leaves – For the Love of Cookies

LITTLE SPIDER BROOCH COOKIE

October 15, 2022January 16, 2023sallybrLeave a comment

This cool design was demonstrated by Amber in a recent Facebook live, and later she shared full details through her Patreon site. I loved everything about it, and of course wanted to give it a try. She designed it as a cupcake topper, making legs that hang to the sides, super realistic. I made a single one with that feature, but opted for piping the legs sitting on a larger cookie instead. Later I made another version with a different cookie cutter. If you want to practice piping fine lines, this is a great project. Just don’t be disappointed if yours lacks the elegance and finesse of Amber’s. Mastering these techniques takes time and patience. We all have the former, but some of us lack the latter (cough, cough).

Below, some of the steps to make them… First flooding in black, then adding the marbled effect with luster powder diluted with vodka. Legs piped over parchment paper using thicker consistency icing, details on the body with piping consistency. Finally, all the details and legs are painted with gold.

I baked large spider web cookies to accommodate the little spiders on top. In the end, these are very large cookies, probably best to share with a friend. Or call it dinner & dessert!

The spider webs were super simple, just wet-on-wet Royal icing, black over purple.

After I made these, I decided to try a similar decoration using a small cookie cutter, in which the legs are incorporated in the shape. The basic preparation was the same, but since the legs are piped on the cookie itself, it is a lot easier.

It is not as dramatic as the original, but it is also fun to put together. I made some leaves to go along with them, perfect for those who prefer little to no icing in their cookies. Just pipe an outline in black with a tip 2 icing tip, let that dry and paint the surface with luster powder + vodka.

I hope you liked this little spider series, and consider joining the Live Facebook sessions every Tuesday at 1pm EST. Follow this link to watch previously recorded sessions and to join future recordings.

ONE YEAR AGO: Autumn Leaves

SUNNY SUMMER DAYS

July 13, 2022January 16, 2023sallybr6 Comments

Here I am to share the outcome of yet another super fun online class taught by Amy, from Seriously Sweet on Davis St. If you like color, if you like all things Summer, this set will have your name written all over it…

To join Amy’s Facebook group and be on top of future online classes, click here.

I have to confess that joining the class was a bit of a stretch for me. We had a ton of commitments that weekend and the days leading up to it, so my prep work was rushed and I miscalculated the amount of icing needed. That led to running out of it during class, then to make everything even more exciting a very messy bag explosion! Still, I am calling this set the Miracle Cookies, because somehow I was able to make them all, with some adaptations due to the universe conspiring against me.

Here are some steps of the prep work and class…

Let me now go over each of the cookies and what was involved…

Perhaps my favorite, definitely Phil’s favorite, the Bashful Happy Sun! I did not do a good job piping the edges, but I still love it… We used two different consistencies for the Royal icing, and the hibiscus details was made as a Royal icing transfer using templates provided by Amy. I love the eye detail and the delicate blushing face…

The pineapple was Phil’s second favorite, and maybe mine also. This cookie took a tragic turn when I made a mistake and added a huge blob of green dye to its left side. I thought it was the end of its life, but I squirted vodka all over it, rubbed it with a paper towel and somehow managed to save it. It almost felt as if I was in a tent trying to avoid elimination (which, trust me, is not always possible).

The flower… Thick Royal icing in two colors were used to make it. I used a 104 piping tip for the petals and a medium-size leaf tip for the greenery. Some gold luster powder with vodka gave the cookie the necessary bling.

I adore the little flamingo with the flowers on the head… and the sleepy eye… I colored the Royal icing with a powder from The Sugar Art called Sassy Pink. It is super powerful and maybe I used a bit of a heavy hand with it. So my flamingo is not a shy bird. She is out there, super confident, fearless like a Jack Russell!

I loved this class, even though I had to quit part way into it, and finish the cookies later that night. I love the sun cookie so much, I had to do a few more next day, because I wanted to get the margins better.

Techniques learned in this class: textured icing using wrinkled parchment paper, dry dusting and painting on Royal icing, piping sections for the pineapple, making flowers for decorations, piping petals with a custom-modified 104 tip, piping greenery.