Have you ever been stuck with something? Being stuck with the dishes after a big family meal. Being stuck with walking the dog when it's pouring rain. Maybe it's a literal stuck, like insisting on grabbing a live cactus at Lowe's even though your parents warned you not to touch it (ahem... youngest Clough child).

One of the worst things is having an idea stuck in your head. And you've planned out how you'll pull off said idea. But you're stuck doing other stuff instead of following through on your idea. 

Cue this Cactus Cookie. Picture this: spring 2017, just as the cactus craze was really starting to take off. I pulled out a bunch of cutters, sketched out my "flips" (or ways to repurpose them). I even baked some of them! And then, I got stuck. Stuck doing laundry, stuck doing orders, stuck with the trials and tribulations of life. My sketches and baked cookie ideas got stuck on the shelf. Until now!

I thought this was the perfect tongue-in-cheek design to celebrate Mother's Day or Father's Day (imagine a Dad cactus with a mustache and bowtie!). You know the saying- you can pick your friends, pick your nose, but you can't pick your family?
​You're stuck with them.

You recognize the cutter, right? You might have this exact one, or something similar. It's a mitten!​ Here's a line drawing so you can see where we're going.

Here's what you'll need:
* baked mitten shape cookie
* food-safe marker (optional) to sketch the design on the cookie.
* Royal icing:
       -20-second in the pot color of your choice and medium green.
       -piping consistency in black, white, and a different shade of green (lighter or darker than the medium green to be used for the cacti lines) 
       -thick icing in the flower color of your choice.

1. Use the food safe marker to map out the top of the pot, parent and child cactus. Don't go to the edge of the cookie- leave room for the cactus spines. If you're good at eyeballing stuff, skip ahead to step 2. 

2. Use the piping consistency green and the pot color to outline the cacti and pot. Let the lines dry. Remember to leave room for the spines around the edge of the cactus.

3. Flood the cacti with the medium green (the 20 second consistency one). Flood the pot. Let these sections dry.

4. Add in the eyes, mouth, cactus lines, and rim of the pot.

5. After the lines are dry, pipe some spines and cactus flowers. Decorate the pot, if you want! If I were making these for Father's Day, I would do a mustache, bowtie, and blue flowers on the parent cacti at this step. You're done!

I hope that you try out these cacti family cuties, to celebrate those loved ones that you're stuck with. Wouldn't they be great for siblings too?

Imagine this: You have an order of 80+ princess carriages. You order the perfect cutter online, only to discover that it's too big when it arrives in your mailbox. There's not enough time to order a new cutter. What do you do? 

You might recognize the main body of my princess carriage. It's a particular "mouse" cutter, and LilaLoa turned it into a great princess carriage in this post.

 But my cookie carriages needed a finial- that little extra piece at the top for more ornamentation. And I needed 80+ of them that were exactly the same.  

It's time to FrankenCookie (aka. piece cookie parts together to make a single cookie). In my case, the "mouse" cutter is the core shape, with the accessory "round" cookie being the finial. By using the small round cookie and cutting the section out of the main carriage, there are more points of contact between the two cookie shapes. This will increase the stability of the cookie joint, and make it less likely to break off. 

What you'll need:
* parchment paper
* pencil
* cookie cutters that you plan to piece together

1. Trace the INSIDE of the cutters you're using on parchment paper. You want to trace the inside of the cutters, since that's closer to the cut size of your cookie shape. 

2. Cut out your template. Cut away the piece that will be "added on" by the other/ accessory/ smaller cutter. Erase any pencil marks on the parchment paper and be sure to clean the cookie cutters. You don't want to transfer any pencil marks to your cookie dough by accident. 

3. Cut your main cookie shape and transfer it to the baking sheet. Place the parchment template over the main cookie shape, and cut out the accessory piece. 

4. Cut and fill in the accessory piece. Be sure that the accessory piece is flush with the original cut piece. You might have to flip over the accessory piece to make it fit properly. See this blog post why this happens!

5. Bake the cookies just like always!

Look at the baked, undecorated cookie! They're perfect! The size and placement of the finial is the same for every cookie! Winning!

A comparison of the front versus the back.

You might be thinking, "I'll never piece any cookies together, because that seems like so much work!". Yes, it is time consuming, but it is another tool to add to your cookie arsenal, and it just might help you out of a jam like me! Here are some other pieced ideas!

One of my tricks in creating new, cartoony designs is to exaggerate one or more qualities of the character. Big nose, little eyes, tiny body, big head- all of these characteristics can make your design cute and whimsy. Plus, it takes away some of the pressure to make proportions just right.   

You might just recognize the cutter I used to make this little chick! It's the round potted cactus from Sweet Sugarbelle! It makes the perfect fat chick in a little nest. Maybe they live down by the river? Sorry- I saw a Chris Farley clip the other day 😂.

What you'll need:
* Baked cookie shapes
* 20-second icing in yellow and brown, and tiny amounts of black, orange, and accent color of your choice
* Parchment paper
* offset spatula or knife.

1. Make some icing lines on parchment paper. This is a popular start to make your own sprinkles, as detailed in this blog post from the Bearfoot Baker. BUT, for my nest application, criss-cross some of your lines! Allow them to dry. You could let them dry on their own for a few hours, use a dehydrator, or even a slightly warmed oven. I like to use my fan. If you go the fan route, remember to use magnets to hold down the parchment. It's irritating to have your parchment paper with freshly piped transfers scatter to the wind. Trust me on this one.

2. After the transfers are dry, use a spatula or knife to break your icing lines. They actually look like twigs for a bird's nest! Set these aside for now.

1. Use yellow icing to make the chick's body. Let it crust.

2. Use brown icing to make the nest. Immediately place the icing "twigs" on the wet brown icing. It's ok if some of the twigs break in the process! Also, feel free to let them hang over the edge of the cookie.

3. Time for the next details! Pipe the wings, hair pouf, eyes, and beak. I used white nonpariels for the eye highlights.

4. I decided to add some other accents to make girl and boy chicks. For the girl, I just added some eyelashes, bow, and flower accents. For the boy, I just added a bow. I think I'd do a bowtie next time. And some glasses! So cute!

I hope that you're inspired to add some of these cute chicks
​to your spring cookie collections!

Of course I've been known to stretch/alter a cutter now and again, but this post takes a different spin on making your cutters work for you. A little back story, if you will...

I like big cookies, and I cannot lie. My preferred size for cookies has definitely increased over the years. Cutters that used to be "just right" back in the day are a little too small for me now. For example, a 3" circle is too small. I now prefer 3.25"-3.5" circles.

*Insert an order for blue ribbon cookies*

I knew I had the perfect blue ribbon cutter, as I had won several of these cutters at past CookieCons for different winning entries (yes, I'm a little proud of that). When I pulled out the cutter, I was dismayed that it was smaller than I had remembered. I began to stretch the metal cutter to increase it's size. Then it dawned on me...

I always roll my dough with rolling pin rings. Rolling pin rings are rubber rings of various sizes that slide onto an ordinary rolling pin. They make the dough an even thickness when you roll it out. A Joseph Joseph pin or Dough EZ uses the same concept. If you don't already have some method of regulating your dough thickness, do it NOW. It makes so much difference in your baked cookies! I use the largest rings of my rolling pin ring set, which measure 3/8". Therefore, my un-baked cookies measure 3/8" in thickness.

I needed something thin and flat to line each side of my cookie dough, something that I could easily roll my pin + rings on top of. 

After rolling my "thicker" dough sheet, I cut the desired shape. Notice the difference in cookie thickness!

​Look at the before and after!

​Here are some other applications:
I NEVER use this candle cutter because it's too small. I might actually use it now because of this technique! Also, HOW you re-roll can make a difference. Re-rolling a standard heart IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY can turn it into a stretched/primitive heart!

SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
1. If you use a Joseph Joseph pin (or equivalent) and normally roll 1/4", you can skip the cutting boards on the sides of your dough. Roll your dough with the 3/8" ends, cut your cookie shape, then re-roll with the 1/4" ends.

2. Intricate/complicated/very straight-edge cutters may not work well with this technique. You will lose some of the delicate details/sharpness of the original cutter during the re-roll process. This technique is for shapes that are a little more "forgiving". 

I cannot wait to take a second look at other cutters that might be a tad too small.
I just might win the size battle after all. #sizematters  :)

Cookiers have been using cupcake and ice cream cone cookie cutters since the dawn of royal icing to make all sorts of hat-wearing characters, from snowmen to scarecrows. I certainly do not take credit for the "leprechaun from an ice cream cone" concept, but I wanted to share with you MY version of this popular idea using a new favorite ice cream cone cutter from Sweet Sugarbelle! 

This particular ice cream cone cutter came in a two-piece set with a pretzel shape. It's the perfect sweet/salty combo! Hmmm... can you just imagine a pretzel cone filled with chocolate ice cream?! Oh YUM.

Here's what you'll need:
* ice cream cone cookie shapes
* food marker (if you wanted to mark sections on the cookie), or you could just wing it!
* 20-second royal icing in green, orangey (orange + tiny bit of warm brown, skin-tone, black, yellow. Have a variety of tip sizes on hand.
* shamrock sprinkles (optional). I found mine at Michaels. 

1. Bake your favorite roll out recipe. Use a food marker to outline the face, brim, and hat band. Here's my sketch so you can see where we're going. FYI- I sketch 99% of my designs on paper, and then file them in binders for future use!

​2. Pipe the hat sections with green royal icing. While the icing is still wet, add the shamrock sprinkle. If you don't have these sprinkles, you could pipe an icing shamrock after the hat dries. Allow the icing to crust.

​5. Pipe the final details- nose, mouth, beard squigly, brim outline. You're done!

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving in my house was the traditional roasted turkey feast, from the juicy bird to the jellied cranberry sauce from the can (My dad insisted on having the whole cranberry stuff too- blech!). Aside from my mom's sweet potato pie, my absolute favorite part was the STUFFING. Now this term is actually a little misleading because my mom never put this seasoned bread concoction actually inside the bird, but rather in a pan that was baked until crispy and brown and absolutely delicious. So I guess "dressing" would be the more appropriate term for it. But in my house, it was "stuffing", and that's exactly how I felt at the end of the meal. Stuffed. 

Ever since I began my cookie journey, I've made turkey cookies to accompany the pies on the dessert table. So before we all get stuffed for Thanksgiving, let me share with you how to make these turkeys!

What you'll need:
* turkey cookie shape (mine is from this Ann Clark cutter)
* royal icing (in a 20-second consistency) of the colors: brown, white, black, gray, red
* black sugar pearls (optional)
​* scribe tool or toothpick
* food marker

​1. Use a food marker to mark the location of the tail, wing, and neck. 

​2. Starting with the outer edge of the tail feathers, pipe a line of icing. Immediately pipe the next icing line right next to the previous icing line. Continue with this wet-next to-wet technique. 

3. Immediately take the scribe tool or toothpick and drag it through the icing, starting at the edge of the feathers and working your way to the base of the tail.

4. While the tail feathers are starting to dry, use the gray icing to pipe the head of the turkey and drop on the sugar pearl eye (if you don't have black sugar pearls, just pipe an eye once the head is dry). Use some black icing to add feet. Truthfully, you could use all sorts of colors for the head of the turkey, including brown, red, or even blue! Yes, blue! If you're feeling brave, go ahead and do a google image search of "turkey head". Ugliest.things.ever. LOL!  Let these sections dry for a bit.

​5. Use the brown icing to create the body of your bird. Use the black icing to pipe a tiny beak. Let these sections dry for a bit. 

6. Time for the final details! Pipe the wing using the same wet-next to-wet technique as you did the tail. Once again, drag the scribe tool or toothpick through the icing, creating the feathers. Grab the red icing and make the waddle. You're done!

Add in some beautiful fall leaves or acorns to keep your cookie turkeys happy, like these acorns made from this Ann Clark cutter!

Or even add in some pilgrims, like these made from a turkey cutter, designed by LilaLoa (also found at Ann Clark)! You can see some other pilgrim cookie designs from different cutters here and here!

Frankly, I think the creature we commonly call Frankenstein might just be my favorite Halloween-time character. Maybe it's because I love the pop of green that my soothes my eyes amidst the sea of traditional orange and black Halloween colors. Maybe it's because I like to picture him as a cute cartoony character instead of the monstereous thing that is depicted in the book/movies. In any case, I love making Frank in cookie form!

This year, I got my hands on one of these sets of Halloween cutters, designed by Sweet Sugarbelle. 

1. Bake the skull shape with your favorite roll-out cookie recipe.

2. Use black and purple icing to make Frank's hair and shirt. Let these sections dry.

3. Use green icing to make Frank's face. Let this section dry really well before adding the details.

4. Use orange, green, black, and grayish icing colors to make the final details. You're done!

You can pair your Frankenstein cookies with some other fun Halloween shapes, like these other cookies make from Sweet Sugarbelle cutters. Aren't they great for a not-so-scary Halloween party?

I've had this bell cutter for many years now. And guess what? I've never made a bell cookie with it until this year! But don't let that fool you- it's one of my ABSOULTE FAVORITE CUTTERS. I'm not lying. It's one of those cutters that never finds it's way back into my "Christmas" cutter bin because I always come back to it over and over again. And if I put it in my Christmas bin, I would have to get on a step stool to get it all the time. And that's too much work. And chances are, something would fall on me as I tried to bring down my Christmas bin box. So for safety's sake, I keep it out. Always.

If a cookie cutter could be my best friend, it would look like this:

I find cutters all over the place in store and online, but this treasured bell shape can only be found in ONE location during the Christmas season: DOLLAR TREE. It will come in a bundle like this:

Here are the other cutters in the bundle. The other cutters are nothing to write home about, in my opinion. But that bell! Swoon.

You might be wondering why this shape is my favorite? Let me show you!
Note: For all of these designs, the cookie cutout is left as-is, or I trimmed the small hanger part prior to baking.

Or maybe some friends at Thanksgiving:

Corn in the summer, or the fall:

Backbones for a chiropractor, or pirates for a swashbuckling party:

A worm on a fishing hook for an angler cookie set.

And, of course, the intended use of the cutter:
​A BELL!

Moral of the story?
Look outside the BELL when designing your cookies!

One of my favorite childhood cartoons was Tom & Jerry, especially the earlier episodes (pre-1960). It's awesome that my own young kids love Tom & Jerry as much as I did. Once I hear the theme song during the opening credits, I stop what I am doing and watch with my kids. Because yes, my kids and I bond over Jerry getting the best of Tom. My kids are fascinated by all the traps the characters set for each other. And before I know it, my kids are asking me for refrigerator boxes, wooden planks, a broom, a mousetrap, and an anvil.  Yeah, good luck with that one.

I had the lucky opportunity to create a dog-themed cookie collection, and wanted to add a few new dog designs to my repertoire. It just so happened that an episode of Tom & Jerry was on the tv, and Spike was in the episode too! If you've seen T&J, you'll know Spike- the big bulldog who is the forever champion of Jerry. Spike seemingly gets in the middle of the Tom-chasing-Jerry antics, when all he wants to do is take a nap. The inspiration for my new bulldog cookie was barking at me from my tv, and I couldn't wait to get started!  

First, I started with the tulip and skull cutter from Sweet Sugarbelle's shape-shifter set. Need one? Get the set here.

Use the small part of the skull cutter to remove the middle petal on the tulip. You're left with the perfect bulldog head shape! Now, bake your cookies.

You'll need the following icing colors/consistencies to make these pups:
* Gray royal icing in a 20-second consistency and a piping consistency. I hated mixing gray colors, until I found ProGel gray. Game changer! It's the perfect gray!
* White royal icing in a 20-second consistency
* Black royal icing in a 20-secong consistency

1. Use the 20-second gray royal icing to pipe the forehead and chin. Allow to dry.

2. Use the same icing to pipe the droopy jaws and the triangles that will become  the underside of the ears. Allow to dry.

3. Pipe the outer edges of the ears in gray. Use the gray piping consistency to make the forehead wrinkles and dots on the jaws. Make his nose and gleaming white teeth. Allow to crust.

4. Pipe the lower eye lid in gray. Wait a few minutes to allow it to crust. Now, finish the eye with the white and black royal. You're done!

Not only is the bulldog a popular breed for pet owners, the bulldog is a mascot of many high schools and colleges. It's the mascot of one of my local high schools, and I anticipate that this doggy will make his way on to some graduation platters in the spring.

Another great idea is to put together a collection of doggy-themed cookies to say "Thanks" to a local dog rescue or SPCA.  Because everyone likes cookies.

Find out how to make the schnauzer/terrier here.
See the original pug design from Flower Box Bakery here.

I guess I might have to make a beagle tutorial soon. . . :)

One of my absolute favorite cartoons as a kid was Tom & Jerry, especially the earlier episodes (pre-1960). It's awesome that my own young kids enjoy it as much as I did! Once I hear the theme song during the opening credits, I stop what I'm doing and come watch with my kids. Because yes, we bond over watching Jerry get the best of Tom. And my boys are fascinated by all the traps the characters set for each other. Before I know it, by boys are asking me for refrigerator boxes, wooden planks, mousetraps, a broom, and an anvil. Yeah, good luck with that one.  

I had the lucky opportunity to create a collection of dog-themed cookies, and I wanted to add a bulldog design to my cookie repertoire. It just so happened that an episode of Tom & Jerry was on the tv, and I caught a glimpse of Spike! If you know T&J, you'll know Spike- that big bulldog who is the forever champion of Jerry. Spike seemingly gets in the middle of the Tom-chasing-Jerry chaos, when all he wants to do is take a nap. So to honor this childhood favorite, I set to work on a bulldog design, inspired by Spike the bulldog himself.     

First, I used the tulip and skull cutters from Sweet Sugarbelle's shape shifter set.  

Use your favorite roll out cookie recipe, and cut out a tulip shaped cookie.  Use the small part of the skull to cut out the middle petal, which creates the perfect bulldog head!  Bake the cookie shape.

You'll need the following icing colors and consistencies:
​* Gray icing in a 20-second consistency and piping consistency (I use ProGel gray to tint my icing.  It's the perfect shade!)
* white icing in a 20-second consistency
* black icing in a 20-second consistency

​Not only is the bulldog a popular dog breed for pet owners, the bulldog is widely used a mascot for various schools and colleges. One of my local high school's mascot is a bulldog, and I anticipate that his guy might be a favorite for graduation platters. 

Or as a great "Thank You" gift for a local dog rescue or SPCA! 

Find out how to make the adorable schnauzer/terrier here!
And my inspiration for the pug doggy came from Flower Box Bakery! 

Guess I'll need to make a beagle cookie tutorial soon. . . :)

​