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?????

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.

Tutorial: Angels

A little while back a reader sent me an email asking of I had a tutorial for my little angels I made 2 years ago that was hosted on Frosting For The Cause.  She informed me that the link to the tutorial I made didn't work.  I checked it out, and sure enough the site is down.  So no one can get to the tut.  So I thought I would re post it here now.

Keep in mind, I made these 2 years ago!  If I were to make these now I probably would have just piped the hearts straight on instead of doing RI transfers....and even if I was to do RI transfers, I would do them over a sheet printed with hearts so that they were all the same.  But that's just the perfectionist in me.  They're still cute.
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I have been fortunate in my life to not know anyone personally affected by cancer. Though I don't have any personal experience to share, I am aware of the pain it can cause families and the devastation it can leave behind. I thank the Lord daily for my fortune. It saddens me to know that out there somewhere a woman is battling with her own body.

Keep up the fight ladies

So today, in honor and memory of those waging war against cancer we're going to make cookies. Cookies make everything a little easier to swallow. :)

Tutorial: Christmas Bow

So like so many people this season, my schedule looks like this:

go go go...to-do to-do to-do....shopping shopping shopping...work work work...party party party...

Christmas.

Did I mention party?  I think there's something going on every weekend for the next month... maybe more.  Who knows.  Anyway, with all these parties going on (which I love btw....I mean who doesn't love a good party around Christmas?) I get asked to make a lot of cookies.

Yesterday I went to my first cookie exchange party.  And I had to bring cookies (duh).  4 dozen of them.  Well, with everything else going on this month, I don't have a ton of time to make really exquisite Christmas cookies in large batches.  And I would imagine neither do a lot of people...I mean we have to get everything done to get ready for Christmas.  There's social engagements, the shopping, the cooking, decorating.... and of course we want to spend time with our family.  So when it comes to cookies like these....I keep them old school simple.

Classic simple and festive.  Does the job.  And it's cute to boot.

My Post Cookie Con Hand Painting Attempt

Also known as, my week trying to be as cool as Arty.

Well, I'm back from Cookie Con, and still not even kind of caught up on all the excitement.  I'm reeling.  It was AWESOME....with a capital AWE.

I'll do a Cookie Con recap later this week (or next), but for now I wanted to talk about something particular.

So Arty McGoo was there teaching in our little troupe that weekend.  And she did her all famous hand painting.  Really, if you enjoy damp dark places and have decided to live under a rock, and don't know who I'm talking about.... CLICK HERE.

Anyway, she did her demo on hand painting and somewhere during her presentation I said (aloud...why did I say it aloud?) "I think I can do that".

Then after Liz and I chatted, and she told me how fast and easy it was to paint on cookies.  I'm all for fast and easy....

And I came home.....and had a deadline to meet...and thought....quick and easy....ok... let's do this!

And after a WEEK this is what I came up with

Gothic Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!!  :)

Chocolate and White Halloween

I really don't enjoy black icing.

I just don't.  So I try and use it as sparingly as humanly possible.

Well during my design session for this years Halloween cookies, I noticed quite a few designs that required black icing....and we're talking lots of black......

Me no likey that....

So here's what I did instead

Right so it's not exactly black but the general point is made.  And the best part about it....you only have to mix one icing color.  If that.  It's just white.  White icing on chocolate cookies.

Now I suppose I could have added more cocoa or a little bit of Americolor black to the dough to make it darker....yes, that would have been nice looking.  But I didn't....because I didn't think of it till after I baked them.  Crikey.

But still....for some fast and easy cookies...not too shabby.  I used a little bit of Americolor black mixed with some water and painted on my remaining details.  These were seriously fast...and fun too!!  I even put a little sanding sugar on my ghost and moon.

I will be posting the last of my Halloween cookies tomorrow...on Halloween.  Seems fitting.

Till tomorrow!!!

Beautiful Bridal Shower

 So there isn't going to be toooooo much talking in this post.  Basically, I made cookies for a local wedding shower.  And there's not too much to say about it.  Tho, I am going to show you, in one photo, my general inspiration to design process.  Exciting, yes?  Ok well maybe not thrilling....

 

Tutorial: Hand Painting - The Basics

So a couple days ago I posted these:

And I instantly got questions about these:

Notes From A Kitchen - Bonus TUTORIAL

I was trying to thin of some clever, cute, witty way to start this post, but I'm blanking.  So let's just jump to the good stuff.  Save the witty banter for later. 

  

Tutorial: Making Royal Icing

It's hard to decorate a cookie without icing.  Some use butter cream, some use glaze...

I use ROYAL.  I like royal simply because it gives me the versatility and detail that I like.  I can make transfers, flowers, crisp clean lines, leaves...just about anything I like. 

 Royal Icing

5 TBSP Meringue Powder
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 c. water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp additional flavoring (optional)
2lb confectioners sugar
1 TBSP to 1/4 c. Light corn syrup


Place meringue powder, cream of tartar, water and flavoring in the CLEAN bowl

From The Vault: Mardi Gras

Sick.  I've been sick.  Deathly ill.  So the totally awesome Mardi Gras cookies I made this year, aren't yet ready for posting.  Mostly because I don't think snot is a very Mardi Gras kind of thing.  Doesn't fit with the theme.  Well, not for me anyway.  Different strokes for different folks....

My Valentine's Day

Well, since I never got around to posting these yesterday I might as well post them now and tell you about my Valentine's Day