Valpo Baseball Cookie(s)

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I was soo excited when my Aunt, after looking at this blog,
contacted me to make a cookie for her upcoming party. She has made and decorated these cookies for years and she trusted me to make one for her big party and I was honored to do it!  Plus, sports themes and mascot recreations are something I love doing for cookies and I was really pumped to get started on this one and make a great impression.

My cousin is a pitcher for the Valpo University baseball team.

Today, my Aunt and Uncle hosted 70 baseball players and parents at their house after a game against Butler. Their house and decor for parties always impress guests so I knew this cookie needed to do the same. 

And yes I said cookie (singular), but I'll discuss that later :)

My Aunt was a great help in designing the cookie. She had an idea of everything that she wanted to see included on the cookie and she sent me all the logos and info I needed which saved me time, but still gave me the freedom to put together the cookie and do all the finishing in my own way. 

I chose to do the more intricate Valpo logo because I think it makes a much stronger impression and a better look for the cookie. The 'baseball' banner underneath the University name is my own addition as an attempt to incorporate baseball into that center image. The baseballs themselves balance the cookie and stand out well along the edges while giving it a little extra detail with some clear sprinkles. The ribbon border is one of my favorite looks and the yellow ribbon connecting the baseballs was perfect for this cookie! The finishing touch was a generous sprinkling of silver sprinkles all around the edge to contrast the black tray and add a special touch. With a little text to cheer on the crusaders and some graphic designs to help bring the baseballs and the logo together I think I achieved a pretty well executed cookie that I am really proud to have created. 

but....

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Unfortunately, I had made a mistake!!

That cookie that I just decorated was supposed to be made without nuts! (A point that apparently slipped my mind while baking). To remedy this situation I decided to bake and design another cookie, the way my aunt had ordered it this time. Even though it was made and decorated in a short amount of time, the second cookie needed to match the look and quality of the first. For this second cookie, I wanted to do something more directly related to the baseball team itself so I chose to put their jersey as a center piece. I outlined the jersey with some similar graphics as the first cookie, included another shout out to the crusaders, and finished it off with another ribbon border and a round of sprinkles just like the first. 

It was a good thing they were hosting 70 people because in the end they received both cookies for the party since I had made such a mistake. My Aunt was gracious enough to accept 2 cookies and happily they both worked extremely well together and looked great in the party roomed decked out in Valpo gear.