Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

Yes, I know it's almost December. It's past Thanksgiving and everybody is getting into the Christmas spirit! But I'm not ready to let go of fall... At least not yet! To keep me in the autumny mood for at least another week, I made some pumpkins. They are the cutest cookies ever, and one of the easiest to make, too.

This was my first time to attempt 20-second icing. And, well, I fell in love. 20-second icing is an incredible discovery that I will now use all the time. If you haven't heard about it, you should REALLY click on this link (here) and head on over to Sugarbelle's. She has the most fabulous tutorial on making (and decorating with) 20-second icing.

Anyway! Pumpkins. This was a batch I made to take to a party as a hostess gift. I finished them just barely in time to snap a few quick shots and run out the door.

I had just made a new batch of gingerbread, so I decided to make yet another batch the next day with a (hopefully) better photo shoot. Here are the results:

The deep, dark color of the gingerbread really added to the impact of the cookie. And, my goodness, were they delicious. My family's traditional gingerbread cookie paired with a maple royal icing captured the flavors of fall beautifully. This particular batch of cookies was probably my favorite (flavor-wise) that I have ever made. I hope you can try out these gorgeous, simple cookies before the season is completely over!

~Kaitiebug

Watercolor Cookies

 A few days ago, I woke up and realized that I was supposed to make a dozen cookies for a bake sale the next day. I panicked calmly laid out a plan. I needed a quick and easy set of cookies that would appeal to children ages 5-10. Thankfully, I attended Arty McGoo's wonderful cookie painting session at CookieCon. (check out her work here) 

Using Wilton gel colors as edible watercolor paints, I made a rainbow! 

These cookies only took about a minute per cookie to paint. The entire process from start to finish (baking, flooding with white royal icing, letting the icing dry, and painting) took only a few hours to complete. I even had time to paint a few extra cookies to thank the ladies in charge.

The rest of the cookies I painted for fun. Here are my two favorites, a daisy and a black-eyed susan.

Overall, painting on cookies is extremely relaxing, quick, and easy, especially if you have any sort of experience with watercolors. If you're interested in learning more about painting on cookies, check out Arty McGoo's fabulous tutorial here. Good luck!

~Kaitiebug

CookieCon!

Tomorrow (or should I say today) is November 1st, the day I have been looking forward to for months! It's... COOKIECON! CookieCon is a cookie decorating convention being held in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is CookieCon's first year and I am so happy and excited to be included! I am going to learn so, so much. All of my cookie idols will be there, including Glory Albin of Glorious Treats, Callye Alvarado of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, and Elizabeth Adams (AKA Arty McGoo).

I live about eleven hours away, so I'm leaving early this morning (around 2 am) and driving to Salt Lake. This is going to be an incredible experience. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I get back!

~Kaitiebug