 It happened again. I had every intention of planning out new Thanksgiving designs and shopping around for the cutest and newest Thanksgiving cookie cutters.. And then life happened. Wasn't Easter just yesterday?! Where did the time go? Needless to say, I turned to my old trusty creative cutter skills to bail me out once again. I was able to freshen up my Thanksgiving designs, and I didn't need new cutters after all! If you are a design procrastinator like me, and if you have one of these Sweet Sugarbelle cutters, you too can make the most adorable Turkey Pilgrim! There's a slight difference between the cutters (the red one is slightly smaller and the outside curves are not even), but it will still work for this design!  I used the aqua-colored cutter (one on the left) for my Turkey Pilgrim, upside down of course!
Here's what you'll need: * baked cupcake cookie shapes using your favorite roll-out cookie recipe * Royal icing, in the following colors and consistencies: Brown: 20 second Black: loose piping (maybe around 25-seconds?) Gray: 20 second, and piping if you want to line the hat brim White: 20 second Yellow: loose piping, like the black color Red: 20 second * edible food marker (optional). If you use a projector, you can omit this step! 1. Sketch the basic lines of the Turkey Pilgrim with the edible marker. The sketch for the Turkey Pilgrim is here.  2. Pipe the head of the turkey with brown icing. Pipe the hat band and exposed shirt with the black icing. Allow these sections to dry well.  3. Lots of details can be made at this step! Pipe the hat, beak, eyes, shirt collar, eyebrows. Allow these sections to dry.  4. Final steps! Make sure that the underlying icing is dried well, to help prevent color bleed. Pipe the waddle and buckle. I trimmed the hat brim with gray icing. That's it!  This Turkey Pilgrim will definitely make his way to my Thanksgiving table for years to come. He might just be the star of the Thanksgiving Dinner Show!  But Thanksgiving is all about family and friends!  I am thankful and blessed to have the means to share my cookie journey with you! Thank you for coming along with me! Happy Thanksgiving!
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CANDY CORN. You're either Team Candy Corn or not. Even if you're not on Team Candy Corn, we all can agree that the appearance of candy corn in stores means that fall and Halloween is on the way! So if you like the look of candy corn, but not the taste, there's another option to adorn your decorated cookies this Halloween season- ROYAL ICING CANDY CORN!  All of the cuteness of candy corn without the candy corn taste! These royal icing transfers can be made in advance, and are the perfect accent your Halloween cookies. What you'll need: * candy corn template, found here! * parchment paper or acetate sheet * white royal icing, in a 25-28 second consistency; placed in an icing bag with tip * scribe tool or toothpick * airbrush machine * yellow and orange airbrush colors * a "shield"- I used the edge of a another stencil or a piece of parchment, but Stencibelle has some great blockers (including curved and shaped ones) on her page here! * optional: magnets, cooling rack, fan LET'S GET STARTED! 1. Print out a copy of the candy corn template. Place the acetate or parchment on top of the template. I used acetate because it's crystal clear, but parchment paper will work just fine, too! Magnets helped to secure the acetate and template to a metal cooling rack (as my cookie sheets are aluminum and therefore not magnetic). Or you can just tape the template and top sheet on a table or cookie sheet.  2. Pipe the candy corn shapes with the royal icing. Use the scribe tool or toothpick to smooth any bumpy spots on the icing.
3. After creating the desired quantity of candy corn transfers (remember to make more than you need!), allow the transfers to dry. I like to place them in front of an oscillating fan- here's where the magnets are especially helpful so your hard work doesn't blow away! If you piped your transfers on parchment paper, you can dry them in a very low heat oven (below 200*). Without the assistance of a fan or oven, transfers can take several hours to dry, or even overnight if the icing is thick.
4. After the icing is completely dry, cover the very tip of the candy corn. I used the flat edge from a stencil and secured it in place with magnets. If you have a difficult time controlling your airbrush spray, use a second shield to cover the remaining transfers from getting hit with overspray. 
5. Load yellow airbrush color into your airbrush. With your airbrush machine on LOW, gently spray several coats of yellow color onto your transfers. Spray parallel to the shield, with a side-to-side sweeping motion. Multiple light coats of color is always better than thick coats that puddle. Plus, light coats dry quickly.  6. Once the yellow airbrushed layer is dry, add a second shield to cover the bottom third of the candy corn shape. You'll be left with an exposed strip in the middle of the candy corn shape where the orange color will be added.  7. Load orange airbrush color into your airbrush. With your airbrush machine on LOW, gently spray several coats of orange color onto your transfers. Yes, you'll be covering the yellow in the middle of the candy corn with orange color. That's ok! Use that same side-to-side sweeping motion to lay down the orange color.  8. Carefully remove the shields and allow the transfers to dry. Oh my goodness, they're soooo cute!  9. After the color has dried, the transfers can be easily popped off the acetate or parchment paper with an offset spatula or edging tool. You can now affix your transfers to your cookies using royal icing or piping gel. You can drop them onto a fresh icing flood, or even use them as accents on your cookie platters!  FYI: I made these nerdy candy corn cookies from the Frankenstein/pilgrim boy cutter from this set.  Let's take a side-by-side comparison of the candy corn transfers vs the real thing!  Am I on Team Candy Corn? You bet! And here's my favorite way to eat them- with a small dollop of peanut butter. The candy corn + peanut butter tastes just like a Butterfinger candy bar (minus the chocolate). It's SOOOOO good!  I can't wait to add these little candy corn transfers to many Halloween cookie sets!   Muwhahahahahaha! These Mad Scientist cookies were inspired by something else I made...  This is my youngest son, in his Mad Scientist halloween costume from 2017. We participated in a Trunk or Treat event, and I decorated my car as a mad scientist's laboratory. I had SO much fun putting the details together, paying close attention to how it would look after dark! Check out my handiwork! 
My eldest son even joined in the fun, by dressing up as the mad scientist's assistant!  As I was sorting through my Halloween cutters, I came across the perfect cutter for my Mad Scientist cookie: a flipped spider cutter from the Sweet Sugarbelle Halloween Basics Set! If you don't have this exact spider cutter, other spider cutters might work too. 
Here's what you'll need: * Baked spider-shaped cookies, using your favorite roll out recipe * Royal icing in the following colors and consistencies: flesh tone of your choice, 20-second consistency white, 20-second and piping consistency gray, piping consistency black, piping consistency * Food pen, optional Let's get started! 1. After baking and cooling your cookies, use a food pen to mark the scientist's face and ears. Use icing to pipe the face and ears. Let the icing dry.  2. Use the 20-second white icing to pipe the hair. Immediately after piping the hair, add some lines with the gray icing, allowing them to sink into the white icing beneath. Now is a good time to pipe the nose. Let the icing dry.  3. Use the black icing to pipe the rims of the glasses. Use the piping consistency white icing to make a mustache. Let these sections dry.  4. Add the final details! Outline the ears, fill in the eyeglasses, add some eyeballs, add some white hairs, and don't forget the puffy eyebrows!  Feel free to change up the eyebrows to convey different emotions. It's amazing how the overall look changes with just a small tweak in the shape of the eyebrows!  These cookies would also be fun for a scientist-themed birthday party, especially if you pair them with some other laboratory-themed cookies. Electricity coil and hazard sign cookies are the favorite snacks of every little mad scientist!    Back in 2013, I had a request for baby diaper cookies. I didn't have a diaper cutter, so I hand cut every single diaper cookie for that set. I was very early in my "cookie career", and didn't watermark my cookie pictures at that point. My friend, a contributor to Babycenter.com, wrote an article about me and my small cookie enterprise, and included a picture of those diaper cookies. Although the article is no longer available, the photograph of those diaper cookies were pinned on Pinterest, and have been seen and re-pinned many times! You might recognize it from your own search!  I haven't had a request for baby diaper cookies since... until now! I was so excited to tackle this design again using cutters I now own, specifically Sugarbelle cookie cutters! This awesome cutter is found in the first collection of Sugarbelle Shape Shifters.  This cutter, as is, makes an awesome jean pocket cookie, like this one!  But with a few small modifications, this pocket cutter can make the cutest diaper cookies! To make the diaper cookies, you'll also need the curved trimmer from the Sweet Sugarbelle Shape Shifter set and a bench scraper (or knife).  What you'll need: * Pocket cutter AND curved trimmer from Sweet Sugarbelle Shape Shifters Collection, first set. * bench scraper or sharp straight knife * royal icing in the following colors and consistencies: white: thin flood and 20+ second consistency grey: piping consistency pink (or other accent color of your choice): piping consistency * food safe wide paint brush 1. Prepare your favorite roll-out cookie dough. Use the pocket cutter to make the first cut. Use the curved trimmer to trim the bottom point of the cookie.  2. Use the bench scrapper or knife to trim a little from the "waist" of the cookie. Bake the cookie as directed on the recipe.  Now that the cookies are baked and cooled, take a look at the sketch to see where we're going with decorating the cookies.  3. Use a food safe paint brush to apply the white flood consistency to the leg holes of the cookies. This thin layer will dry quickly, so you'll be able to move on to the next step in no time.  4. Use the 20-second white royal icing to fill in the main portion of the diaper cookie. Allow the icing to dry.  5. Use the same royal icing (white, 20 second) to create the diaper flaps. Allow to dry.  6. Use the gray icing to pipe the metal parts of the safety pins.  7. Use the pink (or alternative accent color) to pipe the trim on the leg holes and waist, as well as the ends of the safety pins. That's it!  You know what? This design could easily be turned into other "undergarment" designs! Maybe an alternative diaper design with one large safety pin. Or maybe tightie-whities for a little boy who is being potty trained (yes, I rewarded my boys for their successful potty trips and it worked!), "granny panties" for a friend's milestone birthday (nothing says welcome to your 30's like granny panty cookies LOL!). Lots of options!  It was great fun to re-create this oldie-but-goodie design, and to replicate the staging of the original photograph from years ago. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to reminisce when my boys were small by using their real baby blankets in this updated staging:  Oh. my. heart.  |
AuthorI'm Amy. Wife, Mom, former science teacher- and now full time cookie baker on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Pull up a chair and we create! I'll bring the coffee- maybe Mike (The Cookie Widower) will make it for us. Archives
June 2019
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