Birthday cookies

MY FAVORITE KIND OF COOKIE

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No, not a flavor. Not a particular design technique either. My favorite cookie is the one I make with a person in mind. As you may know, all my cookies are donated but I never know who gets them. Every week I try to include cookies that might please a kid, a young woman, maybe a Grandpa out there. For a change, it is nice to make cookies specifically for someone. In this post, I share some that fall into this category, all made in the past couple of months.

FOR A LITTLE PRINCESS WHO TURNED 6 YEARS OLD

This set was part of a tutorial online from Domestika, by Vanille Couture (click here for details). It is supposed to be beginner’s level. They do cover everything, from baking of the cookies to preparing the different consistencies of Royal icing, plus the final step by step tutorial to decorate the cookies. The shapes were cut by hand, no special cutters needed. I enjoyed their teaching style quite a bit and it was fun to follow the class in their original language, Spanish, although they do provide subtitles in several different languages. It is a great platform with many types of courses available, not only in cooking, but all areas of arts and crafts.

She also got a little cookie to celebrate her Bday number…

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FOR A LITTLE BOY WHO LOVES DUCKS AND DOGS

This was also super fun to bring to life, I made four simple yellow ducks and one duck toy, in which the background of the body got a stencil treatment to make it look like wood. I also made a little set of dog cookies, inspired by a certain member of our home…

They received the Paw of Approval before being carefully wrapped and shipped to the recipient…

FOR THE STAFF AT THE DOG KENNEL

There is no price for peace of mind when you travel, knowing your pups will be well taken care of. I often drop cookies at the kennel, and sometimes tailor the images to dogs or cats. This set used free-hand drawing, stencils and the food projector. Some steps shown below. I like using the back of the cookie, baked in a perforated mat, because that texture can be easily incorporated in the design.

This is a pretty easy design, the cookie is ready in no time. Pretty much any color will work, no need to stick to what is out there in nature…

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ONE YEAR AGO: 3D Macarons, the Saga

TWO YEARS AGO: My First Cookie Platter

COOKIES FOR A FIRST BIRTHDAY

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I’ve mentioned before that one of the things I love the most is making a set of cookies for a special someone. The daughter of one of our former graduate students just turned 1 year old, and I sent them a little package to celebrate the occasion. I hope you’ll find some ideas to inspire you in this small collection.

The number one is a tiny little cookie, not what I had originally in mind. I had ordered a larger cookie cutter and amazon messed up. My package was “lost”, they refunded the money. Oddly enough, a few days after the birthday (when the cookies had already been made and delivered), the package got transferred from UPS to USPS (?????) and arrived at the front door. Maybe I should order right now a number 2 for next year?

I chose a basic pink theme, using different techniques to decorate. From mini-projector to piped and painted Royal icing, brush embroidery, and Royal icing transfers.

Butterflies seemed also appropriate for a little girl…

So here is the full collection, a little Baker’s Dozen….

ONE YEAR AGO: Vamos a la Playa

ZOO ANIMALS, A BIRTHDAY SET

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As far as cookie decorating goes, I have two passions: learning new techniques, and making a set of cookies with someone in mind. This small collection was made for a sweet girl who turned 7 years old earlier this month. She loves animals, in fact, her mind is set on becoming a veterinarian when she grows up. Isn’t that super cool? Her Birthday party had Zoo Animals as the theme. I put my cookie mind to work, and made a few to match the theme. I start with a very sweet lion, design by Marlyn. It is made by joining two heart-shaped cookies: one for the head, one for the body. Royal icing transfers help compose his face. I fell in love with this set when I first watched Marlyn making it, so I knew it had to be part of this group. If you are not her supporter on Patreon, you can still see a quick video of this double cookie with a visit to this link on her IG page.

From lions, to llamas… Very simple design, just white flooding and then a few details with piping consistency icing and some sprinkles. The nose is made with thicker consistency white icing, after setting overnight the details of eyes and nose are made with a fine tip food safe pen.

Moving on, another cookie I’ve made in the past, but had to repeat for this set, I adore the goofiness of these giraffes… They were made with the help of a mini-projector (AKASO).

One of my favorites, also a repeat from my past… Pandas!

The simplest pair of this set… Koalas… Gray Royal icing flooded in stages, allowed to fully set, and a few details added with food safe pen.

And of course, how could I not include my favorite animal ever? This technique was inspired by Haniela, watercolor method using vodka and gel colors.

Some of the steps to make the cookies, including the Royal icing transfers for the lion’s face…

And, of course, stencils are always a nice way to compose a design…. I love the star shape-flip turning it into a modern lion. Cookie cutter and stencil from Sugarbelle.

I hope this batch of cookies gave a smile to the Birthday girl!