Paris Themed Shower

Rosie's Birthday Party

Natalie's 9th birthday was approaching. I love making my children's birthday cakes. I asked her what she wanted this year and she very decidedly gave me a list of requirements for her cake this year: "Mom, it has to have purple, it has to have roller skates, and I really want that colorful paper stuff that people throw at Mardi Gras."
Hmmmmm confetti, roller skates, and purple? Okay. No problem I got this. ;)

I made her guests some roller skate cookie favors and colored some rice paper with colored edible markers to make her some confetti. I topped the cake with a giant decorated sugar cookie. Nat had such a great time at her roller skate party!

When the party was nearing an end, we gathered around Nat and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Then the funniest thing happened. She blew out her candle and confetti flew everywhere! We all laughed. What a great day. I love this kid.

Pink Seashell Baby Shower

Thank You Gifts

These were made for a cosmetic surgeon in our area. I think the staff really enjoyed them!

Snowflake Cookies

Women's Tea Cookies

I made 100 of these beautiful cookies for the CCO Women's Christmas Tea. Their theme was "Father of Lights" and James 1:17. I hope the ladies were blessed. :)

Bridal Shower Dessert Buffet

Corvette Cookie Bouquet

Thank you, Teacher!

Ode to Nurses

Cheerleader Cookies

Ed Hardy Birthday Cookies

Baby Girl Shower

This batch of cookies was for a baby girl shower. I was told the mom-to-be likes daisies and the baby's name begins with a 'C.'

Flooding

Added a little brush embroidery to the edges of the bibs and socks--feminine touch

Chocolate Marries Sugar Cookies

Sometimes my clients think up the best ideas...and then I get credit for them. That is the case with this batch of cookies. A friend called me early in the week wanting to know if I could put together a few dozen cookies at the last minute for her daughter's school project. She was doing a presentation on her Irish heritage. The friend requested a few dozen shamrocks dipped in chocolate.
I just happened to have some really good chocolate on hand and took on the challenge. I decorated the shamrocks using the colors of Ireland's flag and dipped away. What a great combination! I can't wait to use this idea again in the future.

Creative Wedding Favors

Brides are always on the lookout for a creative way to dazzle their guests. Recently I made these wedding cake favors out of stacked sugar cookies for a bride. Teal has been a very popular wedding color this year! These were really fun to make and I think her guests enjoyed them.

Hot Air Balloon Cookies

I needed to create some promotional samples and decided to try out these cool balloon cutters. Love them! They remind me of the Balloon and Wine Festival that we attend every year.

Grave Digger Cookies

Cookies make the perfect gift for boys! These cookies were ordered by a girl I know who was apart from her son on his birthday. She wanted him to know she was thinking of him and had me send these over. These were definitely out of my comfort zone as I have never actually seen 'Grave Digger.' Thank goodness for internet research!

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

"Artsy" Birthday Cookies

"Artsy" Birthday Cookies & Cake

A dear friend of mine was having a special birthday and a mutual friend decided to throw her a party. I was thrilled to be able to volunteer my services and create some fun cookies and a cake.
The birthday girl has a beautiful soul: she is a tender friend, caring and compassionate. She is also very artsy and creative so I was feeling a  lot of pressure to create something gorgeous for her! My salvation came in the form of the Evite that was chosen for the party. When I saw this baby I knew exactly what her cookies would look like. The design fit my friend to a 'T'.

Evite for the party ~ Inspiration

I sketched a sample and got started!

I love how this batch turned out. I feel like they fit Denise perfectly: classy, pretty, artsy, fun. The cookie design turned out very busy so I wanted to keep the cake simple. I made a three layer Devil's Food cake with almond meringue buttercream. I added a gum paste fantasy flower to the top and a shimmery bead border to the bottom.

Happy Birthday, Denise and thanks for being such a great friend. You inspire me in so many ways! xo
~S

Pierre Hermé's Olive Sablés

5 April 2012

Confession #1: I suck at cooking. 

Confession #2: My family eats Taco Bell for dinner waaaaaay more than any human should.

Which leads to this....I've joined a cooking group! For the five people that read this blog and know me well, it's not the fill your freezer with pot roast type cooking group you're used to seeing me do. It's an online cooking group called French Fridays with Dorie. This group is currently cooking their way through Dorie Greenspan's book Around my French Table.
Each week we prepare one of the recipes and write about it. How easy is that? Meanwhile, I hope to get into the habit of preparing fresh, home cooked meals for my family and expose myself (and maybe you!) to new foods and flavors, learning some techniques along the way. So, if you are a terrible cook like me, join me in my kitchen adventures. If you are an excellent cook, feel free to laugh at me along with me as I slowly wean my family off the taco habit.

My first assignment?

Pierre Hermé's Olive Sablés
I was surprised by this recipe as I don't think I've ever had a savory cookie before. Some of the ingredients mystified me...potato starch? hard boiled egg yolk?
Hmmmm

Since when do I add THIS to cookies?????

 I took myself down to the local grocery and found a huge can of potato starch for $6. I decided that was too much cashola to invest in something I probably won't use very often. So I subbed in cornstarch and figured if that didn't work I would go back and invest.
The recipe is so simple. Just like the beginning of almost any cookie recipe you begin by creaming the butter. However, that's where all cookie similarities end because the next step is beating in some olive oil (fruity is best) and the yolk of a hardcooked egg. Dorie elaborates that this is a common practice in Austrian baking, but not being familiar with this addition, I thought it was weird!
I removed the dough from the mixer, folding in my dry ingredients and olives just until combined. Within 5 minutes of starting I had a fragrant soft dough. I divided it into thirds, rolled it into logs, and stashed it into my freezer to chill out.

I like to use these Wilton flower formers for frozen dough so it doesn't lose its shape.

 An hour later I sliced and baked one of the logs.
The aroma coming from the oven was so fragrant and it made my mouth water because I love olives.
When I took the cookies out I couldn't help but think "mini chocolate chip cookies." I think it messed with my mind a little bit. I tried to be objective when I ate one, but the image kept popping into my  brain!
At first bite you get immediate sweet shortbread. MMMMMM sweet, crunchy, buttery, my sweet tooth is revving up. But then....salty, trickery! The meaty olives make their presence known and you get their full flavor. 

It's a very interesting cookie, covering the gamet. I think it would be great as an appetizer with some wine, but I might use a stronger olive oil or less powdered sugar so that it's not so sweet.
I was surprised this cookie was a no-go with my olive-loving kiddos. I guess they like their sweet and savory separate. For me it's a winner: it has only a few common ingredients, took 5 minutes to prepare, plus I always love the idea of having something on hand to bake up when someone stops by.


Thanks for hanging with me for my first French Fridays with Dorie! Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!!

 You can find the recipe in Greenspan's book on Amazon or here on the web. If you'd like to see a video for procedure you can find one here

Shabby Chic

February 2013
Birthday Cookies

A friend of a friend recently contacted me to create some special cookies for her sister's birthday. She had previously seen this design on the website and wanted the same ones. It is rare that I get to recreate designs, not to mention one that is completely my own so I was thrilled to get to make these again. I think they turned out beautifully. I hope I get to make them again.