How To Make Blue Ribbon Cookies

My boys have a big swim meet today... so I made them, and their teammates some Blue Ribbon cookies. These cookies are pretty easy to do, though they did take a bit of time just because of all of the little extra touches.

What You Need:
1 Recipe Chocolate Roll Out Cookies
   (You could also use Vanilla Sugar Cookies)
1 Recipe Royal Icing
   (Blue and Yellow coloring)
Gold Pearl Dust
Clear Vanilla
Ruler
Icing Tip #2
Optional: Fluted cutter

Tank You Very Much! - Thank You Cookies

We are getting a fish tank. So, we need to thank (or "tank") the guy who is giving it to us.

We made him some "Tanks a lot" cookies... I think these will do it.

What You Need:
Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies
Buttercream Icing (or canned icing)
  OR Royal Icing
Nerds Candy
Swedish Fish Candy

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Fruit Pizza {AKA The Best Summer Dessert for a Gathering}

I remember my Aunt Carrie making fruit pizzas for us when I was a kid. I loved them.
I took this one to a church gathering, and it was gone before any of the other desserts. Everyone loves fruit pizza!

What You Need:
For The Crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1-2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

For the Icing:
1- 8oz. block of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla

Assorted sliced fresh fruit for toppings
Yield: 1 pizza (approx 12" round pizza pan or 8"x12" rectangular pan)

Note: You can go the super easy route, too, and use a store-bought refrigerated sugar cookie tube, and canned fruit, drained.
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Summer Beach Cookies

School's Out... Finally!

I made these summer beach cookies for my kids' teachers and helpers at school.

Helpful Links:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe
How to Color Icing

But there's something extra cool about these cookies. The backs are imprinted with "Beki Cook's Cakes."

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Bakery-Style Soft Sugar Cookies

So, the bummer about having small kids and loving to bake sweets is that most schools these days won't let you send in homemade treats. (Now, calm down, I understand why this is, we have good friends with food allergies, but it's still a bummer!) 

So, my guys have learned to love those sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles from the grocery store bakery-- since that's what so many of their friends bring for birthday treats. I'm not a huge fan, but after weeks of begging for me to make some, I gave in, and made these for my guys.

What You Need:
For the Cookies:
5 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (unsalted) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (granulated) sugar
2 cups powdered sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream

For the Icing:
1 - 8oz. block cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (at room temperature)
4 cups (approx. 1 pound) powdered sugar

Yield: 4-6 dozen 2" cookies
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Cranberry-White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies {Recipe}

These oatmeal cookies made me a very popular spouse at my husband's office.
They take an extra step or two, to toast and grind some oats, but they're very worth it.

What You Need:
3 1/2 cups flour*
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening**
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (large), at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups toasted quick or rolled oats
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
Optional: 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Notes:
*You can substitute 1 cup ground oatmeal for 1 cup of white flour if you want to.
** I like to use half butter and half shortening to help keep these cookies softer. You can use all butter, if you wish, just know that they'll be a little crispier.

Yield: about 6 dozen 2-3" round cookies
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Cookie Decorating Kits - Perfect Holiday Gift!

Here's a fun holiday gift idea for you...

A cookie decorating kit for your friends and family.
Combine the icing, the sprinkles and the cookies all in one place... it's perfect! And perfectly fun.

What You Need: (for 3-5 kits)
(I will describe each in detail below with recipe links)
Cut-out cookies
Buttercream Icing
3-4 bottles of sprinkles
Disposable icing bags*
Mini treat bags *
*Available at craft stores

Click Here to Read More>>

Homemade Gingerbread House {Recipe}

We love decorating gingerbread houses at our house. But admittedly, I'd never made them from scratch before this season. I was sure my awesomely soft Gingerbread Recipe wouldn't hold up the decorations, and I don't usually eat the houses, anyway.

Graham crackers and store-bought kits worked well enough for us. Now I know. Totally worth it, making our own. Though I did have to add a lot more flour to get the dough stiff enough to hold up.

What You Need:
For the house pieces:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
5 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the Icing:
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 3 1/2 - 4 cups) 
1-2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/3 cup water

(See my Egg White Royal Icing Recipe if you don't have meringue powder.)

For the Decorations:
Cereal: Fruit Loops, Trix, Golden Grahams, Frosted Mini Wheats
Candy: Gum Drops, Mini Candy Canes, Mints, Gumballs, Cotton Candy
Teddy Grahams or Gingerbread Men Cookies
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Peanut Butter- Chocolate Chip Cookies {Recipe}

I've told you before that I'm not a big fan of traditional chocolate chip cookies. I know. I know. How un-American of me, but I'm just not. (Unless they're Sweet Martha's at the Fair.)
So, when my boys wanted some cookies to sell at their Lemonade Stand last weekend, I decided peanut butter chocolate chip would be the way to go.
These cookies are a little different because I used some ground oats in them to lighten up the texture and give them a nuttier flavor.

What You Need:
1 cup peanut butter (I prefer chunky)
1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more for dusting)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cup flour
1 cup oats (toasted and ground)
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Yield: 2-3 dozen 3" cookies
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Cinnamon Apple Cut-Out Cookies {Recipe}

I like to start the school year off right... that means, for me, that I send in bribes gifts to my boys' teachers. This year, I tried these Cinnamon-Apple flavored cut-out cookies.

What You Need:
For the Cookies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg (at room temperature)
3 Tbsp. apple juice concentrate (defrosted)

For the icing
1 lb. powdered sugar (approx. 4 cups)
3 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp. apple juice concentrate
Click Here to Read More>>

These Cookies are Just Peachy {Recipe}

August is National Peach Month. Now, in Minnesota, this really means very little because, well, it's Minnesota. We don't get good peaches here. August, January, never.

However, my Dad lives in South Carolina where, apparently, the peach is king. So, he's hosting a peachy little party, and asked me to send along some peachy cookies for it. I wanted the cookies to look and taste peachy.

What You Need:
For the Cookies:
3 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1 large or extra large egg (at room temperature)
2 Tbsp. peach schnapps
1/8-1/4 tsp. cinnamon

For the Icing:
Vinegar or lemon juice to wipe down equipment
1 lb. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp. peach schnapps

Yield: About 3 dozen 2"-3" cookies.
Click Here to Read More>>

Back-to-School Treats & Eats

It's hard to believe that in some parts of the country, it's almost time for back-to-school. We still have a good month of summertime ahead of us. But I thought I'd share some of my past back-to-school or teacher ideas for those of you whose summer is coming to an end.

Back-To-School Cookies for the Teacher

Simple ABC & 123 Cookies

Pencil Cookies

Easy Crayon Cookies

Apple Cookies for Teacher

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Apple Cake Pops

Game Night Cookies

Super simple cookies made for a 'Game Night' at my kids' school. Three colors of icing, if you count the white. Can't beat that!

What You Need:
Roll-Out Cookie Dough
   (I used both my Chocolate Sugar Cookie & Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipes)
Royal Icing
Red & Black Food Coloring
Ruler & Knife (or pastry wheel)

Click Here to Read More>>

Fireworks Cookies - (If you squint)

You know, sometimes, things turn out great. Just like you plan. Perfect...

And sometimes they don't.

I don't hate the cookies, they just didn't turn out quite as well as the last time I made firework cookies:

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How To Decorate Peacock Cookies

These peacock cookies were made for a baby shower. When she asked me to make them, I was nervous, but then I found the inspiration for these cookies from Anne at Flour Box Bakery.

These are not the easiest cookies I've ever decorated, that's for darn sure! They take many steps, and quite a few colors of icing. Not to mention that there's a lot of waiting involved between steps... for example, you try to brush on the shimmer too early and you end up with this smashed feather above.

Click Here to Read More>>

Tip for Tuesday: How To Freeze Decorated Sugar Cookies

Sometimes... okay most of the time... my real life and my life of cake decorating are in competition with one another. I don't always have time to get everything done that I'd like when I'd like. I'm sure no one else ever feels this way, right?! (sarcasm)

I had heard that you could freeze decorated sugar cookies, and that they would survive without the colors bleeding. I was skeptical. But I thought I could give it a try, and give it a really good test by making some more of these Baseball Cookies I showed you last summer for my sons' team snacks.

So, I decorated some Chocolate Sugar Cookies and some Vanilla Sugar Cookies. I used dark red icing for the lines/laces on the baseballs on top of a pure white base. If this stuff bleeds, there will be no mistaking. (But 5- and 6-year-olds still won't care.)

Click Here to Read More>>

School's Out for Summer - Cookies

Today was our official last day of school for the year. My guys are going to be first graders! Seems impossible. I wanted to make some cookies to thank the teachers, but I was running really short on time this week.

So, I went the Kindergarten way out. I baked some simple round cookies, used Food Writer edible ink markers to draw simple pictures on them, then used red icing to "cross out" the school-related things that they would no longer deal with over the summer... and green icing to circle the things they'd welcome.

I did some personalization. The whistling lips were for the teachers who have my one guy who cannot. stop. whistling. ever.

And the highlight... was the bloody tooth. Kindergarten teachers deal with a lot of lost teeth... and two of them do not like teeth at all!

*Note: My original idea was to do cookies based on the Alice Cooper song, 'School's Out.' Everyone told me it was too obscure and the teachers wouldn't know what I was talking about. Ha! The teacher opened the cookies, and immediately started singing the song. Next year, I guess.

Click the Links Below to See:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe 
Other school/teacher-related treats

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Baseball Cookies, Cupcakes and Cake Pops

Baseball season is in full swing (har, har) in our house right now. Practices, games, and most importantly, the treats that go along with those events.
Last year, I made a few fun baseball treats, that I thought I would bring back out for you today.

Baseball Cake Pops

Baseball Sugar Cookies

(very easy!)

Baseball Cupcakes

(Three ways to make them)

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Graduation Hat Cookies

Congratulations, Graduate! These Chocolate Graduation Hat Cookies are the perfect gift for a special grad or a great centerpiece for a graduation party.

What You Need:
Chocolate Roll-Out Cookie Dough (one batch makes about 12-15 hats)
Royal Icing*
Fruit-Flavored Tootsie Rolls or Starburst
Round Cutter (or glass)
Ruler
Small round cutter (I used icing tip #12)

*I added 2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder to a full recipe of Royal Icing for these. You only need a tiny bit of icing, though. You would be fine to do a half recipe, or you may even consider melting some chocolate or Candy Melts to use as your glue instead of the royal icing.

Click Here to Read More>>

Kentucky Derby Cookies

... And down the stretch they come...

My Dad asked me to make some cookies for a Kentucky Derby party this weekend.

I didn't do a great job of taking pictures to give you a tutorial, so I'll just share many pictures of the finished products.(Feel free to ask in the comments if you have questions about how I made something.)

I had a lot of inspiration from other cookie/baking websites. The horses I saw on the site Cookie Cowgirl.

I really love the horses. They turned out so well, and, honestly, they weren't that hard. The hair was probably the hardest/ most putsy part. I am trying to decide who else in my life needs horse cookies.

The hats were what my Dad really liked. I based those on some made by Bakerella. They were a little harder than I'd hoped, and I'm nervous that the flowers won't make it to South Carolina in tact, but I am hopeful.

And the Derby 'silks,' I cut out by hand, using an image from the official Derby site.

Lastly, the horseshoes... now, these I just know won't survive shipping, but I had to try. What's a horse without a shoe?

Click the Links Below to See:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe
Royal Icing Consistency Tutorial

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