Sweet Simple Baby Cookies

Yes.  It's been a while.  Hopefully I'll get Christmas cookies up this year.  There is really no telling and I'm not even going to pretend that I have any of this all planned and together,

So here is my random cookie enjoyment for the day,

I made these cookies a while back for a baby shower for a friends beautiful new baby boy

Cabbage Babies

So my husband bought me a KK a while back.....and I never used it.

Now that we moved, I didn't have the space to bring it with me.  So there it is...gone now.

Never used.

Except once.....

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello out there!!

Yes, I know, long time no see....read...whatever.

Let's catch up shall we?  July last year I made a sudden move back to Texas (Howdy Y'all!).  Got a job in commission sales,,,,new home sales to be exact...and I love my new job.  Husband came back from his work in California and started school learning high end automotive tuning (I think that sounds right)....Sophie is in Kindergarten and John is just the sweetest funniest little guy EVER!  (Naturally.... )

Anyway....I made these a while back....and it's nothing new....just a throwback to one of my earliest and most favorite designs...

These are Ecrandal lingerie cutters.....I have had this cutter for like 5 years at least now and it still looks practically new.  Love these cutter.  Love the shop. Love the people.

Anyway, back to life....

I am going to try really hard to get on here and do more posts...be more active.  It's going to be hard....Full time job, husband, kids, new place...it takes up time.  But hey, I'm back in Texas which means...

I CAN TAKE ORDERS AGAIN!!

Baby Season

So it seems to be baby season.  I've done so many baby shower sets.  AND I've received good news that one of my good friends is expecting her first in December.

So I'm not sure what it is about summer babies....is it the settling of the cool weather in the fall?  Make people stay indoors??  I dunno.

Anyway, I'm not going to knock it because I love making baby shower cookies :)

So expect to see some soon.

In the mean time, if YOU are in the business of making baby....cookies that is.  Here are a few gorgeous cutters that you might like.

Housewarming

Going to make this one short because I am SWAMPED with house work...and making cookies of course ;)  In fact today is banana bread day.  AND I just received my new beater blade for my 7 qt Kitchen-aid that I got for Christmas so I'm psyched to test it out.

I made these for a friend who had just moved into her new home:

A Very Special Baby Shower

Don't hav too much time to type unfortunately.  Have a child who woke up late for school and a baby that wants breakfast...kids and eating...weird huh?

Anyway, it's been the month of babies!!  My dear dear friend Callye at Sweet Sugar Belle and my friend Georganne at Lila Lola both had beautiful baby girls this month!  So I am participating with a number of other extremely talented cookie decorators to celebrate the birth of these new "Cookie Princesses".

It's a ROYAL BABY SHOWER!

Get it?

Ok.....

Quick Chocolate Covered Cherrry "Cake Balls"

Yes, yes.....I know the last time I posted it was "cake pops" but I couldn't resist...

I get out to Rogers, Arkansas about twice a month.  Sometimes I wanna shop, or return an item I ordered in the mail to a store or go to the grocery store......I'll tell you it's mostly to go to yarn stores.....and the grocery store.

All I can say is that the grocery stores around the immediate are are below my usual expectations having grown up in a large city at lest less than a mile away from a Central Market or some other equivilant.  Yes, I'm a grocery snob.  Not afraid to admit it.  To me the grocery store...like a really awesome grocery store...just the same as Disney Land to a kid.

Sometimes I also just wanna head out of Dodge and Rogers is only 45 minutes away....

Anyway, last time I was there I stopped into Fresh Market (like ya do) and went by there bakery section.   Now I love the bakery section there.  Not only are the desserts in the case gorgeous....they always have some sort of interesting seasonal doughnut holes for sale.

This month: Cherry.

Candy House!

Aaaaaaand that's it!! :)

So here it is...the last day to enter the giveaway.

So ENTER!

Ya know how I've been a little vague on what exactly I would be buying at Candy House to give away??

Well that's because I didn't quite know.  Ya see, I never know what I'm going to get until I step in the shop (and it's the cutest little shop too....I'll Instagram a pic next time I'm there.)

Well I went this morning.  They open at 9:30....I was there at 9:33......would have been there sooner if I hadn't been jonesin' for a Chai Tea Latte.....

Anyway.....here's what I bought for the winner of the giveaway!!

That's one gift basket my friends....and one of each flavor of candy apple they make!

Let's see.....what's in that gift bag??

Down Knockturn Alley

So I was thinking of doing some kinda Harry Potter set for Halloween....

But then I realized that I have kids and a house to clean and all that so I had to downsize that project...

So I started to think about the creepiness of Harry Potter....you know, the dark magic... and that scene where he says "diagonally" in the flue instead of Diagon Alley.....and he ends up in Knockturn Alley...and that creepy shop.....

Sorry, my nerd is showing.  I'll cover that up.....

Anyways I was imagining what the shop signs down Knockturn Alley would look like....and I ended up with this:

Pink and White Chip Cookies: Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month!

So it's time to take a break from Black and Orange and all spookiness...

And think about something that really is spooky....breast cancer.

Now I'm not going to get all gloom on you guys...it's about awareness.  So for this month I'm only going to tell you once...

Get your screenings, do your self checks, and donate, run, walk, whatever for the cause.

Lecture over.....well done.

Now reward yourself for keeping care of your self and your fellow gal by making some of these cute and delicious drop cookies :)

The Perfect Chocolate Cupcake

So a while back...wow almost a year ago I made some of the most perfect cupcakes ever.  Perfect chocolate cupcakes.  I have always been fond of Joy the Baker's chocolate cupcake recipe...but sometimes it is a little unreliable.  I've had them cave in more times than they've com out....

So I did some tinkering from another recipe I use quite a bit and came out with perfect, fool proof, soft, delicious chocolate cupcakes.

They're awesome.  Served them at my daughter's 4th birthday party and they were a smashing success....

Here's her cupcakes from last year...

TUTORIAL: Dracula In Love

So I was searching my brain for something cute to design for Halloween....and all I could think of was that movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall....and that Dracula love ballad..

Hillarious if you haven't seen it.  Jason Segal....

Anyway.....that's how I ended up with this:

Yes...Dracula is in love.... and he has it baaaaaaad.

Who is he in love with??  Uh...I dunno...probably a blood bank tech....

No matter....

To share the love I thought I would also share a little tutorial for y'all....simple and sweet...

Then maybe a few more shots of the collection here...because I took a bajillion pics....weird right?  I mean me?  Taking way too many pics of cookies?????

Batty for Blackberry Pie! (And Pie Crust Cookie Bats)

I'm kind of a batty lady...

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ok no I'm not really....just tired...and a little delirious...so this post might be a little strange...

But hey, you'll get a yummy recipe from it so....there's that.

Oooooo..looks creepy and Gothic...like it could be filled with baked black beetles.  Blackberry Beetles...

Baked Blackberry Beetles.....say that 6 times fast...

Ok, it isn't that hard ...never mind.

Anyway!!  It'a a blackberry pie!  A mini blackberry pie!  Make that 2 in this picture....make that 3 to 4 from this recipe that I'm just about to give you...

TUTORIAL: From the Vault: Fall Pumpkin Wagons

Gotta make this a quick post unfortunately  Baby John is in his fussy state today....trying to breath fire.  And my oldest refuses to clean her play room and is trying to get into my cookies....so.  I need to be efficient.

It' a really quick and easy photo tut of PUMPKIN WAGONS!!

And can you guess what cutter I used??

Double Chocolate Cookies

I like drop cookies...a lot.

I mean don't get me wrong...I love decorating...but there's something in the oh so instant gratification of just dropping dough on the cookie sheet and puting it in the oven.....

And then doin' NOTHING with it.

Ahhhhhh.....the simple life.

Ok so I couldn't leave them COMPLETELY alone....just a few...little eyeballs....

Anyway,  these cookies are AMAZING!  Like a delicious brownie. I kid you not.  The perfect texture, the perfect size, not cakey, not too dense, not too chewy...soft and light.... DELICIOUS.  And so easy to make!!!

Haunted Halloween: Go Bo!

So I decided to make 2 sets to donate to the Bo Go Bake Sale this year...I dunno...to make up for missing it last year I suppose.

My first set was simple, and happy and fall....

So this set...well I went a little Tim Burton....or maybe I flatter myself.....But it kind of reminds me of a Gothic Alice and Wonderland....

I really like these.  I was on the line about them...hubs thought they just looked dirty...then I had to admit to him that that was sort of the point...it's meant to resemble old wallpaper or something that's getting that black around the edges.  Like a house that was once bright and colorful....gone dark

Tutorial: Speckling with Luster Dust

Ok, I have a really easy tutorial for you...of course I did it in video because it's one of the only ways to really show you how to speckle...it's more of a live action kinda thing...


But first let me tell you a little about the cookies I speckled.

I made these for the Go Bo Foundation.  Follow the link to learn more.  This is one of two sets I plan on donating to the Go Bo Bake Sale.

Caramel Macchiato Brownies

So I will admit....I'm not a huge coffee drinker.  I'm a little sensitive to caffeine.  That and I can't just drink it black.  I have to have some cream and sugar...THEN I like coffee...

So I STAY AWAY from Starbucks...because they have that SUGAR+coffee thing down....to a science.  

When fall comes around...sucker for those pumpkin spice....everything.  I try to limit myself to a skinny non fat cinnamon latte if I EVER decide I will give in to coffee....in college coffee and I were pretty tight...amigos...campadres...

Anyway....I don't drink coffee...I drink caffeinated sugar milk basically.....and that is why I am not a huge coffee drinker.

Doesn't mean I don't still WANT the sugar cream concoction...I do.  And I would have to say the KING of the over sugared creamy coffee drink would be...

The Caramel Macchiato

those yummy caramels are from Firefly Confections

I wanted one really bad the other day and I had no clue why....  Maybe I was in a caramel mood...but I was also in a dark chocolate coffee mood.  I was at a loss...

So I baked me some brownies...and put coffee in it....and then topped it with thick caramel sauce....and sugar...and chocolate...

Because I'M BAD!

TUTORIAL: One Stroke Flowers

I made these cookies for my MIL last year.  I was feeling inventive....and my MIL is a super awesome woman and I love her.  So I wanted to do something pretty for her.  But I didn't have a lot of time.  So I had to cut a corner...my usual corner cut is to not mix colors.  I will make white cookies (because I don't have to color the icing to do that) and then airbrush....  or paint.

Now I know I have stated before that I am not the best at painting at cookies....Mostly because it's like painting with watercolors and that's just not my thing....but I still know a few painting techniques.

I remember in art class being taught this really easy way to paint two toned flowers.  It's called a one stroke technique.  Because you can apply 2 colors in one stroke and make a beautiful petal.

Peach Ice Cream with Ginger Peach Compote

Peach Season is almost over....

Remember my last post on peaches?  How I talked about childhood memories of making peach ice cream?

Think I was going to let peach season pass and NOT make peach ice cream?

Heck, think I was going to let SUMMER pass and not make any ice cream AT ALL??

Those crazy words....

Of course I'm going to make peach ice cream.  It's one of my faves.  I made this batch for my mom last time she was here.  She was really wanting peach ice cream and we had a very fine bunch of peaches...I mean I kinda went peach crazy when she was here.  Peach-tacular.