Happy Easter

After a year of social distancing, we are slowly returning to normal!  Not quite the entire 3 generations of our extended family, but at least it is not a Zoom holiday.

 

Silhouettes and one line designs are a bit of a trend in the cookie world right now, so I gave them a try. They were only possible because of You Tube videos, clip art purchased from Etsy and a Kopycake projector that was a gift from my Sugar Sister, Donna, who didn't want to pack it for her move to FL.

Finally, some tic-tac-toe designs that were packaged with a bag topper that said, "Go ahead, play with your food."

Megan and Sophia's Special Day

The announcement came in the mail, it was official, the first of our "great" nieces/nephews was getting married. 

 

 

Unfortunately, Megan and Sophia's wedding plans had to be altered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They opted to keep the date and have a small ceremony with just immediate family members in attendance.

Although, I was unable to attend the event, I was happy to make wedding favors for their special day.

 Love, hugs and cookies for a special couple!

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is here and we are blessed to be celebrating with a large gathering of family and special friends.

Colorful pumpkins.  .  .

and lots of bright minis will be on the platter this year.

Last year, Clough'd 9 Cookies published a tutorial for a Pilgrim Turkey using an ice cream cone cutter, that I knew I wanted to recreate in the future.  I thought the male turkey needed a female counterpart because we all know who did all the cooking and cleaning at that first Thanksgiving dinner!  I cut off the top of another ice cream cone cutter, to complete the set.

Since I am grateful for the new addition to our family, I made a special cookie for great-niece, Avery.  At 7 months, she's a little young to eat the cookie, but a picture will be a fun reminder of her first Thanksgiving.

Cornucopias were another new design this year.  I wouldn't want to eat them, but they were easy to make and will please the kids who ask for cookies "with sprinkles."  This was another creative use of cookie cutters because it is actually a Santa cutter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

It wouldn't be Easter without bunnies . . .

 

.  .  .  or eggs.

I attempted using the air brush and stencils on some of the eggs.  Some day I will master that tool, but for now, it still intimidates me.

The Easter basket design just looked a little dull to me, so I added an additional little egg to try to make it look a bit more festive.

 This year, I added a silly lamb cookie to the collection because our family continues the lamb cake tradition that Mom started in the 1950s.

This year the cakes are wearing party hats in honor of our nephew Mike, who will be forty this month!

Since we have had such a long winter, I thought I would include some flowers  with the traditional Easter designs.

The family cookie  tray always has to have an assortment of "itsy, bitsy, bite sized cookies."

Finally, our large gathering of multiple generations will be celebrating our nephew, Mike's 40th birthday and the addition of a new great-niece, Avery.  

Happy Easter, happy birthday, welcome baby. . .we are so blessed.

Holiday Season

Holiday baking began with traditional designs in simple gold and white.

Next up, 65 Nutcrackers that were a far more complicated design.
 

This was my first time decorating this iconic character and the cookies looked quite festive when they were bagged and tagged for party favors.

As is always the case, time became an issue for preparing for the holiday, so I opted to stick with simple designs in a pastel palette for our family gathering.

Of course, the little ones have to have a "puzzle" cookie to celebrate the season.  I have to say I consider this cookie an epic fail.  I just couldn't get the ears right on this design, and it looks like a cat with antlers. Oh well, no time for "do overs" this year, so the kids can get a good laugh while they eat their cookies.

Finally, I have another new angel in heaven this year.  For my friend, Jim, forever in my heart and in the stars.

"It is Christmas Eve.  In just a few hours, the clock will strike midnight-- a time of magic, and of dreams."    The Nutcracker

Let's Give Thanks

 

Baking for Thanksgiving started with a collection for my friend, Jim, to share with the caring nurses that he sees at the Infusion Center on a weekly basis.  I chose simple designs and traditional fall colors for this collection.

Our family gathering includes a large crowd, so this year I opted to make multiple cookie platters for our celebration.

Since the Chicago Bears are playing on Thanksgiving Day this year,  football cookies and a navy blue and orange turkey needed to be part of the treats.

It has become tradition for the younger generation in the family to receive a special cookie and they challenge me to find a new turkey design every year.  This year, I opted for a turkey made from a Halloween skull cutter.  Of course, Leann's version had to be in puzzle form. 

A holiday wouldn't be the same without the itty- bitty, bite size cookies.  I love making them and who can resist just one,  little bite?

Cookies always look better when they are dressed up for the party with cute little toppers.

Finally, some special cookies to celebrate some special school achievements for great nieces, Mary Grace and Leann.

 Mary Grace, was one of six students in her 8th grade class selected to make a trip to observe a Federal Court session and interview the judges.  In addition, Leann received a report card with straight As, which was a nice reward for her year of hard work and intense tutoring to improve her reading skills.

I practiced a few techniques that I don't use very often and they cookies are not my best work, but pretty packaging always makes the cookies look better.

Although turkeys are the center of attention on Thanksgiving Day, it looks like the Eagle might be a good luck charm for Mary Grade and Leann.

Early Days of Cookie Decorating

When I started a blog in 2012 it was all about the cookies-the decorating, the techniques, the tools. However, over the years it has evolved into a record of special family events

Unfortunately, I did not always take pictures of my cookies, so this will always be an "incomplete" record.  Nevertheless, I decided to update the blog to include some pictures that I found from my early days of this cookie adventure.

In 2009, Kaley, the oldest of my "great" nieces/nephews, was the first to receive cookies for a Graduation celebration.  Looking back, they are quite a mess, but at the time I was proud of them.

A year later, Kaley's cousin, Chiann, graduated and some improvement can be seen in my decorating skills.  At least I added the point on the mortarboard!

As graduations followed, I added different designs and my decorating skills improved.

Diplomas with heart shaped ribbons and the book cookie have been part of every grade school graduation set since 2011.

Over the years, cookies have been part of major life events. 

 

School celebrations-- There have been so many with this large family, I am sure I missed many achievements, but I tried to acknowledge them whenever possible.

 Birthdays. . .

Special cookies at holidays. . .

a baby shower when Elliot arrived early .  .  .

and a serious illness from start to finish.

I hope the kids in the family have enjoyed receiving their special cookies as much as I enjoy making them.

Finally, this Peter Rabbit cookie became my cookie "identity" along with the moniker, Cookie Friend,  when I first started sharing cookie photos and ideas on FLICKR, then via Facebook.   It is still one of my favorite designs.