Message boards are trendy right now in home decor. From words of encouragement to snarky statements, message boards give a perfect outlet for our thoughts. Real message boards are pretty simple: pleated felt fabric in a frame + plastic letters that are pushed into the pleats. That's it! Cookie message boards can be much more complicated if you try to pipe every pleat. The look of a pleated board can be made quickly with an airbrush and the flat edge of a stencil, without having to pipe every pleat or worry about cratered sections.
Tequila. Salt. Lime.
Putting together a collection of cookies for a Cinco de Mayo birthday created a challenge. I wanted to include this quintessential indulgence in the set of cookies, but I didn't have a shot glass cutter. Cutter flips to the rescue! 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.
Ah, mistletoe. One of the more intriguing plants of the holiday season. The shiny green leaves, the little pearl-white berries. It's so pretty! Sought out by couples to share a smooch underneath, while others avoided it like the plague. Some take it's parasitic nature to heart, and prey merciless upon me, even if I'm five feet away. . . ahem, Cookie Widower (my hubby). :)
I have a *slight* obsession right now. A little something called "Outlander". Oh. my. word.
I received many wonderful inquiries as to how I created the seashells for this "Sweets from the Sea" collection. Check out my tutorial on the starfish here.
Do you know that the real-life versions of these beauties are called "Sugar Starfish"?! Honest! After studying many starfish pictures, I thought that I would try to recreate the texture with royal icing and nonpareils. Let me show you how I made them!
The Wizard of Oz holds some intense memories for me. The flying monkeys. "I'll get you my pretty!" in that unforgettable voice. When the witch's legs curl up after the house lands on her- yeah, that creeped me out the most. Those scenes spawned a *few* nightmares when I was little. As an adult, however, I can't help but tear up when Judy Garland sings "Over the Rainbow". There really is no place like home. And I still catch my breath when Dorothy opens her front door in Oz. You know the scene. It's magic.
So let me get the mushy stuff out of the way. I made these cookies for my husband (although my children will probably eat most of them) because I am, well, nuts about him. The typical Valentines hearts and flowers just doesn't "fit" our relationship. We are two crazy kids (err. .thirty-somethings) that were college sweethearts. Our offspring think we're whack-o when we crank up Young MC's "Bust a Move" and rap every word. Loudly. Some think we're bonkers because Mike encouraged me to quit my job to create cookies every day.
Yup- I am crazy about him, and our nutty ways. Which is why I made him some cookie nuts. And some cookie squirrels too. Because nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like some squirrels and their nuts. At least it does in my house. Thanksgiving and the weekend that follows are big hunting days where I live. A few extra days off of work and lots of Thanksgiving leftovers makes hunting even more enjoyable. Folks bundle themselves up, head to their favorite stand, and wait for that perfect buck to show up. Kinda like these realistic deer! Take a look at the "before" and "after" below. After I created the deer and allowed it to dry, I wanted to take it to the next level. I pulled out my trusty airbrush and went to town. Look at the difference a little shading makes! Sometimes, I get a little overzealous with my airbrushing, and over-shoot my intended target. Time to pull out the trusty boo-boo stick to scrape the extra coloring from the cookie.
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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'll create! I'll bring the coffee- maybe Mike (The Cookie Widower) will make it for us. Categories
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