Confessions of a Cookie Baker: Games Cookie-Bakers Play...

Confession:  I usually bake extra cookies, to make sure that I have plenty to complete an order, but frankly, by the time I have finished the order, I am often bored of decorating them.











So, when that happens, my girls and I play a little creativity game, common among cookie-bakers... we try to come up with as many ideas for the same cookie cutter as we can. For example, this cookie cutter, which started out as Curious George, ended up as a baby and a London Underground sign.










(Sometimes I don't even fully decorate them, I just use the icing I have on hand, so the colors might not be right, etc., but it is fun to try new things and stretch our imaginations!)







When we don't want to use up the cookies, we just trace the cookie cutter onto paper and design that way.  Here are the ideas that Reader R., my 7 y.o., came up with for this cookie cutter...

I think her ideas are pretty creative!  I think this "Alien Spaceship" with the creature saying "Bye!" is my favorite! ;^)






For some other great examples of how this cookie game is played check out these great blog posts:

• One of my favorite cookie artists, Georgeanne at Lila Loa, created this cookie cutter contest.  Make sure you see the winners, but don't miss the more than 300 ideas for using this cookie cutter.   
• When cookie artists go to Cookie Camp, they play this game too! Check out the amazing things that they can do with a tea cup, a car, a funny Easter chick, a cupcake and a butterfly shape!

And then, when we don't have the perfect cookie cutter, despite having hundreds of them, we just make one up. In this case, the "Yellow Hat" is actually a cowboy hat brim hand-trimmed flat with the handle of a purse baked together to make the smooth top, but that is a different game! ;^)

Callye, at Sweet Sugarbelle is a master at the combining cookie cutters game.  Check out the cute ones she just made for the Olympics with a tie and a circle or my current favorite combining a top hat and a chocolate kiss.

So, now you know what cookiers do when it is too hot to turn on the oven!

Have a great day!
Sarah

It's a GIRL!

Congratulations to Carlene and Josh! Today is their big baby shower for their baby on the way!

Carlene and Josh were pretty confident that they were having a boy... so they were pretty surprised when the ultrasound showed their pretty princess instead! Their good friends are hosting a "Barbie" themed baby shower to help them get used to the idea of all things girly!





These cookies coordinate with the invitations and were a fun way to mix baby and grown-up designs. Although, I did go slightly (more) batty switching back and forth from precise polka-dots to totally random zebra-stripes. ;^)    


I tried one in pink too... This pink zebra was done with a slightly different technique too. The traditional zebra-stripes are created on a completely dry white-iced cookie. I was very concerned about the black bleeding on to the white. This worked really well.

This pink zebra test cookie was done with a wet-on-wet technique, where I laid down the white base and then flooded the pink icing into the wet white icing. It seemed to work pretty well too. It was WAY faster. However, you can see that it did bleed a little bit, and it is a little more tricky to manage exactly where the lines end up.

I was also a little concerned because these cookies were traveling a long way, and due to the customer's travel schedule, she needed to pick up her cookies five days before the party, which meant that I was baking and decorating them more than a week before they would be eaten. I made sure that the cookies were done in time to be SUPER dry and then packed them tightly in a smaller bakery box, so that they wouldn't shift around during travel. I gave Sandra cookie care instructions: Do not leave them in the car. Do not put them in the fridge or freezer... And I saved one for myself to taste this morning, and sure enough, they were still delicious! Yippee!! I hope everyone at the party LOVED them! ;^)

This is the special extra cookie that I made for my friend Sandra, who placed this order. Sandra and Jason to celebrate their third wedding anniversary, so they still in the super-sweet-newlywed phase, but I cracked myself up wondering if she still loves him enough to share her cookie! ;^)

Cheers and Best Wishes! 

Sarah

Oh Baby! How Sweet It is to Love You!

Earlier this Spring, one of my dear church friends had a beautiful baby girl.  The Women's Ministry at our church had a baby shower for sweet Lila Margaret, which happened to be the day before her baptism.  At the time, I also happened to be short on cash in the gift-giving budget, but long on ideas for beautiful cookies to celebrate the birth and baptism of this special baby girl, so Momma and Daddy got a gift basket from Sarah's Sweet Shoppe, filled with yummy cookies! ;^)

These "sign" cookies were my first attempt at using a "#1" tip for icing decorations.  Even with that small of a tip, it took several tries to squeeze all of those words on the big cookie! ;^)

 My wishes for their sweet family!

The "Daughter of the King" onesie is my favorite!

 I baked some of the cookies on sticks, so that they would "stick" up at the back of the basket. ;^) That backfired on me when one of the sticks broke out of the cookie while I was putting it in the bag.  No problem.  I just took another cross cookie and used Royal Icing to "glue" the stick back in place and covered it with the extra cookie. ;^) Extra cookies save the day (again)!

Top Right Cross reads: "Lila Margaret ~ Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

In the final gift basket, I ended up hiding the small hearts down inside the basket to hold the other cookies in their places better.  After this photo was taken, I put the whole thing in a gift bag and tied it with a bow.  It was a beautiful gift (if I do say so myself...;^)) and Rachel appreciated the time and effort that went into creating such a personalized gift of love.  Besides, who really needs more baby clothes anyway, right?

The finished Gift Basket with the Hearts tucked inside!

I also made these baby hands and feet, but they didn't make the cut for the basket.  It was fun to try my new cutters, but I wasn't completely happy with how they turned out, this time. ;^)

Congratulations Rachel and Johnny!
Happy Baptism Lila!

Love,
Mrs. Rose

  

Cookie-d Memories: My Magnum Opus

Have you ever thought... "This is it!  I'd better stop now,
because it could not get any better than this?"  

This is how I feel about these very special cookies.  I am not sure that I will ever love any cookies more than these "Happy Birthday" cookies I made for my very dearest friend, Dana, who is celebrating a big birthday this year.  As my gift to her, I created these cookies, which show not only where she has been, but my wish for her future and the foundation for the wonderful woman she is.

Dana and I meet in college at William Jewell College, in Liberty, MO.  We were kindred-spirits from day one and have been best friends ever since!  She is younger than I am, so we didn't always have our adventures that the same time... but we have so many memories in common it was almost like cookie-ing my own life story!

My favorite college English professor, Mike Williams, once said "Is a tree ever just a tree? No, it is a tree laden with deep symbolic meaning."  Well, is a cookie ever just a cookie?  Maybe.  But not it this case... each cookie is a cookie laden with deep symbolic meaning. (This is your warning... if you don't want all the sappy details of the cookies of my life, and can live with the guilt... bail now!)


My birthday wish for Dana, although it wouldn't all fit on the luggage tag, was that:

"Where ever life takes you,
May you always have your faith,
your family & your friends,
your compass & your big backpack."

(Please graciously ignore that it says "Whereever" with no space.  I have never been a good speller. A former teacher used to say that "My mind just worked too fast to bother with getting the letters in the right places." [Which by the way is why I had such a hard time with college prep vocab, not because I didn't know the definitions, but because I couldn't spell the words.]  However, now that I am trying to help my Reader R. learn to spell, I am convinced that I am just silly and lazy in that area of life.  I mean really, how long would it have taken for me to google which "Where ever" or "Wherever" to use... [twenty-two seconds, because I just did it to figure out which was right before I wrote this], but instead, I just did it and hoped no one would notice that it wasn't right, if it wasn't, which I wasn't convinced of, until I googled it a second ago.  Of course, I also knew, deep down that I couldn't just let it slip by now that I knew that it was incorrect, but rather, had to point it out to the rest of the world and admit what I goof I am... instead, I will just say "My mind was working too fast to bother with getting the letters in the right places" and leave it at that.)

This cookie is for Dana's faith.  Her strong faith gives her true joy and gratitude, even in the difficult times.  She is an amazing sister and such an inspiration and encouragement to me.  (OK, are you still with me?  Was that deep symbolic meaning too much for you?)

These cookies represent Dana's family!  Her mother LOVE Mickey Mouse, so that cookie is for her parents and her family of origin.  She is married to a wonderful man named David, so the heart is their monogram. And she has two precious children, a girl and a boy.






This is my cookie.  (Yes. I cookie-d myself into her present.... tacky? A little, maybe, but we are dearest friends.)  So, yes, if I were a cookie, I would look like this.  (Just stick around, I may turn into one yet.  They say "You are what you eat.")  No, seriously, I love tea pots and my last name is Rose.  It doesn't get any more simple than that.  (OK, except for the cross.  That one was a give-away.)  What I love about this cookie, is that I tried the brush embroidery that Alison at Ali Bee's Bakeshop taught me!  Thanks, Alison!

The mortarboard is for our Alma Mater and the value of the education and life lessons that we learned there.  The compass is actually the Outward Bound logo.  We both spent 14 days in the Florida Everglades, canoeing and serving on an Outward Bound High Adventure trip during college, but also it serves as a reminder of Stephen Covey's concept of "True North" and always knowing what is really important to you.  The "Big Backpack" is symbolic of hopes and dreams.  We were recently discussing that although we are officially grown-ups and are working hard to de-clutter our homes, one of the seemingly odd items that we cannot seem to part with is our "Big Backpack" that we used to hike all over Europe.  (The squiggles in the background are supposed to be a journal entry.)  These two cookies are also fun because they are the first time that I tried painting on a cookie.  Thank you to Liz, a.k.a. Arty McGoo and Alison from Ali Bee's Bakeshop for the inspiration and the great tutorials.

"Oh the places you will go!"  During college, Dana and I both studied oversees in Oxford England, not at the same time.  We also both had the same internship in New York City, not at the same time.  I also had a Dora the Explore potty training sticker of Eiffel Tour on my shirt as I was decorating, so I toddled off into Na-Na land and created an Eiffel Tour sticker, hoping that she, too, like Dora and myself, had been to Paris. (Deep huh?) Turns out, she has a really great story about meeting a mutual friend and sorority sister under the Eiffel Tour, that I am sure I have heard at some point in the last 15 years and just happened to subconsciously bring up in time to make the perfect cookies for her birthday.  Thank you to Anne at the Flour Box, who convinced me that yes, I could make a telephone booth cookie, and Kim at the TomKat Studio for the tutorial on how to make an Eiffel Tower.  Although, both would have been easier with a KopyKake projector than drawing them by hand, looking at Dora the Explorer stickers for reference.

So, I individually-wrapped each cookie and bundled up our memories in a gift basket.  I added the outer-wrap so that they wouldn't spill out, and I VERY carefully delivered these delicious wishes to my very best friend.   (By the way, it is very hard to get a good photo of a gift basket... sorry.)

We laughed.  We cried.  We smiled so much our faces hurt, like rush in college.  We shared memories.  It was wonderful!  Thank you Dana for having a birthday, so that I could make these cookies!  (Which turned out to be a "for-you-for-me" gift... sorry!)

"We will always be dear old friends, 

until we are old and senile, 

then we will be dear new friends again."

I also want to say a brief thank you, my husband and my girls for supporting my cookie dream, to my parents for providing so many of these life-forming experiences, to my family and friends for buying my cookies, to all of my cookie mentors (whom I have never actually met, but feel like we are close friends), but especially Jodi at Wonderland Cookie Co.who taught me not to be afraid to link to cookies that are prettier than mine, and to my almost 100 followers who read my ramblings on a regular basis.  Thank you! 

Cheers!
Sarah

Confessions of a Cookie Baker: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Making of the Rainbow Treats!

Hi Friends,

Yesterday, I shared baby K's special rainbow 1st Birthday Party!    As promised, today, I am going to share a few photos of what it takes to make 3 dozen rainbow cookies and more than 18 dozen rainbow mints. 



My copy of the "inspiration" cookie!



First, a huge shout out goes to Callye at The Adventures of Sweet Sugarbelle for teaching me how to make these rainbow cookies!  Her blog gives detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to make this cookie (and many others).  (I also love how she is willing to share her "mistakes" so that we do not have to make them!!)  Callye, you and the other cookie mentors, are a HUGE blessing to those of us who are just getting started, stretching our imaginations and helping us to believe that we really can create cookies as cute as the ones we, and our customers, see online.  Thank you!!! 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My dear friend, and dream-customer, Kara contacted me in OCTOBER, to just chat about what we could do for her baby's 1st Birthday party in JANUARY!  (LOVE THAT!)  She sent me some photos of cookie ideas she had seen online, including Callye's rainbow... and we went from there.


So, when I get a cookie order, after we have finalized the details, I book it on my cookie calendar, and send a confirmation e-mail, with a copy of a detailed invoice, just to make sure that everyone is on the same page.  (Don't want your cookies to be delivered on the wrong day or have your child's name spelled incorrectly!)

Then, I work out my baking schedule.  Because I am a wife first, mom second..., and cookie-baker about fourteenth, I slot out small bits of time, over several days, to make your cookies.   I save four or five sessions, between an hour and two hours each, for:

1. Mixing cookie dough, 
2. Rolling, cutting & baking, 
3. Making frosting/icing/flood, 
4. Decorating & drying time,
5. Photos & packaging.

Unfortunately, I didn't think of this "behind-the-scenes" idea, while I was working on the project, or I would have a lot more photos to show you... like the 14 lbs. of powdered sugar I used, or the huge pile of dishes I washed, several times... ;^) but here are the fun picture I do have that I thought I would share...

When I purchased 18 squeeze-bottles for Royal Icing flood icing, I thought I was CRAZY, that I would never use that many... but this is what it took to make my rainbows (and two dozen+ Legos).



Rainbows and Legos Drying



I decorate my cookies on these trays, so that I can move them back and forth from the kitchen to my dining room where they dry.  (I put the chairs up around the room, so that my kids can't get too close!)

(I am also really glad that I don't have a photo of me standing on my dining room chair trying to take this photo...not pretty.)

Time for the "How many cookies can I squeeze in the box?" Game.

Photographing and packaging the cookies are fun too!  I usually take a LOT of photos of my cookie creations. 


(It doesn't help that I usually finish them in the middle of the night, so the lighting isn't the best.  I need to make a light box!  Also, I have promised myself to learn how to take better photos of my cookies and learn how to edit them better too, but I have been too busy baking to take the time, which is really a good problem to have. ;^))

All boxed up and ready to go!  

This is what the packaged box looks like.  I tie it with silver curling ribbon and add my business card.  I usually try to include a special "Thank You" cookie package too!

(I finally got smart (and a little bit of capital ;^) and purchased a bunch of boxes, so now I don't have to go to the store and buy a box for each order.)

For this special 1st birthday order, I wanted to do a rainbow onesie for my special "Thank You" cookie.  "Thank You" cookies are extra fun for me, because there are no expectations (which makes them easy to exceed...).  It gives me a chance to try new ideas and cookie designs in a "no fail" environment.  For example, I wanted to try a tie-dyed onesie, for this uber-cool family, but it didn't turn out the way that I expected, so I also tried a simple heart and then a cute rainbow.  

(I made this one because rainbows always remind me of God's covenant love for His people. In this case, it reminded me of how Baby K is surrounded by the love of her family.)

The rainbow turned out adorable... so I added these little rainbow hearts too.  Then I put the baby's name on the onesie and her family's names on each of the hearts.  It turned out so cute!  And a really fun surprise for everyone!  

Now, the cookies were done and it was time to start the mints...

The mints were an extra special touch for this order.  Kara's girls had my mints at an American Heritage Girls awards ceremony.  (If you haven't heard of AHG, check it out!  It is an amazing organization for training young ladies!)  Anyway, Kara's girls loved my mints, and so she ordered sets of rainbow-colored mints for party favors.  6 mints X 36 party favors = a LOT of mints!


I dried them on my trays in stripes to make it easier to package them.  Only a bit slap-happy, this is what they looked like on my "drying room table."

Whether I am baking cookies or mints, I always make extras.  I have a fear that I am going to drop a whole tray and have to start over from step one.  Someday I will.  Until then, my friends and family will have to eat the extras. ;^)  

When I party-favor wrap my treats, I always put my label on the back of the package.  That way, whomever ends up with the treat knows where they came from and can contact me for the ingredients and allergy information, just in case. 

Thanks for following the steps I go through to complete a cookie order.  Now, you can see how much love I bake into every batch!

Have a great day!
Sarah







Rainbows, Rainbows Everywhere!

One of my dear friends, Kara,  invited me to be a part of the 1st Birthday celebration for her sweet baby girl! 


My Rainbow Cookie - For more information on the Rainbow Cookie,
check out my "Rainbow Party - A Behind the Scenes Look" post.



It was a rainbow themed party!  I baked the cookies (Thanks Callye  at The Adventures of Sweet Sugarbelle for the tutorial)  and made the rainbow-colored mints that she sent home as party favors. 

Rainbow-colored Mints for Party Favors.



Kara baked cool colorful cakes in jars and made this wooden rainbow puzzle with her girls!



They had a whole rainbow of healthy snacks, too!



Kara did EVERYTHING else to create a wonderful and memorable event... including providing me with these great photos of the party!  She is a great friend and a totally awesome mom to four adorable girls!  She thought of everything!  Here are a few of her great ideas!



I love how she decorated baby K's tray with ribbons!



She did fun rainbow face-painting!



She even rainbow-colored the soap in the bathroom! ;^)



Thanks Kara for letting me be a part of baby K's special day!



Check out this cutie!  A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand! 
Happy Birthday, sweet baby K!



Like anything worthwhile, a lot of love (and work) goes into making it extra-special, check out my next post for a fun, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the rainbow treats. 

Thanks!
Sarah