It's a Cookie World

Save Money by Joining Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

2012-02-04T15:00:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

There are so many fun items and activities that I love to splurge on, so when it comes to items that are not so fun to purchase such as prescriptions, I try to save as much as possible.

There is a lot of money to be saved by joining Walgreens Prescription Savings Club, and better yet, right now you can save on the annual membership itself as well! For only $35 per year, a family membership covers everyone in your immediate family including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger, and pets too! For individuals, it is only $20 per year. The best part is, if you find that you do not save at least the amount of the membership by the end of the year, Walgreens will refund the difference!

Being a member of the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club allows you to save on more than 8000 brand name and all generic medications. You also receive discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic supplies. There are bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services as well. How convenient is that?!

Stay up to date by liking Walgreens on Facebook and following Walgreens on Twitter.

Happy saving!

Peanut Butter Cookies

2012-01-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

These peanut butter cookies are storebought, but taste wonderful nonetheless. As a child, I really enjoyed homemade peanut butter cookies, because they are plain and simple. I usually make cookies from scratch, but could not resist when I saw these at the grocery store. It has been a long time since I have had peanut butter cookies so I thought, why not! :)

Gingerbread House

2011-12-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

Every year during the holidays, I bake a gingerbread house and decorate it with lots of different candy. These are pictures of the gingerbread house I made last year. I made the typical royal icing that I use to decorate sugar cookies with, but found it to be much too thin. I thickened up the icing by adding an extra cup and a half of icing sugar and it was much easier to work with.

For the gingerbread, I used the Gingerbread Snowflake recipe from my Martha Stewart Cookies

book.

To keep things simple, I place gummy bears and gingerbread people in little groups around the house and a few trees here and there to fill up the extra space on the icing covered cakeboard I used as a base.

I used candy coated chocolate which look like rocks (found at my local bulk food store) to form a path to the door of the gingerbread house. I piped green icing stars onto jujubes and used them as bushes. The snowman is made of gingerbread as well. I was sure to roll a few pieces of gingerbread dough into little balls and baked them along with the gingerbread house, so that I could cover them with white icing and form a snowman.

Overall, this is a simple gingerbread house, but I had a lot of fun baking and putting it together.

Family Cookbook

2011-11-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Although many recipes can easily be found on the internet, they may not be the exact same as the ones "mom" used to make. With the holidays around the corner, it would be a great time to collect those amazing family recipes and put them into a Family Cookbook.

There are so many family recipes from my childhood that I would love to be able to re-create for my own children. I know my sisters would also love to have the precise recipes for the coconut waffles, butter tarts and other treats which bring back so many memories.

The Family CookBook Project makes it easy to preserve and share all those special recipes. It regularly $99 to create a Family CookBook, but available for only $39, while quantities last! Check out the details below. Happy Creating!

Straight Talk-The Perfect Plan to Save Money on Your Cell Phone

2011-10-21T12:02:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Saving money has never been easier with Straight Talk. You can get everything you need with a Straight Talk monthly cell phone plan including nationwide coverage and exceptional reception without the hassle of a credit check or contract!

With The power of Android phones from manufacturers such as LG, Motorola, Kyocera, Nokia and Samsung, and a cell phone bill that has been cut in half, you can Feel Richer with Android. Now, all you have to do is think of what you would do with all the savings.

You can receive unlimited monthly service for only $45 including calls, text, picture message and web or go with the “All You Need Plan” which includes 1000 minutes, 1000 texts and 30 MB of web data. No need to worry, because 411 calls are included with either plan. Amazingly, there are never any activation, reactivation or termination fees.

Reconditioned phones with camera, mp3 player, mobile web access, and blue-tooth capability are available starting at only $10. Perfect for those just starting out with their first cell phone and another great opportunity to save some money. Brand new phones with touch screens, Take a look at the following video to learn more!

The Aviva Community Fund Competition-Make a Positive Difference in Your Community!

2011-10-17T14:01:00.001-07:00

This post brought to you by Aviva Community Fund. All opinions are 100% mine.

There are always many ideas to make positive changes to any community, but sometimes there just aren't enough funds to make them happen. Aviva Canada Inc. which one of Canada's leading providers of home, auto, leisure and business insurance has announced the return of the Aviva Community Fund Contest . The competition opened on September 26 and offers Canadians $1,000,000 to lead, empower and support community initiatives across the country.

If you have an idea for positive community change, this is the perfect opportunity for a chance to make it happen! Visit AvivaCommunityFund.org and submit your idea! Next, rally support from friends, family, neighbours, co-workers and everyone else you know. The most popular ideas will gain the opportunity to share part of the $1,000,000 community fund.

From animal shelters to school playgrounds, there is so much that can be done simply by entering your brilliant idea. To make things extremely easy, voting can be done through Facebook via www.facebook.com/AvivaCommunityFund. For every Like the Aviva Community Fund receives on Facebook, $1 will be donated to Free the Children to support at-risk youth programs in Canada.

like Aviva Community Fund on Facebook or Follow @avivacf

If you wouldn’t like to submit an idea, but would like to vote, voting is open until November 30, 2011 and the winners will be announced on January 25, 2012.

For a chance at this amazing opportunity , submit your idea by November 30, 2011. Getting an insurance broker to support your idea increases your chances of winning. Lastly, winners are chosen based on number of votes, so get out there and spread the word!

Sunflower Cookies

2011-09-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

Sunflower Cookies by the hundreds! I made these for my friend's wedding and at first, I had trouble finding a Sunflower Cookie Cutter. However, there was one in my Wilton 101 Piece Cookie Cutter Set all along! I just didn't realize it, because it had so many petals. I ended up piping out all the petals using Wilton tip #30 and the sunflower cookies turned out to be quite pretty. Next time, I would probably try harder to find a cookie cutter with only 6 to 8 petals as it would have saved a lot of time.

I was hoping to make Sunflower Cupcakes to go with the sunflower cookies, but did not have enough time. I'll have to try making the sunflower cupcakes for another occasion. I probably wouldn't have had enough counter space for everything either! I had to put a lot of the cookies on my kitchen table to dry overnight.

At first I thought that the cookie on the left looked nice and rustic, but decided that the brighter sunflower on the right would be nicer. The sunflower cookie on the left was my first attempt at mixing the yellow shade that I thought would look best. However, it had a little too much copper in it. In my opinion, both look nice. The shade you would want to go with just depends on what you prefer. The final mixture of icing (pictured on the right) contained 1 part copper, 3 parts lemon yellow and 1 part daffodil yellow. To get the color on the left, I used 2 parts copper, 2 parts lemon yellow and 1 part daffodil yellow.

I used this sugar cookie recipe,

Sugar Cookies

and this royal icing recipe,

Royal Icing

For the petal icing, I had to add extra icing sugar to stiffen the royal icing so that the lines on the petals would not run. I added one extra cup of icing sugar to start and then gradually added a little more until it was stiff enough to stay on the paddle attachment of my mixer when lifted out of the bowl. I had to be careful not to make it too dry and stiff. The icing should still be shiny, and if it gets too dry, just keep adding half teaspoons of water until it gets smooth and shiny again.

Caterpillar and Watermelon Sugar Cookies

2011-08-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost over, but a fun way to remember all the fun times and welcome in a new season is to bake some sugar cookies! I made different sized circle shaped sugar cookies and cut a few of the larger ones in half before baking them.

So, with the half circles, I piped on some royal icing caterpillars and made watermelon slices. The caterpillars were pretty easy as I just piped circles in different colors, one right after the next. Then when the icing dried a bit, I used a black edible ink marker to draw on a little eye and some antennas. Of course, the caterpillars can be made in a combination of any colors, bright, pastel, rainbow.......whatever matches your theme or mood.

For the watermelon slices, I simply piped on a green half circle, then flooded the rest of the cookie with red icing. Next, I put some black icing dots on it and used a toothpick to pull the black circles out to make them look like seeds.

I also made some square shaped cookies, put green icing on them and sprinkled sanding sugar onto them. Those were a lot of fun to eat, because they were nice and crunchy and looked a bit like grass!

These cookies would be perfect for a picnic, barbecue, garden party, summer get together or even a Hungry Caterpillar themed party.

Saving Money Using Straight Talk

2011-08-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

Straight Talk is a great cellular phone provider that helps cut your cell phone costs in half. That makes for a lot more money left over to buy baking supplies. At least, that is definitely what I would do with the savings! What would you use the savings for? Straight Talk has unlimited monthly plans which cost only $45 per month and include calls, text messaging, picture messaging and web. If everything you need is included, what more can you ask for? You can call a friend to get that recipe you have been wanting to try out! Also, there aren’t any activation, reactivation or termination fees. Low rates are also available for international calling so you don't have to be afraid to call anyone you want, even if they live far away.

With Straight Talk, 411 calls are included at no extra cost, and you don’t have to sign a contract as you do with many other companies. You get nationwide coverage and can choose from quality brand name phones and even reconditioned phones starting at only $10! Smart phones with touch screens, app capable, with such features as voice navigation, camera, video recorder and music player are just some of the choices available.

These days, mom knows best not only when it comes to the kitchen, but cell phones too!

Party Cookies

2011-07-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

I made these fun party cookies for a 2nd birthday party. They are sugar cookies in the shape of party hats, cupcakes and tiered cakes. I decorated them with royal icing and Sanding Sugar.

Flower Cookies

2011-07-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

I made flower cookies for a summer barbecue using the daisy flower cookie cutter from my Wilton 101 piece cookie cutter set. They turned out to be almost 4 inches wide which is a bit larger than the cookies I usually make. I originally wanted to make traditional yellow sunflowers, but decided to make pretty pink flowers with a bit of purple to accent them. I already had the white and green circles for the center of the cookie which I made using royal icing.

Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

2011-06-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

I made these soft gingerbread cookies for a summertime birthday party instead of the usual decorated sugar cookies that I always enjoy making. They smelled so good and made it feel like the winter holidays.

I have noticed that some people prefer soft gingerbread cookies, while others prefer crispy gingerbread, so make sure to have both types within each batch. It is quite easy to make them soft or crispy depending on how thick or thin you roll the cookie dough and also how long they are baked for.

For the dough, I use this perfect gingerbread cookie recipe from Martha Stewart: Gingerbread Snowflakes
I use it as both my soft gingerbread cookie recipe and my crispy gingerbread cookie recipe.
For the icing, I used this Royal Icing Recipe.

I usually don't cut out large cookies such as the ones the recipe indicates so I usually get about 40 cookies instead of 16. The cookies I make tend to be in the 3 to 4 inch range.

Using the Martha Stewart gingerbread cookie recipe, I end up with 3 disks of dough so I bake each one separately. I roll out the first disk to 1/4 inch thickness, cut out the shapes and bake according the instructions from the recipe. For the second disk, I roll it out just a tad thinner, cut out the shapes and bake it for about 2 minutes less. These turn out a bit crispier for those who like crispy gingerbread cookies. For the third disk, I roll the dough out just a bit thicker than 1/4 inch and bake it for 2 minutes longer than the original batch. These will produce soft gingerbread cookies for those who prefer them to be soft.

That is my easy way of getting crispy gingerbread cookies, soft gingerbread cookies and perfect gingerbread cookies all from mixing up one batch of Martha Stewart's gingerbread cookie recipe. Everyone gets the gingerbread cookie they prefer too!

Monogrammed Cookies for a Communion

2011-06-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

I made these monogrammed cookies for a communion. I mixed the round monogrammed cookies with decorated cross shaped sugar cookies. The colors for the communion were chartreuse and white so I tried my best to tint the royal icing the shade of chartreuse. It was a bit tricky because I had never made such a specific color before. I usually just make cookies any color that I mix up randomly. Luckily, I came across Sweet SugarBelle's wonderful royal icing color chart. For chartreuse colored icing, it said to mix 5 parts lemon yellow and one part leaf green, so I did. SugarBelle has many, many fabulous tips and is such a talented cookie decorator. I'm so glad I went searching for a way to make chartreuse colored icing and discovered her blog!

With my first attempt to make a "specific" icing color, I think it turned out quite well as my friend was happy with the results.

Butter Cookies

2011-05-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

These are storebought butter cookies that come in a round tin. They are inexpensive and taste quite good. I used to eat them all the time as a child and haven't had them for many years, so I thought I would purchase a tin to snack on. I must say that they don't taste exactly the same as they used to, but I'm not sure if it is my tastebuds that have changed or the butter cookie recipe itself. One thing that is different is that the rectangular and the pretzel shaped cookies used to have coarser sanding sugar on them and now they have a finer sugar on them.

{Divine.ca} Home Bakery Bundle Giveaway

2011-05-13T11:25:00.001-07:00

This post brought to you by Dr. Oetker. All opinions are 100% mine.

As much as I love baking, when it comes to pizza, I often go with the store bought frozen variety. It doesn't cost nearly as much as take-out and is so convenient to enjoy as a snack, easy lunch or dinner. I have tried making my own pizza before, but have always had an issue with the crust. It would either stick to the pan, be too crispy or just too soggy.

Fortunately Dr. Oetker has a new type of pizza now available at all major grocery retailers across Canada. It's called Dr. Oetker Panebello Bakery Crust Pizza an and for a pizza that is made with such high quality ingredients, it is extremely well priced at only $5.99 to $6.49. The crust is exactly what I have been looking for. It is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like fresh artisan bread you would get from a bakery.

If you aren't too fond of making your own pizza or would simply like a break, there is a fabulous giveaway for the chance to win 1 of 5 $500 Home Bakery Bundles. Feel free to visit Divine.ca Home Bakery Bundle Giveaway and enter online between May 4, 2011 to June 13, 2011.

Each Prize Pack is worth $500 and includes:

- 8 Coupons for 2 of each of the new Dr. Oetker Panebello Pizza Varieties including:

Vegetables and GoatsCheese
CountryPepperoni
ClassicCanadian
Bruschetta

- 1 Breville Toaster Oven

- 1 Pair of Dr. Oetker Oven Mitts

- 1 Dr. Oetker Pizza Cutter

- 1 Williams-Sonoma Pizza Peel

*The contest is open to Canadian Residents Only.

Good Luck!

Sparkly Springtime Butterfly Cookies

2011-04-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

I made these shimmery, sparkly springtime butterfly cookies since the weather is warming up and it's so wonderful that the butterflies will be out and about soon.

I simply cut mini butterfly shapes out of sugar cookie dough, piped pink, orange and yellow royal icing onto them and dipped them in matching sanding sugar. I love decorating cookies with different colored sanding sugars, because it is such an easy and inexpensive way to make them so shimmery and pretty. They were so delicious and the sanding sugar (or as some may call it, decorating sugar) added an extra crunch to them!

10 Tips on Successful Cookie Decorating

2011-04-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

I was decorating sugar cookies this weekend and noticed that there were many things that would help me improve when it comes to sugar cookie decorating. There are so many ways to decorate sugar cookies, but I usually use royal icing and sometimes sugar sprinkles too.

Here are 10 simple tips that I think would have helped me decorate the cookies I made this past weekend:

1. Plan out the design that will be piped onto the cookie ahead of time

2. Make a list of all the icing colors and approximately how much of each color you will need before tinting the icing

3. Have all the supplies you need, ready and in one spot

4. Have a clean spacious area where you will be decorating the cookies. For instance a kitchen table, or countertop

5. Clean as you go

6. Decorate the cookies with friends or family so you have some good company

7. Listen to your favorite music while decorating the cookies

8. Have a few pictures of cookie designs on hand for inspiration

9. Practice piping the cookie design onto parchment paper first

10. Relax and have fun!

Do you have any tips on cookie decorating? Please feel free to share them in the comments section.

Happy decorating!

Gluten Free Cupcake

2011-04-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

When I hosted a birthday party and was planning out the food to accomodate a few people who were on a gluten free diet, I had come across a small obstacle when it came to the birthday cake. Since most people attending the party were not on a gluten free diet, I figured it was okay to get a regular cake. What about those who could not eat the cake though? Fortunately, the bakery where I ordered the cake from also made cakes that are gluten free, because I wouldn't know where to begin if I had to make a gluten free cake. I opted for a giant gluten free cupcake (a cupcake cake) that would serve 4 to 6 people which was perfect. The guests were all happy and everyone got to have some cake!

I didn't get a chance to try a piece of the gluten free cupcake, but heard it was delicious.

Which Type of Cookie Cutters are the Best?

2011-04-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

Although, most Cookie Cutterswork well and serve their purpose of cutting shapes out of cookie dough, I feel that each different type of cookie cutter has it's own specialy quality.

Since I am a cookie fanatic, my cookie cutter collection has become quite large. I love to have cookie cutters of all different shapes and sizes. I used to buy the tin cookie cutters since they are more widely available in stores and economical at the same time. I also have some plastic ones from my Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set. Then there are copper cookie cutters as well. My very first copper cookie cutter was in the shape of a star and was given to be by a friend. When I first saw it, I thought it was beautiful and shiny. I love using it because it is so sturdy, easy to wash, and will not rust at all. Of course, you can only make so many star shaped cookies. That's why I have added a few more copper Cookie Cuttersto my collection since then.

Here are some reasons why I like each type of cookie cutter and a few ways in which they differ from each other.

Plastic Cookie Cuttersare:

-Great for kids to use
-Good for cutting things other than cookies, such as cheese, sandwich shapes or cutting play dough shapes
-They are usually lower in cost and easy to find in stores
-Sometimes they don't cut as well and if you may end up with cookies with edges that are not really smooth
-Easy to care for, easy to wash and dry
-They can't rust!

Tin Cookie Cutters:

-Are easy to find in local stores
-They are affordable, so you can get lots of different shapes without spending too much
-They cut pretty well, but may sometimes rust if not cared for properly

Copper Cookie Cutters:

-Are really nice and easy to take care of
-They are sturdy
-They don't rust
-They cut really well
-Not as easy to find as plastic or tin cookie cutters, as they don't seem to be widely available in stores
-They cost more than the other types of Cookie Cutters

Overall, I can't say that any type of cookie cutter is better than another since they each have their good and not so good points. It just depends on what they are being used for and how often they will be used. Those are just some of my thoughts and opinions based on experience. Keep in mind that I only bake cookies as a hobby so if you have any advice, thoughts, or opinions, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Happy Baking!

Cute Kids and Mini Teddy Bear Cookies

2011-04-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

I made these cute cookies, both gingerbread and sugar cookies just for fun. I decorated them to look like a dressed up little boy and girl. I also made mini teddy bears to match.

Bear Cookie Treats

2011-03-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

I made these bear shaped cookies as an experiment. They are a somewhat healthy variation of the sugar cookies I usually make.

Instead of using butter and white granulated sugar, I replaced them with peanut butter and organic cane sugar. I rolled the dough out as I usually do and then cut them out into mini bear shapes.

I thought they would make a fun snack or treat for those who love to eat cookies.

Camoflauge Gingerbread and Sugar Cookie Men with Matching Gingerbread Dogs

2011-03-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

I made these camoflauge gingerbread cookie men, sugar cookie men and gingerbread dogs for my brother in law's birthday. He loves to go hunting and has a dog so I thought it would be fitting to make camoflauge men and dog shaped cookies to go with them. Everyone ate most of the cookies before dinner, but my sister was sure to save the giant cookie men for them to enjoy later. I used the giant persson cookie cutter from my Wilton 101 Piece Cookie Cutter Setfor the big cookies and for the regular sized ones, I used the dog and regular size person from the same set.

I usually don't use such dark colors since I usually make bright girly cookies, but this was a fun experiment. My brother in law's eyes are blue and I had already mixed about six colors for these cookies so I took a shortcut and used my wonderful edible ink markerfor the blue part of the eyes. I just waited for the icing to dry and then drew on the blue parts.

I also used the same blue edible ink markerto monogram the dog collar with a D, which is the first letter of the dog's name. I kept the icing on the dog simple since it took so long to make the many many camoflauge cookies. I can't even remember how many I made! :) I was also thinking that some people may not like too much icing on their cookies and would enjoy these cookies as well. Apparently I was wrong, because this group loved for the sweet royal icing to cover the whole cookie!

Sparkly Purse Shaped Cookies

2011-03-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

I made these purse shaped sugar cookies for my friend's birthday. She absolutely loves sugar cookies with royal icing and her favorite color is purple so I thought I would make these pretty treats for her speical day.

I piped black royal icing onto the cookies and then let the icing dry overnight. The next day, I added purple icing designs to them and covered the wet icing in purple sanding sugar to add that pretty sparkle to them.

They would also make wonderful bachelorette party favors or girls night out cookies!

Ice Cream Cone Cookies

2011-03-20T06:22:00.000-07:00

These are some ice cream cone shaped sugar cookies that I made and decorated with royal icing. I thought I would have some fun and put sprinkles on them too. The colorful flowers are just royal icing that I had leftover. I piped the icing onto parchment paper in the shape of little flowers and let them dry (24 hours) before removing them from the parchment paper.

Bright Butterflies

2011-03-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Since spring seems to be right around the corner, I thought I would share these bright and colorful butterfly cookies. They are sugar cookies decorated with royal icing.

The royal icing recipe I used can be found here and the sugar cookie recipe can be found here.

I noticed that using the best ingredients, such as real butter and a high quality vanilla will produce the best tasting sugar cookies. When I was a child, we always used grocery store bought vanilla and I could never really smell it after the cookies were baked. I didn`t know the difference at the time, but after using Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla and some other premium varieties, the cookies were more fragrant and I could really taste the vanilla.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies

2011-03-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

My friend had made the dough for these peanut butter pinwheel cookies before coming over, so all we had to do was shape the dough into 1' thick squares.

Then roll them each of them out onto parchment paper. The chocolate dough (below) was rolled over crushed peanuts.

We then placed the peanut butter dough over top of the chocolate dough.

Using the parchment paper, we rolled the dough into a log.

We trimmed the rough ends off each end of the log.

Sliced the log into 1/4 inch rounds and placed them each an inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then we baked them.

Here they are, baked and ready to eat!

The chocolate peanut butter pinwheel cookies turned out very well. I am glad my friend chose to make these, because I have seen them before, but would not have attempted to make them on my own. It was fun and I can't wait to try experimenting with different flavors!

The full recipe can be found here.

Bear Cookies

2011-03-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

I made these adorable cookies for my nephew, but didn't have time to tint the icing and decorate the cookies. I made a basic plain white royal icing and piped it onto the cookies. I let the icing dry completely, then I used some Gourmet Writer Food Pens to draw the pictures onto the bears, baseball hat and ice cream cones.

Coconut Almond Crescents

2011-03-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

These crunchy cookies are a delcious treat to have with some tea or coffee. The flavors of the coconut and almonds make a great combination.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 icing sugar, sifted

1 large egg

2 tsp. almond extract

1 cup toasted almonds, finely ground

For the coating:

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp. water

Instructions:

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Put aside.

Using and electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy.

Mix in egg and vanilla.

On low speed, mix in the flour mixture and almonds just to combine.

Refrigerate the dough for about 25 minutes.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll dough by heaping tablespoons into crescents. Place each crescent about 1 inch apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake crescents for about 18 minutes.

While the crescents are baking, heat the water in a small saucepan, then melt the granulated sugar in it. Remove from the heat.

Brush the sugar mixture onto each crescent, then sprinkle coconut on them. The sugar mixture will help the coconut stick to the crescents and also add some extra sweetness.

Allow the coconut almond crescents to cool on wire racks.

Cupcake Cookies

2011-03-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

I got some new icing gel colors by AmeriColor and wanted to try them out. They are very bright and fun so I thought cupcake shaped cookies would be perfect to use them on.

The colors I used are from the AmeriColor Electric Color Soft Gel Paste Pack and include electric pink, electric purple, electric green and many other bright colors.

The cupcake cookies are sugar cookies decorated with royal icing. (As usual!)

Corset and High Heeled Shoe Cookies

2011-03-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

I purchased a Corset Cookie Cutterseveral months ago, but didn't ever get the chance to use it. When my friend told me she was hosting bachelorette party, I jumped at the chance to make some decorated sugar cookies for the party! There were so many designs I wanted to try out, but stayed with a few simple designs since I am not very good at drawing.

I just had to make some high heeled shoe cookies to go with them!

I had a lot of fun making these cookies and can't wait to make another set in different designs and colors.

Flowers&Dragonflies

2011-03-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

This is another set of chocolate cookies decorated with royal icing. The big flowers and little dragonflies were a nice little treat for my niece and nephew. They liked the chocolate cookies a lot, but say the prefer the regular vanilla sugar cookies. I was quite surprised since I thought they would definitely prefer chocolate.

Duck Cookies

2011-03-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

I made a few baskets of thank you cookies in the shape of little ducklings. The duck cookeis were so simple and fun to make and I turned out really cute. These are a good idea for baby shower thank you gifts or favors. Also, just to have them on a platter at a baby shower would be nice too.

When I was coloring the icing, I thought I put in too much yellow gel paste since the ducklings turned out very dark yellow. However, after they had dried, the shade of yellow turned out quite well.

Chocolate Butterfly Cookies

2011-03-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

These chocolate cookies were really fun to make. I rolled out the dough from a chocolate cookie recipe and then cut out butterfly shapes. I then decorated them with royal icing. It was a nice change from the typical vanilla sugar cookies that I usually make.

Smiley Flowers

2011-03-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

I made these cute smiley faced flower cookies for my niece and nephew. I was in a bit of a hurry making them so they didn`t quite turned out the way I wanted them to. That`s okay though, the kids ate them so fast, they didn`t even notice!

Bunny Cookies

2011-03-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

I made these adorable shortbread bunny cookies just for fun since Easter is coming up next month. I can't wait to make some in other shapes as well.

Star-shaped Linzer Cookies

2011-02-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

I made these Linzer cookies after trying some for the first time at a friend's house. They are a delicious jam filled sandwich cookie with a slightly chewy texture. These ones contain a blended variety of nuts which give them a nice nutty flavor

Cookies in a Teacup

2011-02-22T08:08:00.000-08:00

I made these cookies for an afternoon tea. I served a few different desserts on plates so I thought it would be cute to put the cookies in a teacup.

Black and White Umbrella Cookies

2011-02-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

These are black and white umbrella cookies that I made for a spring tea party with my little niece.

Daisy Cookies

2011-02-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

These cute daisy cookies are the perfect summer treat. They have little lady bugs and bees piped on them with royal icing. I used Wilton gel paste colors, red, violet, black and lemon yellow to color the icing.

Star and Moon Cookies

2011-01-25T14:30:00.000-08:00

I made these star and moon cookies, because I was experimenting with a different kind of icing. I added some corn syrup to the royal icing for a shiny finish. It turned out shiny, but took a little longer to completely harden.

Maple Crisps

2011-01-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

These delicate maple crisps were quite simple to make, but I definitely have to remember to space them far enough apart next time. They spread and flattened out more than I thought they could, so some of them ended up sticking together at the sides. Either way, they were fun to eat!

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. maple syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

5 tbsp. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, maple syrup and brown sugar.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and mix in flour and cinnamon.

Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. (3-4 inches apart)

Bake for about 5 minutes.

Place the cookie sheets onto wire racks to allow the crisps to cool.

Remove maple crisps by hand and enjoy!

Almond Cookie

2011-01-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite cookies is the almond cookie. I often purchase these from the local bakery, but have never tried making them before. I was at a birthday party last weekend and they served miniature almond cookies along with other sweet treats for dessert. Eating those little almond cookies made me want to try making my own as they were a little different from the ones I have had before. They were crumbly as usual, but the flavor was a little different.

Maybe one of these days I will attempt to make my own and see how they turn out. If anyone has a good almond cookie recipe, please share!

Cinnamon and Sugar Biscuits

2011-01-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

I made these mini cinnamon and sugar biscuits for my parents, because they love to have little treats with their after dinner tea. They are crunchy with a nice cinnamon and sugar coating.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Put aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugars.

Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Gradually mix in the flour mixture.

Once the dough is formed, roll it into a ball.

Form 1 inch round balls from the original ball of dough.

Place each 1 inch ball onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them 2 inches apart.

Flatten each ball out to 1/4 inch thick using a fork.

*I rolled out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and cut out 1 1/2 inch shapes. This was more time consuming, but if you like to make cookie shapes, you can use this method as well.

In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Sprinkle each cookie with some of the cinnamon and sugar mix.

Bake the cookies at 325 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow them to cool on wire racks.

Batty Butterflies

2010-10-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Some Batty looking butterflies for Halloween!

Bride and Groom Cookies

2009-07-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

I was making some cookies for my neighbor and was going to a bridal shower the same weekend so I thought I would make a set of bride and groom cookies to add to the bridal shower gift.

I have many heart shaped cookie cutters so I used a larger heart for the tuxedo cookie and a slimmer and slightly smaller cookie cutter for the wedding dress cookie.

Cookie Bouquets and More Tutorial

2009-06-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to get a new set of cookie cutters and opted for plastic ones this time. I usually like to go for the copper ones, but it gets kind of pricey so I thought, why not try out Wilton's 101 piece Cookie Cutter Set?

I looked inside the box and look what happened next! I made.....................

Personalized cookie bouquets, baskets of cookies and giant cookie pops! (and a little house of baby crackers for an 8 month old who can't quite eat cookies yet) These happened to be perfect as party favors for my 2 year old's birthday party.

I made letters to spell out each child's name using the alphabet cookie cutters that were included, fun summer shapes (flowers & butterflies) and large round cookies decorated to look like lollipops.

Here are most of the Cookie Bouquet Supplies I needed to put everything together.

I ended up having to make 3 sets of icing colors to decorate the cookies which was quite time consuming. This is because I thought it would be nice to get different colored planter pots for each child and I wanted the colors of the cookies to co-ordinate with their planter. I would definitely recommend getting everyone the same color to save time. Unless you are not obsessed with colors having to co-ordinate. (Something I am working on) Above is the 3rd set of colors.

To make the icing, I used this recipe.

For the sugar cookies, I used this recipe.

After baking and cutting out all of the cookies, I decorated them. Once the icing dried, I piped the royal icing one the back of the cookie, then placed the stick on it. I was sure not to press the stick down all the way to the cookie as this sometimes causes the stick to fall off even after the icing dries. I then covered the stick with more icing, then allowed it to dry completely.

For the letters, I carefully broke the long candy stick in half and attached the stick, the same way as above. Be sure to cover the broken end of the stick with the icing so that the rough end does not show.

These are the pots I used to plant the cookies in. Other containers that can be used to make lovely cookie bouquets are large mugs, decorative bowls, pretty buckets, teapots or cookie jars.

I lined each pot with tissue paper.

I then placed a bag of sugar in the pot.

Next, I arranged the cookies in the sugar. The sugar can be used for coffee or tea which are perfect beverages to enjoy with the cookies. The sugar can also be used to make more sugar cookies.

I carefully tucked in the bag and arranged the tissue paper around the cookies.

Here is what it looked like.

To finish it off, I wrapped it in cellophane and....................

tied it with a matching bow!

For the children with longer names, I lined up the cookies to surround the bottom of the pot before wrapping in food safe cellophane. This was because the pots I used were not very big. (4" pots)

To fill the pots, I used sugar, but here are some other options:

Fill a foodsafe pot/container with white sugar, topped with packed brown sugar. You can include a cookie recipe, (such as Oatmeal) so that the cookie bouquet recipient can use the sugars to bake more cookies! Oatmeal cookies require both brown and white sugar, so this would be perfect.

Styrofoam alone or wrapped in tissue paper to match the cookie bouquet container.

Florist's foam which is already green and ready to go!

Candy (smarties, jelly beans, m&ms)

Rice

*If you are using a large pot/container or makeing several bouquets, using styrofoam or florist's foam would probably be best as candy, rice or sugar may get pricey.

Here is one of the baskets filled with tulips.

The cookie pops displayed in a sundae cup.

Another completed bouqet.

A bouquet for my niece Emily.

I also filled some other sundae cups with smarties and put Twinkle Pops in them to make a twinkle pop bouquet. Can't have a child's birthday party without lots of candy, cake, cookies and ice cream!

How to Make a 2nd Birthday Cupcake Tower

2009-06-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is the cupcake tower I made for a 2nd birthday party that was held last weekend. It has fun and bright colors, perfect for summer.

I used royal icing to pipe ladybugs and flowers on the caketop as it was a summertime themed party. For this top tier, I made a light cake using a recipe my mom gave me. (recipe follows at the end of the post) It is a great cake choice for those who like cakes that are not too sweet. I decorated with whipped cream to keep it light.

The cupcakes are topped with flower shaped cookies that spell out happy birthday as well as the birthday girl's name.

I used a Wilton 4 tier cupcake tower to place the cake and cupcakes on and it worked out very well, because each layer can be separated. This made the cupcakes easy to store in the fridge before the whole thing was put together just in time to be served.

I made a sugar cookie dough for the cookies and cut out the shapes with a small flower shaped cookie cutter. I inserted toothpicks into each cookie before baking them so it would be easier to keep them upright on the cupcakes. I was sure to warn the kids and the parents that they were in there so that we would not have any mishaps.

Here they are, baked and ready to decorate with royal icing.

Here they are decorated in Americolor Soft Gel Paste colors lemon yellow, leaf green, and dusty rose.

I was sure to make extra cookies just in case I made a mistake on some of them, which I did.

I did not make too many mistakes so with the rest of the extras, I decorated them for the additional cupcakes.

Cupcake time! After baking the cookies, I baked the cupcakes as the cookies needed time to cool off before being decorated. This was all the day before the actual party. The cookies were ready to go, but I left the cupcakes to cool off, then I placed them in an airtight container to be decorated the day of the party.

Here they are in their cute Tinkerbell cupcake liners complete with sweetened whipped cream and sprinkles.

I also made cookie bouquets, cookie pops, and little baskets of flower & butterfly shaped cookies as birthday party favors. This went along well with the summertime theme, as those who received the cookie bouquets could plant something in the pots after the cookies are eaten! Feek free to check out the tutorial for the cookie bouquets here!

Cake Recipe

*For the top tier, I used 2 round 8" cake pans

**I made a 2nd batch for the cupcakes. Be sure to fill the cupcake liners almost to the top if you want a bigger cupcake. I found that when I didn't fill it enough, the cupcake was not as fluffy.

Ingredients:

8 large eggs or 10 if they are smaller

1 cup cake flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1/8 tsp. salt

Instructions:

1. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. I usually break the egg whites into the bowl of the stand mixer I will be using, and put the egg yolks into another mixing bowl.

*Make sure that the mixing bowls are completely dry as this helps when whipping the egg whites to a proper consistency. It is also important not to let any of the egg yolk get into the egg whites.

2. Add the cream of tartar, 1/2 cup of sugar, and salt into the egg whites then whip on very high speed. Whip until the egg whites are fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

*Do not overwhip as the egg whites will fall and become liquid. When that happens, there is no turning back. =(

3. Add the flour and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar to the egg yolk and beat, just until mixed.

4. Carefully fold half of the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture. Repeat with the second half. Be gentle as this will help to keep the volume of the cake.

5. Pour cake batter into the desired cake pans.

6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes.

*For the cupcakes, I baked them for 30 minutes.

**To double check if they are ready, poke a toothpick in the centre and if it comes out clean, then it is ready.

7. Cool on wire racks before decorating.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

2009-05-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies are great for those who are fans of the sweet and salty flavor combination. The sandwich part is sweet, yet the filling is both sweet and salty because of the peanut butter. If you want it to simply be sweet without the saltiness, just add extra icing sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) to the filling recipe until it reaches your desired sweetness.

Sandwich Ingredients & Instructions:

Cookie:

In a food processor, pulse together,

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

3/4 cups softened butter

Once it is combined, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball.

Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes using a 2-3 inch cookie cutter of your choice. Re-roll the scraps and cut out more shapes.

Place the shapes onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them each 1 inch apart.

Bake at 325 degrees F, for 15-20 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes to bake if you use the smaller cookie cutter and closer to 20 minutes if you use the 3 inch cookie cutter.

Allow the cookies to cool on wire racks.

Filling:

In a bowl, mix together,

1/3 cup of your favorite peanut butter

& 1/4 cup icing sugar

Once the cookies have cooled off, spread 1 tsp. of the filling onto half of the cookies. You can use more filling if you like extra filling in the cookies.

Top each cookie with the other half of the cookies.

Enjoy!~

Mother's Day Tulip Cookies

2009-05-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

These are chocolate and sugar tulip cookies decorated with royal icing and ribbon bows. They are a great substitution for real flowers, especially for Mother's Day.

Butterfly Cookies

2009-04-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

These are butterfly cookies made from shortbread dough that I had leftover from making a cookie pie crust.

They are decorated with dark purple and yellow royal icing.

Easter Basket Cookies

2009-04-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

These Easter basket cookies are sugar cookies decorated with royal icing and colored sugar. The sugar adds a different crunch to the cookie!

Basket of Easter Cookies

2009-04-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

This was a basket of Easter cookies I made for my niece and nephew. I decided to make them chocolate Easter cookies for a change.

Happy Easter Cookies

2009-04-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

I made these happy easter cookies for a friend of mine. She loves purple so I was sure to use some purple icing. My usual choice would be to use pink, so I snuck the pink in for the bunny noses.

Chocolate Bunny Cookies

2009-04-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

These chocolate bunny cookies are sugar cookies decorated with royal icing. They do not contain any chocolate at all, so they are great for those who do not like chocolate.

Easter Egg Cookies

2009-03-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

These are the Easter egg cookies that I made for my niece and nephew. They love cookies and usually eat them all within a day!

Tea and Cookies

2009-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

My niece loves to have tea parties so I made her the strawberry tea that she loves and baked some cookies to go along with it.

These are the miniature flower shaped cookies decorated in pink and green royal icing to match the tea cups.

Rabbit Cookies

2009-03-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

I made these rabbit cookies for my niece and nephew. They are sugar cookies decorated with royal icing.

Hearty Bites

2009-03-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

My toddler does not like to eat many different fruits and vegetables, but of course loves to eat cookies. I wanted to make a sugar free cookie that would contain some sort of fruit and vegetable. I included ingredients that she would not eat otherwise, such as apples and carrots. I would have probably added shredded zucchini as well, but I did not have any at the time. The cookies turned out very soft and moist, with a little bit of natural sweetness from the molasses, carrot and apple, they were great! She loved them and I don't have to feel bad about letting her eat cookies!

Here is the sugar free cookie recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, any kind (I used a mixture of almonds, pecans and cashews)

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 medium apple, shredded

Instructions:

In a bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter until it is soft and fluffy.

Add the molasses and beat until mixed together.

Add the egg and vanilla, beat until mixed.

Add the flour mixture and mix until blended.

Stir in the oats, nuts, carrot and apple.

Drop by teaspoonfuls, 1-2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 16 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen bite sized cookies.

*I used a mini heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the cookies into shapes after they cooled off, but it is not necessary to do so. It simply makes it more fun to eat these delicious, yet healthy cookies.

Royal Icing Recipe

2009-03-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

I love to decorate cookies with royal icing because it dries very well, and also tastes great. It took me a while to find just the right mix, but I experimented and finally found one I like!

On low speed beat together:

4 cups icing sugar
5 tbsp. meringue powder
1/3 cup water

Beat for 8-10 minutes.
Store the icing in an airtight container or,
if you are using the icing immediately, cover it with a damp cloth so it does not dry out.

Bunnies and Carrots

2009-03-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

I made these bunnies and carrots for a friend of mine because she loves sugar cookies. I didn't get a chance to drop them off for her, so we had to eat them ourselves! I will have to make another batch of bunnies for the next time I see her.

Flower Basket & Tulip Cookies

2009-03-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I made these flower basket cookies and tulip cookies for my mom's birthday this year. She loved them, but probably not as much as the children did!

Sugar Cookies

2009-03-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

This was my first time making sugar cookies. I iced them with mint flavored icing, and they were very tasty.

Ingredients:

1 cup, unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup icing sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla. Mix on low speed.

Once combined, add the salt and baking soda.

Gradually add the flour while mixer is on low speed.

Roll the dough into a ball and divide in two.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough to 1/4 inch thick.

Cut the dough into shapes using the cookie cutters of your choice. Place each shape onto the prepared baking sheets.

Roll out the scraps along with the other piece of dough and repeat.

Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until just golden.

Allow the cookies to cool on wire racks, then ice them if desired.

Almond Biscotti

2009-03-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

My very first batch of homemade almond biscotti!

I made dinner for my sister's birthday and decided to bake some almond biscotti to serve with creme brulee for dessert. She is does not like desserts that are too sweet so the biscotti was perfect.

Almond Biscotti Ingredients:

2 cups flour, plus more for dusting

1 cup cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup whole, toasted almonds

4 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp. grated orange zest (optional)

Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. (the first 5 ingredients)

In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed until pale yellow.

Add the vanilla and orange zest (if using) and mix together.

Now, add the dry ingredients and stir just until mixed together.

The dough should be very soft and sticky.

Flour your hands, and lightly sprinkle the prepared baking sheet with some flour.

Turn the dough onto the baking sheet and form the dough into a log about 12 inches long.

Bake the log for about 45 minutes.

Lift the log using the parchment paper and transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a cutting board, cut the log into 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the biscotti slices onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the biscotti for 12 minutes, then turn them and bake the other side for an additional 12 minutes.

Place the biscotti on wire racks to cool.

Spring Chicken Cookies

2009-03-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

I made some spring chicken cookies to welcome the beautiful spring weather. My husband actually decorated one of them, and I decided to copy his design. It was a lot of fun, but I don't think he will be making a habit of icing cookies with me.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2009-01-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

These are the softest and chewiest oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever made. I found the recipe in my mom's old recipe collection. I sometimes add nuts, chocolate chips or other dried fruit in place of or in addition to the raisins.

Cream together:
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Beat in:
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine the following, then mix it into the mixture above:
1 & 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Stir in:
2 & 3/4 cups oats
1 cup raisins

Drop by tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 min.

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

2009-01-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

These are chocolate dipped pretzels I made with a friend of mine. I wanted to dip them in white chocolate so that the red and pink sprinkles would be more noticable, but all we had was milk chocolate.

We just dipped ordinary pretzels in chocolate, then dipped them in either pink or red sprinkles before placing them onto parchment paper to dry.

Once they are dry, they can be packaged and given away for Valentine's Day or be put on a platter as part of an after dinner treat.

Gingerbread Cookies

2008-12-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

I bake gingerbread cookies every year and each year I try a new recipe. Usually the recipes are similar and the outcome is almost the same. However, this year, the cookies were the best I have ever had. They were soft, but not too soft and had just the right taste.

I usually only eat one cookie to taste it and give the rest away to friends, neighbours and co-workers. Usually I don't have a problem giving them away and not keeping any for myself, but it was rather difficult this year.

If I had not packaged them all, (see below) so that they were ready to be given away, I probably would have eaten most of them.

I am just happy that they were enjoyed as I received many compliments, including those who said that they were the best gingerbread cookies they had ever tasted.

Now, I am wondering why they turned out so well. Was it because of the freezing process that the dough had to go through or was it just the overall recipe and method? I suppose it doesn't matter. All I know is that I will probably not be trying anymore gingerbread recipes. I have found a keeper.

The recipe for these fabulous gingerbread cookies is of course from Martha Stewart and can be found here.

Cookie Bouquet

2008-07-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

These are the adorable cookie bouquets that I helped my niece and nephew make for their teachers. They had so much fun making them, and enjoyed eating the extra cookies even more!

Key Lime, Strawberry and Plain Sprinkle Cookies

2008-06-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

There are some cute cookies that my sister bought from the store for her kids to bring to school as a treat. I was surprised that she actually bought different flavors as I always thought children may all want the same kind and then there would not be enought of a certain flavor. The green one is Key lime flavored and was a little tart. The rainbow sprinkled cookie was a simple icing and sprinkle cookie and the one with red sprinkles had a sweet strawberry flavor to it.
The cookies were very soft and melt in your mouth so I am sure the kids loved them.

Duncan Hines Cookies

2008-06-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

These chocolate fudge cookies were made out of Duncan Hines cake mix. There was a recipe on the side of the cake mix box for cookies so I decided to try it. I didn't quite follow the same recipe as I kept it very simple. I am sure you can use any box of cake mix and turn them into cake mix cookies.

I poured the package of Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge cake mix into a mixing bowl, added 2 eggs and a 1/2 cup of oil. Then I mixed it all together and dropped the batter by tablespoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake on 375 for 10-12 minutes.

I sprinkled coconut flakes onto half of them before baking just to add a different look to the plate of cookies. You can also add nuts, chocolate chips or anything else you usually add to cookies.

I placed a few lemon shortbread cookies onto the plate of cookies as well in order to add some contrast. These chocolate cake mix cookies tasted delicous and I would love to try making chocolate chip cookies using vanilla cake mix.

Easy Coconut Pecan Squares

2008-05-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

I often use a shortbread cookie recipe as a lemon meringue pie crust, but this time I made these coconut pecan squares instead. They turned out quite well, and were much easier to make, because all I had to do was push the crumbled shortbread cookie mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan to form the crust.

Martha's Favorite Cookie Contest

2008-05-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that out of all the entries in the Martha's Favorite Cookie Contest, she chose our Lotus Blossom Cookies as one of the 10 favorites!

Martha announced the 10 favorite cookies on her show today, and there were some very interesting cookies shown. The favorites will receive an autographed copy of Martha Stewart Cookies. Now I will have an extra copy of her great cookie book.

Martha Stewart's Cookies

2008-05-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

Martha Stewart's Cookies recipe book is a great add on to any recipe book collection.

I recently purchased one from Costco and look forward to trying most of the recipes. The first one I tried was for Lime Meltaways. I usually do not like tart desserts, but they were delicious and went well with a lemon meringue pie that I also baked. The meltaways were easy to make and I would definitely make them again.

Lotus Blossom Cookie Molds

2008-04-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

The above is a picture of the cookie molds my mother used to make the lotus blossom cookies. They are 3 different sizes with different shapes in the middle. She purchased them from a street vendor in Chinatown.

Lotus Blossom Cookie Recipe

2008-04-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup flour
1 cup tapioca starch
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. black and white sesame seeds
7 1/2 cups vegetable oil for frying

How to make the cookies:
1. Sift rice flour and flour
2. Mix flours
with tapioca starch
3. Stir in coconut milk
4. Add egg yolk, 1 tbsp. vegetable oil, salt, sugar, and sesame seeds. Mix well.
5. Heat oil and immerse cookie mold into oil until it is very hot
6. Dip cookie mold halfway into batter to coat (Do not dip the whole mold into the batter, if you do this, the cookie will not release into the oil)
7. Now, place cookie mold into oil
8. Gently wiggle the cookie mold until the cookie is released
9. Repeat steps #6,#7 and #8 until batter is all gone
10. Remove cookies from oil as soon as they are golden in color
This recipe requires a special cookie mold with a long handle. The molds come in different shapes and sizes.

Lotus Blossom Cookies

2008-04-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

My mother made these beautiful Lotus Blossom Cookies for my sister's wedding. Many people had never heard of them before, but they were very popular as the mildly sweet flavor is different from most traditional cookies. They are not baked, but fried to produce a chip-like crunch.

Fortune Cookies

2008-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Fortune cookies are typically received along with a Chinese meal, but they can also be decorated and given out as party favors.

Mother's Day Cookie Bouquet

2008-04-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

Having a cookie exchange is a lot of fun because you only have to make one type of cookie, yet you get to try a wide variety of cookies. Why not create a Mother's Day Cookie Bouquet as well!

I usually participate in cookie exchanges around Christmas time, but this year I will be trying something a little different. I have decided that I would like to make a Mother's Day Cookie Bouquet containing different types of cookies, but would rather only make one type of cookie. Therefore, I will be hosting a cookie on a stick exchange!

For the exchange, I have asked each person to bring:

Two dozen of their favorite cookies. (A dozen of which will need to be on individual sticks)
A container in which to arrange their bouquet, filled almost to the top with rice. (a vase, cookie jar or flower pot)
Ribbon of choice
Clear cellophane

We will each receive two cookies from each person, one to put in our bouquet arrangement and the other to taste while the person who brought the cookie tells us a little bit about it.

We will then wrap each cookie-on-a-stick with cellophane and tie it with ribbon directly underneath the cookie.

Next, we will arrange the cookies into each of our containers

The Mother's Day Cookie Bouquets will then be complete!

I chose to ask each person to bring their favorite cookie rather than a specific type. If you would like to have a particular theme for the bouquets, that would be fun also. For instance, you can ask your guests to bring cookies with a garden theme (flowers, leaves, butterfly shaped etc.), drop cookies, cookie cutter cookies, biscotti, chocolate flavored and so on.

Party Favors

2008-04-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Cupcake Cookies

These adorable cookie creations were made
by the very talented Flickr user hello_naomi
Click on one of her pictures to see more
of her amazing collection. The cupcake
cookies would make a wonderful party favor
for any child's birthday party.

Cookie Pops

Cookies and other baked treats have become
very popular as party favors. Cookies can
easily be customized to match any theme,
and are well liked by most party guests.

Cookie Houses

These cookie houses would be a perfect
housewarming party favor.

Flourless Fruity Cookies

2008-03-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

These are great for those who love a lighter fruitful cookie. Great for breakfast on the go, or add some ice cream and make it a dessert!

3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup mixed dried fruit (any kind/mixture you like, chopped and pitted if necessary)
*some ideas: dried apricots, dates, raisins, dried cranberries, dried apples
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup oil (grapeseed, vegetable or canola)
1 tsp. vanilla

Mash bananas in a large bowl
Stir in the remaining ingredients
Mix well and allow to sit for 10 minutes
Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet
Bake in a pre-heated 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes or lightly brown

A Healthy Cookie?

2008-03-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Maybe cookies are not the most slimming snack around, but here are 5 ingredient substitutions that I use to make them a little healthier.

1. Grapeseed oil in place of Vegetable oil
2. Diced or small dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins) in place of candy
3. Dark chocolate 70% cocoa content or higher in place of milk/white chocolate
4. Organic cane sugar (I found it at my local bulk food store) instead of regular granulated sugar
5. Ground quick cooking oats in place of flour (Depending on my experience with the recipe, I will replace 1/4 to all of the flour that a recipe calls for)

I hope that helps to make your cookie cravings a little more enjoyable!

My favorite cookies to make are......

2008-03-21T17:29:00.001-07:00

Shortbread cookies!
They are easy to make and great for decorating. Most people I know make sugar cookies, but I prefer shortbread. They are softer and tastier.

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of icing sugar
1 cup of cornstarch
1.5 cups of softened butter

Mix all ingredients together with a pastry blender, form into a ball and refrigerate for 1 hour. It is not necessary to refrigerate the dough, but it makes it easier to handle if the cookies are going to be cut out with cookie cutters.

Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.

Cut out desired cookie shapes.

Use a lifter to lift each cookie onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Re-roll scraps and cut out more shapes.

Bake cookies at 325 F for 18-20 minutes depending on size of cookies (they are ready when the edges are golden)
Let cookies cool before removing them from cookie sheet.

Now it's time to decorate the cookies! There are many ways to decorate the cookies..............

You can put sprinkles on them, but this needs to be done before they are put in the oven to be baked.

They can be decorated with icing. Royal icing works well because it hardens and then the cookies can be stacked.

They can be partially or fully dipped in chocolate and then topped with coconut flakes, slivered almonds, sprinkles and anything else you prefer.

Easter Cookies

2008-03-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

My friend is hosting Easter at her place this year so

we baked these shortbread cookies for one of the

desserts. We decorated them with royal icing.

Valentine's Day Cookies

2008-03-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

These Valentine's Day cookies were freshly baked and hand decorated by a

guest who gave them to my sister for her birthday. Her

birthday is close to Valentine's Day so that's why most of

them are hearts. There were also shoe, purse and butterfly

shaped cookies.