Easter – For the Love of Cookies

TUNDE’S SIMPLE ELEGANCE

April 29, 2023April 28, 2023sallybrLeave a comment

This is a delicate and beautiful set of cookies designed by Tunde Dugantsi, tutorial available once you join her Club Cookie Academy (totally worth it!). Visit her site (click here) for details and to come and play with us. As I told you in my previous post, cookie decorating is all about challenging yourself, and with this set I definitely pushed my limits a bit. The trickiest part of course, piping the central grid for the largest cookie. I found myself holding my breath and quite nervous, but I am glad I accepted the challenge!

Some of the steps to make the cookies are shown below… Tunde’s tutorial is very detailed and she makes it seem easy and straightforward to do, as if she is gently holding your hand. Her grid ends up with closer lines and a lot more finesse, but it is the kind of piping work that the more you do, the easier it gets. Pretty much like all in life, right?

What I love about this set is the use of a minimal number of colors: two tones of green, and ivory. That is all you need. The rest is patient piping of the details that do take the cookies to a higher level. If piping the grid feels like too much, you can use Sugarveil and make the grid that way, then glue to the cookie and pipe the design.

They would be perfect for Easter, for a Birthday party, a wedding set, or just to let someone know they are special to you!

Tunde has countless tutorials available for you once you become a member of her club, and she uploads new tutorial often, so come on over and be ready for some amazing cookie adventures!

ONE YEAR AGO: Dream Catcher Floral

TWO YEARS AGO: Fun with the Mini-Projector

AMY’S GNOME AND FLORAL FOR APRIL

April 14, 2023April 11, 2023sallybr1 Comment

To join Amy’s series (you can join now and have access to past and future tutorials), click here.

In perfect synchrony with the season, this month’s series matches a Bunny Gnome (!!!!) and a Carrot composition… how is THAT for creativity and cuteness?

Quite a few details went into the Bunny Gnome, I love the shoes, the beard and the little carrot he is holding tight…

It all starts by making the shoes (and if you want, also the nose) using fondant. The shoes are made with Easter egg molds that are cut at the base to fit well on the shape of the cookie. Once that is made and painted, you can start drawing the sections to be flooded. It all goes by super fast.

For the Floral Carrot, Amy used a cool method to add the background, to preserve some texture. Then the carrots and the green tops are added with thick consistency Royal icing, and tipless bags cut with scissors. Simple and straightforward.

The carrot piping is a great skill to have, but as Amy points out in the video, the main thing to pay attention to is – keep them looking as carrots. There is a danger zone in there (cough, cough, cough). I say no more. Very important to keep that in mind when piping the single carrot on the Bunny Gnome…

This was a very unusual and fun set to put together, and I am hoping whoever got these cookies when I donated them last week, got a smile with their sweets!

Before I leave, make sure to think about joiningAmy’s Gnome and Floral Adenture, by clicking on the link on top of this post. It is wonderful to see the productions everyone else comes up with, little variations in colors, and because the videos are available full-time, you can decide when to make any of the sets from past months, and wait for her next tutorial, usually available on the first day of the month.

ONE YEAR AGO: For the Love of Bunnies

BUNNIES BY THE WINDOW

April 11, 2023April 10, 2023sallybr3 Comments

I wanted to make them last year when I first watched Marlyn on a Facebook live, but time passed, and I missed that chance. You know how it goes. Summer arrives, bunnies take a secondary seat, pretty soon it is Fall and all you can think about are golden leaves and pumpkins. But, 2023 was not going to fool me. Here are my little bunnies, very curious creatures, looking for carrots to munch on.

To watch Marlyn demonstrating these cookies, click here (starts around the 12 minute mark).

Each of these cookies is actually a double, as you can see below when they are open… They are actually not glued together, just placed on top. I guess you could conceivably glue the two parts together, if you prefer. The bottom cookie has just the head of the bunny and a little decorative border. One thing to make sure is to pay attention to the space you have for the bunny’s head. I did not take in account the length of the ears and almost made a couple of them too big to fit in the window opening….

Below some of the steps to make them. Use pastel colors, and don’t be shy mixing and matching them for the details.

This was one super fun project for a Saturday morning. If you are insecure about piping the bunny over the cookie, you can use fondant molds or you can make them as Royal icing transfers. I was a bit worried about cratering, but the Gods of Icing were smiling at me that day. I am forever grateful!

As Marlyn pointed out in her video, these cookies will fit nicely in a small pizza box. No matter how you intend to package them, they will definitely make your friends smile!

ONE YEAR AGO: Colored Cookie Dough

SPRINGTIME SPRINGERLE

April 3, 2023April 2, 2023sallybr2 Comments

A few weeks ago Amy from @seriouslysweet invited her followers to do a collaboration cookie project for Easter. We could do anything we wanted, keeping pastel colors and the overall Easter-spring atmosphere. She suggested that I contributed with Springerle, as not very many people in the group bake that type of cookie. I went to work, and made a small batch, then selected my favorite shape, the butterfly, as my contribution. You can see all the entries in this super cool video Amy assembled, clicking here. Sit back and enjoy the show!

The butterfly mold can be found here. I bought mine in 2020, and used it many times. For this project, I kept the colors very simple and light, but of course the butterfly is the type of image that you can take in many different directions as far as colors go.

All cookies were painted with luster powder and vodka, some were finished with a light spray of PME pearl.

Another great mold that is the little bee over the flower. I bought this one in 2021, but it is sold out at the present time.

My most recent acquisition is the mold Eva’s Lace (available here). I think it is super elegant, and even without any painting will make gorgeous cookies.

Not exactly springerle, but my favorite chocolate cookie dough, worked well with a very unusual mold that I fell in love with recently, the grasshopper. Grasshopper mold & cutter can be found here.

I was worried that the mold would be hard to use, with so many details and very unusual shape for the cutter, but as all molds I own from KitchenVixen, this one worked super well!

Amy, thank you for organizing this cool collaboration event, I look forward to the next!

ONE YEAR AGO: Haniela’s Mini Bird House

HELLO BUNNIES!

March 30, 2023March 29, 2023sallybrLeave a comment

Easter is of my favorite seasons to celebrate with cookies! Bunnies and pastel colors… what’s not to like?

Starting with the bunnies… no need for projectors or templates, just improvise the bunny head and ears… then flood that area with white and immediately add the black pearls for the eyes. Let that set for half an hour or so, and fill the empty space with the color of your choice. Once the cookie is fully set, paint some pink for the ears and nose…

Simple to make, but I think quite effective!

The standing bunny was flooded in white and then I used a stencil to add the image, air-brushed in gold. Eyelashes and nose with food pen. The arc was flooded in white, once that set overnight I added the details, using pastel colors and piping consistency icing is yellow, pink, blue, and purple

Another variation for bunnies in the egg-shaped cookie is changing the background. Below, three ideas. For the first one, using a plaid stencil, you need to start making the background, allowing that to set overnight, then adding the pattern with air-brush. Once that is done you can add the white bunny component. For the other versions I either brushed with Americolor white before baking, or brushed with luster gold + vodka after baking.

I love the simplicity of these cookies, and how you can do so many different styles with the same basic design.

ONE YEAR AGO: The Quilt Challenge

BUNNY RABBIT NUT-FREE MACARONS

March 24, 2023March 21, 2023sallybrLeave a comment

Inspired by this post from Pies and Tacos, I made a batch of macarons filled with Oreo buttercream. I opted to dye the shells with a touch of gray, as white shells give me trouble. They often get dark at the edges in the final stage of baking.

The recipe for the sunflower seed macarons can be found here. I used a very small amount of Americolor Gun Powder to get this hint of gray. The template for the shells was downloaded from Pies and Tacos, where you will also find the recipe I used for the filling.

Sunflower seed macarons have a coarser texture, so to be safe I piped some regular round ones, in case I had issued baking the bunny shape. But the Macarons Gods were smiling on me that day, and they all baked without problems! After baking, I painted the ears with luster powder + vodka and added the details with food safe pen. A little dry pink luster powder for the cheeks for a final touch, and a fondant rose just because. The round ones were just painted with a fan brush using luster powder + vodka in two colors, pink and blue.

The Oreo buttercream is lovely! Make sure to crush them super thin (filling and all, not need to worry about it). The addition of cream cheese cuts the sweetness a bit. All in all, a great little macaron project for the season.

They were donated to the folks at my orthodontist office.
And they were very kind to share this photo on their Facebook page!

ONE YEAR AGO: Floral Needlepoint Cookie

TUNDE’S PLAYFUL EASTER COOKIES

March 17, 2023March 15, 2023sallybrLeave a comment

To join Tunde’s Cookie Club, visit her site with a click here.

Talk about an adorable set of cookies that would make any kid (or adult) smile? This is definitely it. Not terribly complicated to make, but challenging enough to make you feel accomplished once they are done. You will need a plaque cookie cutter (preferably large), a bunny, a large butterfly and a 6-petal flower cutter.

Starting with my favorite…

What a sweet, elegant cookie Tunde designed here! You make it in stages, the center part gets flooded and covered with sanding sugar first. Then the flooding on the adjacent area, once that sets, the details are incorporated. Tunde piped the roses with Royal icing in her tutorial, I went with fondant, and piped only the leaves. I just love this cookie so much!

These flowers open up a world of possible designs. I flooded the cookies the day before, then just needed white Royal icing in piping consistency and a tip #2. Fondant flowers for the centers.

How cute are those bunnies? You tell me! Very simple to decorate, flood, cover with sanding sugar and add the details. Once again I used fondant flowers and piped the leaves with icing. I had the eyes from a project last year, and put them to use for these babies, as Royal icing transfers. It’s always a good idea to save leftover transfers, you never know when they can come in handy.

The butterfly used brush embroidery, and I feel I could have done a better job, but I am still happy with it. The whole set goes so well together, it screams Easter and Spring!

Tunde, thank you so much for this super fun adventure! You style is so unique, and your videos are perfect for anyone to follow…

ONE YEAR AGO: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

HAPPY EASTER!

April 17, 2022January 16, 2023sallybr2 Comments

I am already a bit sad that Easter is going to be over… As far as cookie decorating goes, it is hard to beat the diversity and cuteness level that this holiday brings. Sadly, I still have some cookie cutters that were left unused, and must wait for next year to make their appearance. Today I share a few designs, my favorite is Marlyn’s Bunny Head, crowned with flowers. So so cute! But there is more: a bunny carrying a basket of flowers, a few Easter eggs, and a naughty bunny stealing a fancy Easter egg to run away with it.

Marlyn has a super detailed tutorial available in YouTube for the bunny head (click here). If you are a member of her Patreon site, you’ll find the stencil file to make decorating the cookie easier (click here).

I opted for a chocolate cookie, so I air-brushed the design in white over the naked cookie as a starting point. The stencil is used again over the iced cookie to add the final details.

Marlyn piped the floral design on the cookie, I made my life a bit easier by using fondant decorations, and the piped small leaves to tie the design together.

MOVING ON…

For the bunny with a basket, I followed a tutorial available in Cookie-a-thon by Lauren Jacobs, aka The Cheerful Baker (click here for her IG page). Some of the steps are shown below…

I modified a few details in the basket and added a little facial feature. I love this cookie shape!

To go along with it, I used a similar technique for florals to make Easter eggs.

I could not help but make a Zentangle design, so it all starts with dots equally spaced on the iced cookie, and then a little drawing with a food safe pen. PME pearl luster spray gives the cookie a shine I really like.

So here is my little Easter collection…

I close this post with the Naughty Bunny, made after a tutorial from Timbo Sullivan during a Facebook live. It is mostly fondant, so if you don’t like the taste, consider the cookie just as a decoration. Lots of different techniques were explained in his tutorial, and the take home message for me is that I need a lot of practice to make eyes. His work is flawless! But I still like my little Naughty Bunny… Everything is fondant, except the pink details on ears and paws, and the grass the bunny is sitting on.

FLORAL BUNNY EARS

April 16, 2022January 16, 2023sallybrLeave a comment

This was another super fun project, following a detailed tutorial from Amber. Her work is always so elegant and whimsical, I love it. She shared two different variations for the ear decoration, one with plaid wet-on-wet,the other piping a square pattern, which is what I decided to do, as it was new to me. I am so in love with these cookies!

Two basic components to decorate the cookie: the Royal icing plaid motif for the ears, and Royal icing transfers + piped leaves for the lower half. The composite below shows the overall steps. Amber demonstrates one version in a recent Facebook live. You can watch it here, starting at 4 min.

The grid pattern is drawn with a light food pen on the baked, cooled cookie. Then the two colors of squares are piped, one color at a time, so that the edges don’t touch. No need to wait for a long time, just pipe the second color when the first is starting to crust. The lines can be added right away or if you prefer some more definition, they can be added later. Once that is set, I piped a thin border and added rose gold sanding sugar to it.

The flowers were made the day before, then the edges painted with silver luster powder + vodka. Once they were glued to the cookie, I piped leaves with stiff royal icing, and that helps set the whole arrangement in place.

It is a little labor-intensive, but not that bad. Once you have the royal icing transfer flowers ready, the piping of the ears is straightforward. You can also simplify and make it plain, or with little dots wet-on-wet. The plaid is a nice touch, and once you master this technique, you can use it in many different cookie shapes and designs.