Summer Sunshine!

Nothing says summer like a happy face sun! These were requested by an early childhood teacher who wanted treats for her students on the last day of school. She requested the tag to read: "Enjoy the sunshine this summer! Love, Miss Lauren."

These cuties will be bagged and tagged with citrus colored ribbon for a festive gift to the students.

Let the summer begin!

(6/3/10 addendum) Feedback is always appreciated. It was wonderful to get an email from Lauren after dropping off her cookies at her school: "The cookies are adorable! Thank you so much. I'll definitely be calling you again." These decorated cookies take hours to create, so it is always heartwarming to hear back from customers and hear that they were enjoyed!

Tool Time!

There is a saying about carpenters neglecting their own homes . . . I feel like the cookie baker who neglects her husband and family.

This is a busy season for cookie orders, which leaves little time to bake for those I love. It is also more complicated now that we are spending the summer at our lake house. Baking cookies requires a road trip back home before I can start whipping the butter!

It was a rush job, but I was able to bake a few dozen for our Memorial Day celebration of my husband's retirement. He was a union carpenter for 42 years. I thought the grandkids would enjoy the faces!

Grenasauras Preschool Graduation

It's officially graduation season in the months of May and June. I've had orders for one college, one h.s. and two preschool graduations. The Grenasaurus Preschool at Elk Grove High School was my largest order to date. I made 14 dinosaur cookie pops (The only thing better than a cookie is a cookie on a stick.) and 8 dozen jungle animals and graduation caps to match the theme of this year's celebration. I hope the tots and the teens as well as the parents enjoy their treats. Check back soon for a posting of the Class of 2010 with their cookies!

Healthy Graduation Treats

A friend's stepdaughter recently graduated with a B.S. in Food and Nutrition. We wanted to add something to the graduation hats on her cookie platter and decided to include "healthy" cookies. The carrots, peppers, cherries, strawberries and apples add bright and cheerful colors as well as a guaranteed chuckle from guests at Jacy's party. Best Wishes to Jacy as she begins her internships, which will get her one step closer to being a registered dietitian.

Fruit Salad

When I put together a tray of cookies, I like to add some elements of interest. These strawberries, apples, and cherries will be added to a platter that has gold graduation caps for someone who completed a degree in Food and Nutrition. I predict that the cherries will be the first to disappear from the tray. There is something very tempting about these itsy bitsy bites! Everyone seems to resist the larger cookies but reasons, "Just one small cookie won't hurt." Before you know it, the mini bites have been nibbled away! My pricing for a dozen cookies is based on 12 basic 3" cookies. I would actually count 3 of these cherries as one cookie in my dozen. Lots of math in baking cookies! Hopefully, they add up to lots of smiles for guests at the graduation party. I will leave you in suspense and post the final product in a later post. Be sure to get those five daily servings of fruits and vegetables!

Three Sets in the Collection

My husband's retirement cookie collection is actually the combination of three sets of cookies: carpenter, fishing and golf.

Happy Retirement, Gregg

This is a collection of cookies to celebrate my husband's retirement on June 1. He will actually take them to his last meeting, one of many in his 42 years as a carpenter in Local 2087. For the past ten years, he has been the business rep and served as a delegate for the Health and Welfare Board. The first tray of cookies is "Pre Retirement" focusing on his life-long career. The second tray is "Post Retirement" featuring his love of fishing and golf and how he plans to fill his days.

Gator Preschool Graduation

Our oldest granddaughter, Kendra, attends preschool at Crystal Lake South, home of the Gators. Her graduation is May 12, so 40 treat bags will be filled with gators and graduation caps in the school colors of green and gold. Hopefully, the little ones will see a smile on the face of these alligators and not be frightened ;-)