the enchanted oven: Chandelier

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Vive la France cookies part one

So, a few changes in regard to my blog.
Change #1: I have added a wedding inspiration page! I think cookies are the perfect wedding favor, addition to dessert table, or way to ask a friend to be a bridesmaid, don't you?

Change #2: I have cleaned up my sidebar. Too much stuff, and I hate clutter. I was also set to do advertising, and I have changed my mind. No ads, no awards - no nothing except a list of great blogs I follow, MY followers, and that is about it. I really want my blog to be focused on my baking, and to that end...

Change #3: Waaaaaaaay fewer link parties. They are fun but take a lot of time - time I should spend in the kitchen if you know what I mean. They are great for building readership, but I really write this blog for myself. It is a journal of sorts, and in the midst of new blogger excitement, I think I lost some of that feeling. I really hope all of you keep reading, and commenting, and following me because I love all 146 of you!

Change #4: Well, its not really a change, but rather a pledge. I will continue to not use the terms "easy peasy" or "cutie patooty". Ever. Under even the cutest circumstances. Oh yeah, and I will never tell you something is easy if it isn't. If I struggle with something, you will know it.

Ah, now I feel better. On to the baking!

Naturally, I would have to do this cookie theme post Bastille Day. Better late than never, right? This will be my theme for the week, and I'm already having a very good time. Lots of research and baking and decorating and ordering new cookie cutters and drinking champagne...hmmmm, maybe every week should be French week. I actually made a bunch of cookies for Brooke's French class for the end of year, but was in such a huge rush, I didn't have time to take pictures of them. I also made French cookies in honor of the Philadelphia Flower Show back in March. Once again, didn't take the time to photograph. So here we go, Francophiles - THIS TIME I AM TAKING PICTURES!

I thought it appropriate to begin with the most iconic symbol of Paris, the eiffel tower.

And I'm kind of proud of myself for resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to use pink icing. Pink would have been very nice, but I am loving the aqua. For some reason, I seem to enjoy doing really detailed piping work. The more lines or squiggles, the better.

Speaking of detailed piping, my French inspired chandeliers had me almost popping a blood vessel in my head.

Worth the effort, though. I am crazy about crystal chandeliers and would put them in the garage if I could. I have these nifty little magnetic crystals that attach onto a chandelier to change out its look. Red, black, orange, green, pink - whoever thought this one up was genius. I got mine at Hobby Lobby - I highly recommend them if you love crystal and, like me, have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to changing decor for the seasons.

So this is day one in France at The Enchanted Oven. I have lots more pretties to come, so keep checking back this week. Here's a little hint, there is some champagne involved both in image and flavoring! In the words of my hero The Barefoot Contessa, "how bad can that be"?

Au revoir!
My streamlined list of blog parties:
Savvy Southern Style
A Stroll Thru Life
Sweetology 101
Mod Mix Monday
Wickedly Crafty Saturday
StoneGable
Diddle Dattle

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Crystal chandelier cookies

Sometimes inspiration comes to me in the strangest ways. Like these magnetic colored crystals that I found at Hobby Lobby.

I love being able to change out the look of my chandelier with the seasons. I'm not sure how my brain made the jump to cookies, but it did.

And if I'm being honest, I will have to admit to some accidents and missteps along the way. I meant to have this posted yesterday, and midway through I almost gave up and tossed the idea out. I'm glad I didn't.

The camera really doesn't do them justice - they are gorgeous in person with the light shining through them.

I began by finding the shape of a crystal I liked from an online lighting store. I was able to enlarge it by clicking on the enlarge image area. Then I traced it again with the smaller version.

I cut this out of paper and then used it to make templates out of cardboard.

I rolled out my sugar cookie dough and cut the shapes out with a knife. I then used the smaller template to cut an opening in the cookie. Be sure you also make a hole in the top so they can be hung.

I wanted pastel colored hard candy for the center and I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to find some. Lifesavers are great for this kind of project, but the colors just weren't cutting it for me. At long last I found pastel lollypops at the Dollar Tree. I LOVE the Dollar Tree. Smash the hard candy in a food saver bag. This helped me deal with my frustrations of the day.

Now just sprinkle the crushed candy in the holes and bake - note: I had to bump my baking temperature up from 350 to 375. Watch them like a hawk because they go from unmelted to burnt in a hurry (not that it happened to me or anything...). After they come out of the oven, they look like this.

Let them cool completely, then decorate. I initially used fishing line to string them, but that didn't work well (as in cookie dropping to table and breaking). A fine craft wire worked wonderfully. I just made a small loop out of wire and then used tulle to tie the cookies to the chandelier. Ahhhh, I am finally happy.

Wouldn't these be darling as party favors? Decorate a little pair of scissors with tulle and let guests snip a cookie down on their way out.

It is a gorgeous day here and I couldn't resist taking some outside and hanging them in my flowering crabapple tree.

It was breezy, so getting them photographed wasn't the easiest.

I really love the little yellow ones.

I probably shouldn't mention this (it will spoil the mood), but if you did this on a hot humid day they would act like fly strips. Just sayin. Anyway, today was lovely and the cookie crystals on the chandelier and in the tree were just right. At last.