A Suprise Virtual Grand-Baby Shower

A while back I was invited into a Facebook group of fabulous cookiers.  This group has turned out to be a tight knit group of women sharing tips and experiences with one another that has bonded us as online friends.  So when one of our members, Cristin of Cristin's Cookies, announced she was becoming a first time grandmother, it was only natural that someone in the group would initiate some sort of congratulatory celebration. 

Kim over at The Cookie Puzzle, came up with the idea to hold a virtual baby shower!  So we all chose a book that we love and we turned it into a cookie!  A cookie that was made with just Cristin and her grand-baby-to-be in mind. 

I want to send a big CONGRATULATIONS to Cristin (and her daughter!) on their soon to be new addition to the family.  I know you will enjoy every minute of taking care of your new baby girl!

Also a huge THANK YOU to Melissa of Simply Sweets by Honeybee  and Kim of The Cookie Puzzle for coordinating all of this and keeping us all on track with what to do and when!  You both ROCK!

Here are our cookies together in a collage and the links to their appropriate blogs.  Everyone did a fantastic job and I hope Cristin can see just how excited we are for her!

1)The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Kim of The Cookie Puzzle

2)Ladybug Girl by Stephanie of Ellie's Bites Decorated Cookies

3)Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Shannon of The Sweet Shop Cookie Company

4)Rainbow Colors Peekaboo by Kristina of Kristina's Kreations

5)Camilla the Cupcake Fairy by Melissa of Simply Sweets by Honeybee

6)Are You My Mother? by Stephanie of Sweets by Steph

7)Pinkalicious by Aymee of Wacky Cookies

8)Because I Love You by Jamie of Fresh Baked

9)Pat the Bunny by Margaret of Edible Canvas Creations

10)Peter Rabbit by Tiffany of Tiff's Tasty Cookies

11)Birdie’sBig-Girl Shoes by Ansa of Sweet Treats by Ansa

12)If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Kate of Kooking in Kate's Kitchen

Bridal shower rose cake

I was asked to make a bridal shower cake and was given free rein of the design.  That was exciting and scary at the same time!  You know how you picture something or someone in your head but when you see it or them in person, it could be disappointing?  Well, that was my concern with no specifics for a cake! 

I had been wanting to try a rose cake for quite some time but just haven't had the chance to try it out, so I figured now was the best opportunity to try it out!

Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7-11, 2012)

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week.  I wanted to thank the teachers at my sons daycare the best way that I knew how... through their sweet tooth!  I made cookies for the teachers in his classroom.  He has learned SO much and I am so grateful we have them!

Now I know I'm behind the times, but I'm just entering the world of FREE PRINTABLES!! 

Thank you to Bee in Our Bonnet for this printable!

Thank you for this printable Love from the Oven!

 His classroom has 3 teachers but I couldn't just stop there. What about the rest of the teachers that are equally as excellent?  I made extra cookies and topped chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream icing with them!  YUM!! 

Thank you to all teachers for educating our babies!

Cookier's Spring Fling - Day 3

The final day arrived with sadness and excitement.  Sadness that this exciting experience was coming to an end, and excitement because Glory of Glorious Treats was teaching a PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION!!!  Glory had so many tips and tricks for getting just the right shot.  With the right lighting, background, and props, a plain cookie on a plate can transform into what appears to be a masterpiece! 

After Glory was finished, all of the instructors came to the front and we had an open forum with them.  They answered questions from organization to etiquette in reposting and pinning pics.  Once they were done, gifts were presented to Kay and May for all of the hard work and effort put into organizing and pulling off a weekend like this. 

This was a once in a lifetime experience to be included in the first annual Cookie Two Shoes Spring Fling!  I want to personally thank Kay and May for EVERYTHING and I hope to see you again in the future!

Happy decorating!!!!!

Cookier's Spring Fling Day 2 (Part 2)

So after lunch, Ali of Ali Bee's Bake Shop taught us the art of brushed embroidery.  We were given 2 of her favorite brushes to use and were able to practice the technique on pre-iced cookies.  This technique was fun and easy to do and, with a little practice, could look so elegant! 

Ali, me, and Callye!!

After our time with Ali, we cleared our cookies from the table and Callye of The Adventures of Sweet Sugar Belle talked to us about thinking outside of the box and looking for inspiration in magazines and every day life.  She also talked about using cutters in a way that they weren't made for.  For example, I turned a onsie cutter upside down and it doubled as a frog. 

Before wrappping up, we presented the instructors with aprons that we had all signed previously in the day.  Once this photo op occured, everyone joined in to catch a shot!  The instructors found this to be funny and requested a shot of their fans!   

The day ended and we were on our own for dinner.  After a delicious dinner and some much needed caffiene, Kate and I decided that we just could not pass up our first, and probably only, opportunity to see Thunder Over Louisville!  We headed to the water front to the edge of the Ohio River to view the beautiful display of the largest fireworks show in the North America.  Kate and I were on the interstate and the excitement was building as we could see colors changing above the tree line with an occasional colored sparks.  We finally found a baseball field to park at and walk to our final destination because the police had major roads blocked off.  I jumped out, snapped this shot and we started to walk.  About 1000 feet from the car, we realized we could no longer hear any booms in the sky and traffic had begun to pick up towards our direction......   Yes... WE MISSED THE SHOW!!!!!  Here is my one lonely picture.

This concludes Day 2!  Stay tuned for the final day of the Cookier's Spring Fling!!!

Cookier's Spring Fling Day 2 (Part 1)

BIG day today!!!!  We met our fellow cookiers in a meeting room on the first floor of our hotel for a breakfast catered by Panera.  Following that, we headed to a local summer camp where we had full range of the entire dining hall. 

Kay and May took the time here to distribute our "goodie bags" and aprons.

Here's a few shots of what's inside!!!! 

(Yes!! These are Karen's new cutters she recently announced!!!!!)  A big thank you to all of the companies who donated to our bags!!

Ok, so our first speaker was Maryann of  The Cookie Artisan.  Maryann spoke about cookie platters 101.  Her presentation was super informative and definitely inspiring!  (notice the last name in the platter on the pic!)

Our next presenter was Pam from Cookie Crazie.  She schooled us all in working with glaze.  I loved the consistency and I definitely think I will take a shot at it again. 

Following Pam, we heard from Karen of Karen's Cookies and she spoke about piping and stenciling. We were able to practice on pre-iced cookies courtesy of Kay and May. 

From here we broke for a deliciously catered lunch and vendor visiting.

 This ends Part 1 of Day 2 and I will resume tomorrow evening when I am not so tired and have a faster Internet connection.  ;o)

Stay tuned!

Cookier's Spring Fling Day 1

So, I'm here in Louisville Kentucky with my friend Kate, from Kooking in Kate's Kitchen at the Cookie Two Shoes first annual Spring Fling!   May and her twin sister Kay, of Cookie Two Shoes, had the idea of bringing cookiers together to learn techniques and tips from some of the top cookiers there are.  When Kate caught wind of this, she took the chance of asking if I would go and I certainly couldn't turn this opportunity down!  So after months of waiting, on Thursday after work, we packed up the car and hit the road!

We traveled west towards our halfway point which luckily happened to be Kate's sister's house in Charleston, WV.  After spending the night, we hopped back in the car and continued west for another 3.5 hours to our final destination of Louisville, KY. 

We arrived an hour and a half before we needed to be at the University of Louisville for our first day of the Spring Fling!  Upon arriving, and meeting about 65 other cookiers, Kate and I could hardly believe our eyes when the "Cookie Queens" themselves were introduced and held a question and answer session. 

(Thank you Stephanie Johnson for the great pic!)

From the left you have Ali, of Ali Bee's Bake Shop, Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, Glory of Glorious Treats, Pam of Cookie Crazie, Maryann of The Cookie Artisan, and Karen of Karen's Cookies.  This is big stuff people!!

After some great conversation, we all headed off to dinner on the Ohio River at Tumbleweed Tex Mex Grill and Margarita Bar. 

We returned to the hotel room with full bellies and tired eyes and relaxed for the night.  Stay tuned for day 2 of the Cookier Spring Fling when the real fun begins!!

Pictorial: How to fill a cupake

I recently made chocolate cupcakes with nutella buttercream and the center was filled with NUTELLA!!! Who doesn't LOVE a filled cupcake!  And with NUTELLA!!!  I just tasted Nutella for the first time about a month ago and man oh man have I been missing out!!!!  My husband and I are both a bit smitten with Nutella right now! 

Anyway, back to the matter at hand...  I thought I would blog today with a pictorial of how to fill a cupcake.  Like really fill a cupcake!  Not just a squirt of icing inside but actually remove cake and replace it with delicious filling.  That filling could be icing, pudding, or even fruit filling.    I would like to share how I core and fill my cupcakes. 

                                   So, start out with a plain and completely cooled cupcake.

To core the cupcake, I use one of these cupcake corer thingies....  you could also use an apple corer if available. 

Insert the corer in to the cupcake about 3/4 of the way and remove a chunk of cake.  SAVE THE PIECE OF CAKE! 

 

I have placed Nutella in one piping bag and Nutella buttercream in the other.  Fill the cupcake to the rim with Nutella.









Replace the extra cake back on to the filling, pressing gently.  It will sit up taller than the rest of the cupcake, but no worries... this will only help with the pretty peak of your icing!

Ice your cupcake and there you have it!!! One deliciously filled cupcake!  Enjoy!!