Sunset Housewarming Cookie

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When my brother was moving into his new house with his soon-to-be bride my mom asked me to make them a cookie for their small housewarming party. I knew that they were looking at beach themes and colors for the house and their laid back attitudes inspired this design.

I took a much more artistic approach to this design. In my 2D work in school I stick to a much freer looser look in my drawings and I decided to try and use that technique here to create the sunrise and the water with all the colors running together. I really like how the effect translates in the sunset and water reflection and gives a feeling of movement like that moment right before the sun disappears over the horizon when the last light spreads over the edge of the sky. A hammock hung between two palm trees and a bucket of cold beers complete the relaxing beach scene while the addition of the 'Home Sweet Home' title to a seemingly un-homey setting adds a bit of fun.

The sketchy feel of the cookie can be bit overwhelming so to break it up a bit I used the iridescent edible paint throughout the sand, on the beer bucket, and in the palm leaves to add some depth and highlight some specific areas. Without a defined border and the scene running off the edge of the cookie I think that the highlighting adds some more interest to the scene to allow it to continue over the edge and not need a boarder.

Christine's Bridal Shower Cookie

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 A bridal shower is such a great occasion for a cookie. It goes well with multiple other smaller desserts usually served at a shower such as cupcakes and it allows a better display of the bride's wedding theme for all to see. I personally enjoy making bridal shower cookies because the importance and elegance of a wedding allows me to pull out all the stops in terms of my designing skills. There is always a theme and specific colors or a specific design that the bride has for the big day and I get to add my spin on it to make the bride happy as we celebrate her on that day. 

For this cookie, a long time friend of mine from grade school through high school and now was getting married in St. Louis where she lives now with her husband. She came back home for a beautiful shower for all of our hometown friends and their mothers. It was a perfect shower and luncheon, but it was also an opportunity to showcase my cookies to my friends who all live in different cities now. 

For all these reasons I tried to make this cookie extra special and I spent hours trying to achieve my design objective which doesn't show well in photos, but which was really special in person. The white band across the cookie was where I put a lot of my focus using just icing to create an angled stair step appearance around the center icon that they used as the theme of their wedding. The white texture radiates  up and out from the center putting the focus on the center icon and is delicately detailed to emphasize the raised texture with iridescent sugar pearls and contrasting dark blue scrolls. A light blue folded ribbon finishes the detailed band nicely bringing it all together. 

Because of the amount of detail I put into the center portion I decided that a simple swirl pattern incorporating mostly the darker colors and smaller versions of their wedding theme icon would be appropriate and compliment the stark white of the band. Usually I don't like to used the darkest color right against the cookie because it gets lost, but in this execution I think it actually serves the design of the cookie better and I love the way it turned out.

The icon design is taken from a necklace off of Heidi Klum's jewelry line which the bride loved so much that she transformed it into her wedding theme. To distinguish the stark white in the center of the icon with the stark white surrounding it I utilized my awesome new technique that I discovered. I again chose to use the more elegant silver as opposed to a color which serves to make the names pop and works as a great background.

Overall, this was such a fun cookie to make for a good friend and I loved the icon and colors that I got to work with. All the hard work paid off and it was part of a perfect afternoon.

 

A better view of the textured band

Owen's Baptism Cookie

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When I get to create cookies for special occasions like Baptisms I always try to make it extra special and pull out all the stops in terms of utilizing new techniques. 

For this cookie for my nephew's baptism I again utilized design from the plates and napkins that his mom chose for the party as a base for my overall look. I really liked the way the last baptism cookie turned out so I kept a similar composition with the solid square in the center and cross on top surrounded by the design from the napkins. 

The cross is a large version of the one found on the napkins, but the different depths and textures added make it pop against the background which is something I am especially happy with and proud of because it's a new technique for me that I just discovered. Wilton makes an edible iridescent powder in all different colors that when added to a little bit of vanilla turns into a liquid that I can then paint with. This was my first attempt at this technique, but it turned out so well I plan on using it a lot. The silver color kept it elegant and was subdued enough that it only emphasized the cross and words written on top.

I like the bold and layered design of the swirls all around the edge and I think it holds its own as it travels down around the edges not needing a border, but relying on the design itself for all the impact.

Purse Party Cookie

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For all those who aren't in the know a purse party is just like the jewelry or Pampered Chef parties where a whole bunch of women get together for a sort of Girls Night while a representative comes to assist the guests in designing their own purses to be hand sewn for them.  As with any good girls night get together desserts are the real focus of the party and I wanted to make a fun, accessories focused cookie for the occasion.

Instead of just one centrally focused purse I chose to create many different purse designs to show off all the unique styles and scatter them all around the cookie. I was able to achieve a flatter shinier appearance on all the accessories I made by using some water and a paintbrush to blend all the rough icing together and make this cool stylish effect that worked really well to make these purses all pop. Each design is different and all are detailed some even getting some pink sprinkles! 

The rest of the cookie is filled in with some simple yet fun spirals and dots that fall off the edge and end in a simple sparkly pink border...perfect for that party and that crowd. Something like a purse party is a great occasion for me to be able to really have fun with my designs.

Pineapple Housewarming Cookie

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The pineapple is a symbol of welcome in some cultures, but all I knew when I was designing this cookie for my brother and his wife-to-be's housewarming party is that she absolutely LOVES pineapples and they pop up everywhere in the new house probably for that same reason.

I really wanted to focus on just the pineapple for this cookie since it was a quick one I made right before the party. So I decided that the texture of the pineapple was going to be the pop factor in the design. I used a simple star tip with the yellow icing to achieve that and then framed each section with the different greens to create a more layered and realistic look with real depth and texture. Since I had put so much detail into the body of the pineapple, the stem was a bit boring at first, but when I started adding the second green color and then swirling them together it really came together. A little white detailing added and the pineapple became the center of attention.

With the addition of the 'Welcome Home' title it all came together and was a hit for all the hungry family and friends who had worked all day cleaning and moving everything into the new house.

Ryan's Baptism Cookie

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 This was an ambitious design attempt for one of my first cookies of this detail, but I always love doing cookies for family members, especially for my only nephew (at that time) on his Baptism day.

Being one of my first cookies I decided to leave the intricate designing up to whoever it is that designs plates and napkins for Baptism parties...OK so I copied the design, so sue me. Everyone needs to start somewhere. I loved the spring colors and the level of detail around the center was right up my ally so I thought it was a great design to start with.

The green background is one flaw that I wish I had figured out how to remedy first. I couldn't get the icing to be as flat as I liked so I decided to keep the spatula marks which I didn't like in the end, but with the depth and detail of the cross which I LOVE and all the really beautiful detailing around the box it doesn't take away from the overall cookie. 

Bold capital text works well in this design and with the overall composition. The simple finishing around the edge brings it all together and finishes a great cookie. I really loved this cookie and I was so proud to present it at the baptism for all the families to see and enjoy.

Dolphin Birthday Cookie

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Created for my young cousin's 10th birthday. This was my first attempt at cookie decoration. It turned out much better than I had expected for such an ambitious design. I utilized all new techniques to me from using a wet paint brush to smooth out the icing to using my free hand drawing skills to create a fun water scene.  

My mom was too busy one day to decorate a cookie she had made for my cousin's birthday party so she asked me to do it for her. I decided to take it a little further and make it a truly unique cookie just for my cousin who was a fan of dolphins at the time. It's my first time making a cookie so why not draw a dolphin jumping out of the water, simple right? 

As you will see throughout this blog I love to challenge myself to make the best cookie I can and make it truly unique for those who are going to be enjoying it. My personal challenge usually yields a fantastic cookie for whoever it is that I'm making it for and that's what makes me happy at the end of the day! 

Mom's Original Cookie Design

Thanks mom for all the many painstaking hours spent baking and decorating birthday cookies for all of our birthdays throughout the years. We all appreciate your love and effort...

Gotta give my mom some credit here. It's her cookie recipe and icing that I use today and it was her original cookie design and decorating that inspired me...not to mention that I still use all her decorating tools from the time when she decorated cakes.