February "Fillers" Just for Fun

"Beep,  Beep" for Boys!

With the new baby, I try to make weekly visits to my daughter's home, so she can take a nap and have another pair of hands with the two boys.  I had very little time to make cookies, but did not want to go empty-handed.  I mixed up some chocolate chip dough, cut trucks and cars, and kept the piping to a minimum.  It didn't bother Jack one bit that the vehicles were missing details, he sat nicely at the table talking, playing, and eating them right down to the last wheel!  He was probably just happy to have cookies that weren't pink.

SpringTime Fun for Girls

With the remaining dough, I cut some flowers and birds for the granddaughters, who were going to be visiting over the weekend.  I should have known that the cookies fully covered in Royal Icing would be the first to disappear from the tin.  (Why eat a cookie partially covered in frosting?)  Kylie digs for the biggest one, while sister Kendra always makes sure that she is eating pink ones.

  . . . Never met a cookie that I didn't like!

A "Maivelous" Birthday Celebration

 

Our friends from Sesame Street have gathered for Maive's first birthday.


They were fun to create and make such a colorful tray of cookies!




This is the last of my cookie orders.  May and June have been busy months with graduations, wedding showers, and tot birthdays (When you surround yourself with teachers, the tot birthdays tend to be in late spring to coordinate with the school calendar and summer break :)



Happy Birthday, Maive!  Thanks for the opportunity to try my hand at these delightful characters.  May they bring you as many smiles as they have given me.

Sweet on Sesame Street!

Let me introduce you to my new friends from Sesame Street!


Cookie Monster came to visit when it was time for Kylie's first birthday.  A flower cutter, blue frosting and google eyes . . . a piece of cake!  (I mean cookie.)


A week later, another one-year-old was having a Sesame Street birthday.  Elmo was to be the star of Maive's tray of cookies.  I promised to deliver the jolly red character, along with Cookie Monster and some balloons with the little one's name and her age.


I soon realized that you can't break up a strong trio of characters!  The infamous yellow bird just had to be included.  I used the same cutter, but this time with yellow RI and a beak. 


Big Bird's eyes required a little more detail than his friends, but he was worth the extra effort!  Together, they create the "wow" factor with those vibrant colors.

These popular faces don't just appear overnight . . . well, actually, they do!  I piped all of the black details and had to let them dry overnight to prevent "bleeding" into the other colors. 


In the early morning, I began the "flood".  It's like coloring inside the lines, except you use very thin Royal Icing.  Once I squeeze out the color, I use a toothpick to close up any gaps between the flood and the black piping.  Long process, but great results!  (I will forgive my husband for saying that Big Bird looks more like Jimmy Durante with the big nose!  What do men know?) 


It will be fun to hear which cookie is Maive's favorite!  The total collection for Maive will be posted separately.

Kylie's Kookies

Happy 1st Birthday, Sweet Kylie Mae! Grandma sends her love and cookies!

Big Sister Kendra had Elmo for her first birthday, so she decided that Kylie should have Cookie Monster for her party. The Sesame Street faces are so well known that it isn't that difficult to make the characters. His googly eyes and huge grinning mouth are recognizable trademarks. The smile on this happy guy is almost as big as Kylie's!

Ironically, I have a "Sesame Street" order next week for another girl turning one. It will be fun to try my decorating hand with Elmo and Big Bird! Cookies are such fun!

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!

One Year Anniversary

It seems appropriate that I start this blog on my first anniversary, because I've only just begun!

My cookie baking adventure began with Move It, Move It cookies for my granddaughter's second birthday. CookieFriend came to my house and helped me decorate hippos, zebras, giraffes, and lions as birthday treats for Kendra's party. Silly me didn't even take a picture of my first creations!

Kendra's third birthday marks one year of dozens of sugar cookies, a multitude of mistakes gladly eaten by my husband, an endless addiction to cookie cutters, and hopefully a special connection with those I love.

This year's party theme is princess, so crowns and magic wands seemed fitting in the royal colors of purple and pink. If you would like to check out my accumulation of cookies during my first year, you can visit Frosted Fantasies at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcarroll440/