Painted Easter cookies

I have been playing with food coloring as paint.  Maybe it is my extreme dislike of cleaning icing bags and tips manifesting itself.

I have to say, though, that I really like using tips and paint brushes together on the same cookie.

The icing borders seem to make the painting pop more.

After outlining and flooding a cookie with icing, I let it set up till it is very dry.  

Then I squeeze food color gels onto a paper plate, get a bowl of water for washing the brushes, a paper towel for blotting, and start painting.

White food coloring comes in very handy to tone down the intense color of food coloring gels.

Of course, I use artist brushes that are only used in food coloring - 

NO REAL PAINT ALLOWED!

I'm not sure it is a quicker form of decorating, but it is certainly fast in the clean up department!

I really enjoy trying new techniques.  If it doesn't work out, hey, you eat it.  

I actually did eat one.  I was curious to see if the food coloring was adding a bitter taste (it doesn't), and it was a really bad design.  

It all works out!

I think the ones above are my favorite.  A true "mixed media" cookie, and who doesn't love sugar egg dioramas?  They are 

PURE CHILDHOOD MAGIC!

Linking with French Country Cottage Spring Link Party

Some Easter cookies boy style

I have been having myself some fun with Easter baking.  This particular batch is headed to Iowa for some special cousins of mine.  

Because my cousins have two grandsons who will be visiting, I didn't go with my usual girly palette of pinks and pastels.  These are a more boyish bright pastel color scheme.  I love doing something I wouldn't normally choose, and then enjoying the results.  Gets me out of my comfort zone.  

I had some chocolate dough sitting in the fridge, so I also made the old

CHICK HATCHING OUT OF EGG design.

Silly, cute, and fun for kids.

And speaking of kids, I made some leggo cookies for first grader Sean.  He is a leggo maniac like my boys were.

If I had a nickel for every time I stepped on a leggo barefooted.

Most unfortunate when it happens before morning coffee...

And for his older brother Drew, black belt karate cookies!  

I am totally amazed by a 13 year old earning a black belt.  Wow!  I think the most impressive thing I did at that age was get my ears pierced. 

So that is it for today - eggs, chicks, and boy cookies.  Tomorrow I will be posting some cookies using a new technique.  My version of "multi-media" decorating.  Very fun so stay tuned!

Linking with French Country Cottage Spring Link Party

Bunnies and carrots

Bunnies and carrots go together like milk and cookies,

or Fred and Ethel,

or bacon and eggs.  

You know what else about bunnies?

If you see one, you know there must be a lot more...

Lurking in wait for some crisp fresh lettuce or spinach from the garden.

I have to say, the bunnies around my house leave my veggie garden alone.

I think they know that my kitties aren't exactly the "welcome wagon".      

Harry Potter cupcakes for Isabelle

I'd like to introduce you to the greatest Harry Potter fan in the world.

My daughter Isabelle, who is celebrating her 14th birthday today!

Since I have done Harry Potter cookies for her a number of times, I decided it would be fun to do some cupcakes.

I made a "butterbeer" cake that I filled with a rich butterscotch "goo", and topped with a cream cheese frosting.  Hedgewig was embellished with slivered almonds, candy disks, and a cashew for a beak.  

I also made some cupcakes with Harry's scarf made out of fruit roll ups.

We celebrated with an overnighter with besties Grace and Chloe, and a marathon shopping day.  The girls tried on lots of formal dresses in anticipation of their first high school homecoming dance next year.  No one can accuse them of procrastination...

So armed with her new magic wand and spinning head owl, my dragon slaying elfin daughter had a very happy birthday.  

Oh, and the butterscotch "goo" was a big hit!

Birthday cookies for Drew

My first born is turning 28!  

Simply amazing, considering I am a mere 35 years of age. 

*cough* 

Since I am not going to be with him for his birthday, a cookie package was in order!

Of all my kids, Drew loved his birthday the most.

He referred to the entire month of March as

"BIRTHDAY SEASON".

And the day before his birthday was,

"BIRTHDAY EVE".

It was a grand time that only the Queen Mother's jubilee could outdo.  

And I have to admit, that for the kid's birthdays, my motto was

GO BIG OR GO HOME.

Some of his party themes were Sesame Street, the circus, outer space (and yes, I made the solar system out of cakes, and rocket jet packs out of empty toilet paper tubes, duct tape, and foil), trains, and my personal favorite, the pirate party.


I miss those days.

I ran across this picture the other day.  It is of Drew and his little brother helping me bake cookies.  The days of little boys (and girl) running through the house, wanting story time, trips to the park, and theme birthday parties is long over.  

But, to be perfectly honest, this is what I still see when I think of them.

Happy birthday Drew!

Leprechauns!

 


I am participating in Cuisine Kathleen's Irish blog crawl!




We are going to be out of town this weekend, so I decided we needed to have our annual St. Patrick's day dinner a bit early.  Corned beef,  cabbage, parsley potatoes, and this year, a leprechaun cake that I piped and painted. 

I have always LOVED St. Patrick's day.  The annual St. Patrick's day party at the Knight's of Columbus was one of the highlights of my year.  It was so festive, with everyone wearing green (and pinching anyone who wasn't), singing Irish songs, and McNamara's Band playing - oh, it was so much fun!

And my grandmother was a card carrying member of the Irish Catholic organization AOH - Ancient Order of Hibernians.  Gram lived with us, and when they had meetings at our house, my mom would spend all day cooking and cleaning for the big event.  Once the initial greetings were exchanged, we were banished to the upstairs because the meetings were 
TOP SECRET. 
 Mom used to refer to them as the FBI, and I wonder to this day what in the heck went on down there...

Back to today - I was working on my cake when something strange caught my eye.  There was SOMETHING flitting and scampering through my back yard.  Underneath it's hat was orange hair and it was wearing green.  I could sense an air of MAGIC about it.

Could it be?  Was it really a leprechaun?

IT WAS!!!

And the leprechaun brought along his girlfriend.

Now I know you may find this hard to believe, but the man in green thinks he will have a good shot at being elected class clown.  
Imagine that?

The elfin sister got into the act as well.

So what am I to do with a group like this?

Feed them cake, of course!