the cookie was so large.

Once the cookie had cooled, I was able to flood the entire cookie with a base of white glace icing. I allowed that to dry overnight, then I used tan colored royal icing and a #3 writing tip to create the laurel wreath and the numbers. After that dried for a couple of hours, I used a small brush to "paint" gold luster dust mixed with a little vanilla onto the decorations.

Nice and Shiny!

STATS:

Stable Sugar Cookies

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/2055/no-fail-sugar-cookies

Glace Icing

http://www.thatreallyfrostsme.com/2010/05/glace-icing.html

Royal Icing

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Royal-Icing

Robbie's CTR Cookies

In December, I made some CTR cookies for a wonderful boy at church who was getting baptized. CTR stands for "Choose The Right." Members of our church will often wear a CTR ring as a reminder to always try to do good.

These cookies are decorated with glace icing. I first outlined the shape of the cookie using a #3 writing tip, then flooded the center with blue icing. Then, using the "wet on wet" technique, I piped the CTR letters. 

Here they are in my favorite drying area. It's a large picture frame box with a lid that opens and closes, similar to a pizza box. I like it because it doesn't take up much space and I can keep the cookies clean and covered with the lid, which still allows the icing to continue drying.

I try to be careful when flooding a cookie, but sometimes I go overboard with the amount of flood icing. You can see a "spillage" incident here. There are two ways to deal with this:

1. Allow the icing to dry, scrape it off with a knife and redecorate the cookie - it'll be good as new!

2. Eat it.

Glace icing is great because it dries smooth and shiny, and you can stack the cookies once the icing is dry without ruining the decoration. I prefer it over royal icing because it doesn't get rock hard. It's nice to bite into it - I prefer soft icing on my cookies, not crunchy.

Not having a shield cookie cutter, I cut a shield shape out of a piece of paper. Using that as a template, I cut the shapes out of the cookie dough with a sharp paring knife.

STATS:

No Fail Sugar Cookies
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/2055/no-fail-sugar-cookies

Glace Icing
http://www.thatreallyfrostsme.com/2010/05/glace-icing.html

"Wet on Wet" Technique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAIBpsXgtRE

Lace Cookies for Christmas

This Christmas, I wanted to make something special for some wonderful women I know.

I found a design for intricate lace cookies at http://cakecreationsforyou.blogspot.com/. Nadia is the decorator from the site, and she creates beautiful cookies.

I'm really happy with how the cookies turned out!

To make the lace pattern, I first outlined the heart shape with royal icing. Using the same icing, I made 14 straight lines running diagonally across the cookie.

Then, I added perpendicular lines to create a grid.

I used glace icing (in a flood consistency), to fill in the larger spaces of the heart.

Then, I added dots of icing into the grid, creating a pattern I liked. There are so many patterns you could make using this technique. Have fun and get creative! 

I noticed that you get a very different look in the lace if you allow the grid to dry before adding the dots of icing. In this photo, I piped the dots while the icing of the grid was still wet. You can see how the design has sort of "melted" together.

On this cookie, I allowed the grid to dry before piping the dots. The dots stayed separate and are quite distinct. Honestly, I think both techniques made a pretty cookie, and I can't decide which I like better.

For the gold lettering, I mixed a little brown food coloring into the royal icing to get a tan color. I piped the words with the tan royal icing and allowed it to dry. Then, I mixed gold luster dust with a little vanilla extract and used that to "paint" the words. You can see the difference the luster dust makes here, where I only used luster dust on the letter "o" in "world."

I used zip-top baggies with the corners cut off as the icing bags for this entire project. If you would like to use piping bags and tips, I would suggest using a #1 or #2 writing tip.

I loved making these cookies and thinking about the women I'd be giving them to. I hope they know how much they are loved. 

STATS:

Nadia's Video: "How to Make a Lace Cookie" Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKjM7Wm845w

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Roll-Out-Cookies-240668

How to "flood" a cookie with icing
http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/07/outlining-and-filling-cookies-with-royal-icing/

Royal Icing
http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2012/12/royal-icing-recipe.html

Glacé Icing
http://www.thatreallyfrostsme.com/2010/05/glace-icing.html

Christian and Amber's Wedding

I made these cookies for my brother's wedding reception. I loved being able to make the cookies for my brother and his new wife. Congratulations, Christian and Amber!

They decided on green as their wedding color, with just a touch of purple. They asked for rectangular monogrammed cookies and brush embroidered cookies.

My sister Melanni used her amazing photography skills to take this beautiful picture of the cookies at the reception.



On to my "point and shoot" pictures.


"A" is for Amber!



"C" is for Christian!



Lots of cookies!



These sugar cookies were first covered with green glacé icing. After the glacé icing dried, I used royal icing to pipe the monograms and the other decorations.

I used dark brown royal icing for the monogram and brushed it with gold luster dust mixed with a little water to get the shiny bronze look. The cookie on the left has been brushed with the luster dust and the one on the right has not. I really like the difference the luster dust makes.



For the brush embroidered cookies, I used green fondant for the base and white royal icing for the flowers. Click on the link below (in the STATS section) to watch a video on brush embroidery.



STATS:

Brush Embroidery Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqbDTaauGO0

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Glacé Icing

Mix the following ingredients together:
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk

Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing. I usually end up adding 3 or 4 extra Tbsp. of milk to get a thinner flooding consistency.

Yellow Cake Mix Cookies

I always like to keep a box of cake mix in the cupboard. Not only for a quick cake, but quick cookies, too!


I used a yellow cake mix for the cookies. They are outlined and filled with glace icing. The flowers are made from fondant and sugar pearls.

STATS:

Cake Mix Cookies
http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2009/10/cake-mix-cookies-recipe.html

Glacé Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk (Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing. I usually end up adding 3 or 4 extra Tbsp. of milk to get a thinner flooding consistency.)

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

St. Patrick's Day Magic

I love working with glacé icing! It's so much fun to add different colors to the cookies, and then swirl the icing around and watch pretty designs appear.



For the swirls, start by flooding your cookie with one solid base color. While the icing is still wet, pipe short lines in a swirl pattern, starting from the outside of the cookie and working in. Try alternating colors (I used dark and light green) for a fun effect, like this:



Now, drag a toothpick through the center of the lines, starting from the outside of the swirl and working to the center. Just follow the shaky black arrow I made in Microsoft Paint.



Now watch this beauty magically appear!



For the shamrocks, you will use a similar technique, just in a different pattern. Flood a cookie with white icing. While it is still wet, pipe 4 green lines in a square pattern. Drag a toothpick through each line, from the outside of the square to the center. Here is a diagram that might help you better visualize the process.



A little leprechaun magic...and you've got yourself a tasty four leaf clover!



I tried out a new recipe for my husband's grandmother, Memé, who loves lemon-flavored treats. I'll put a link to the lemon cookie recipe in the "STATS" section of this post. It's delicious!

STATS:

Lemon Cut-Out Cookies:
http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2010/07/frosted-jumbo-animal-cookies.html
(After you click the link, scroll down to the bottom, and you'll see the recipe.)

Glacé Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk (Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing. I usually end up adding 3 or 4 extra Tbsp. of milk to get a thinner flooding consistency.)

Video tutorial for piping wet on wet icing and the marbling technique
http://www.universityofcookie.com/2010/12/fun-and-easy-way-of-decorating.html

Pirate Cake Pops

Things I've learned about cake pops:

1. They're not as easy as they look.
2. They are time consuming, but worth the effort.
3. Add a little vegetable oil to your candy melts to get a smooth look.

(Thank you for the tip, Heather!)

Heather made some awesome pirate cake pops from Bakerella's new cake pop book, and I had to give them a try. My son saw the pirates Heather made and said, "THAT'S what I want for my birthday!"

Here it is!



...and a little pirate cake to match!



Shiver me timbers! Those are some cute pirates!



...but not as cute as my own little buccaneer! Happy birthday!



Cake Pop STATS:

Cake Pops
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/back-to-the-sweets-bakerellas-signature-cupcake-pops/
Here's a tutorial Bakerella did for The Pioneer Woman Blog

Glace Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk
(Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing.)

(I didn't have an edible food marker or sprinkles on hand, so I used glace icing for the polka dots and the face. They turned out fine, but if I make the pops again, I'll try to use the right stuff.)

Cake STATS:

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/vanilla-buttercream-frosting/39107a19-be94-4571-9031-f1fc5bd1d606

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant (for the polka dots)
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Spooky Spiderweb Cookies

I made these same cookies last year, but I thought I'd add purple to the mix this time.



Here's the post from last year with instructions on how to make the web:

http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2009/10/spiderweb-cookies.html

STATS:

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
http://www.suite101.com/content/pumpkin-cut-out-cookies-a160005#ixzz0zF5vLGwd

Glace Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk
(Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing.)

Happy Halloween!

Creative Pumpkins

This month's theme for the Cake Central Cookie Club is "non-Halloween cookies you can make using Halloween cutters." I decided to make a wedding cookie shaped like Cinderella's pumpkin carriage.

The tricky part was getting the wheels to stay on. I used thick glace icing to attach the wheels to the carriage and some folded up napkins to hold them in place until the icing dried.



The cookie is decorated with glace icing, fondant, sugar pearls, and gold luster dust. I used my parents' initials for the monogram. I wish I hadn't added the luster dust...I think it looked prettier without it. Sometimes simpler is better.



I made this cookie for my sister's birthday, using her initials piped down the center.



STATS:

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Glace Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk
(Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing.)

Pumpkin Cut Out Cookies
http://www.suite101.com/content/pumpkin-cut-out-cookies-a160005#ixzz0zF5vLGwd

Pink and Brown Cookies

Spillage

I used too much white icing as the base on this one. Once I started adding the stripes, the icing flooded over my border.

Salvaged...sort of

Once the icing set, I used a sharp knife to cut away the spilled icing. Then I piped dots around the edge to cover up the mess.

Swirls


Plaid and Hearts


Flower


Chocolate Swirl


STATS:

Khalstead's Modified No Fail Sugar Cookies (using butterscotch flavored pudding)
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/15218/khalsteads-modified-nfsc

Glace icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk
(Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing.)
(I added a little cocoa powder along with brown food coloring to make the brown icing.)

Independence Day Cookie

I wanted to make something patriotic for the 4th of July and decided on cookies. I knew I didn't have much time to decorate individual cookies, though, so I decided to attempt to bake a giant cookie. I lined my cookie sheet with foil and sprayed it with cooking spray before I baked it. I just used the same sugar cookie recipe I always use and baked it at the same temperature. I needed to add only three or four minutes to the cooking time.

I used a cooling rack to help flip the cookie out of the pan so the bottom wouldn't burn as it cooled. Then, I used another cooling rack to flip the cookie right-side up.



I was really disappointed to see that the rack left deep grooves in the cookie. I was upset at first, thinking the lines would mess up my design and make the glace icing flow in the wrong directions. Then, I realized something...there were exactly 14 bars on the cooling rack, which made 14 lines in the cookie...which created 13 perfectly straight stripes across the cake. I was able to ice the cookie with the image of the American flag quickly, without having to painstakingly measure straight lines. I couldn't have planned it any better.



The flag has exactly 13 stripes and 50 "stars." Go ahead. Count 'em. :o)



*Next time I would use less cookie dough. This baked up to be about half an inch thick. I think it would have been better if it was only a quarter inch thick, making a better cookie/icing ratio.

Spring Flower Cookies

I decided to try my hand at making some Duff (the guy from Ace of Cakes) roses out of fondant. They were pretty simple to make, but some definitely turned out better than others...as you can see.



The last one is my favorite. Here's a link to a good tutorial if you want to try it out. http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1149096

Instead of rolling out the fondant and cutting out small circles, I chose to roll balls of fondant and flatten them out with my fingers to make the circles. I think that's why my petals ended up a little thick.



Overall, I think they turned out really cute. I used Peggy Weaver's marshmallow fondant recipe for the fondant. The icing is Toba Garrett's recipe that I thinned down a little by adding more milk. The cookies are strawberry cake mix cookies.

Peggy Weaver's Marshmallow Fondant
Toba Garrett's Glace Icing
Cake Mix Cookies