Cookies for Mary, Olivia, and Sarah

Thanks to a very patient and kind winner, I am finally getting around to making the free two dozen cookies for the sweet girls that won my first ever contest on i am baker.

She had the easiest request...' just do what you do Amanda, we love it!'

Um, I love you too.  Really.  I want to put you in my pocket.

Sweet Mary decided that she wanted to share her cookies with her girls' friends and some family.  She gave me a list of names and just let me roll.

And boy did I ever.

I have never made cookies like these before, in more ways then one.

1. I used royal icing.  A *new recipe.  I am not entirely familiar with it and it was a learning process.

2. I went for simple.  Normally I love LOTS of dots and lines and detail work, but I decided to try something new.

Please be honest and tell me if I should immediately go back to what I was doing before.  I will cry and cry and probably give up forever You wont hurt my feelings I promise.

Can you guess what the little designs are on the cookies?

Yeah.  No one here could either.  I was trying to make a plane and a car. 

One person guessed, "A kid on the ground?"  Another person guessed, "A sword?"  My dear hubby guessed, "A turtle?"

I think I have some work to do in the art and icing department!

 

I hope Mary likes them. 

Even though I spelled Olivia wrong.

And that half the names are tilted and not uniform. 

And that I sent them today but she wont receive them until next FRIDAY unless I wanted to spend $100 on overnight shipping.

All I can say is, I am not going to make that mistake next year! :)

*The new recipe I tried is one that I saw on sweetopia's blog.  Just scroll down for the Royal Icing recipe!  I enjoyed working with it but am not sure about the taste... it dries very hard and is very crunchy when you bite into a cookie.  That is true for most Royal Icings though... so I think I might stick with my recipe just a bit longer. ;)  But do be sure to hang out with sweetopia for awhile.. her site is AMAZING!

Royal Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

6 oz (3/4 cup) of warm water
5 Tablespoons Meringue Powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 kilogram (2.25 lbs.) powdered icing sugar

*** Note; if your meringue powder has no vanilla flavour (vanillin powder) in it, add a teaspoon of clear vanilla to this recipe.

 Directions:

In mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened…about 30 seconds.

Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.

Pour in all the icing sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer.

Using the paddle attachment on the LOWEST speed, mix slowly for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.

Cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel to prevent crusting and drying.

Tint with food colourings or thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.

Comments

[Renee]

They look great Amanda! I bet people will be bedding you for them (haha). I saw the cars & planes right away, they look like they should anyone who says otherwise is crazy.
I just discovered Sweetopia's site yesterday and spent a lot of time looking it over...AWESOME!

[Janet]

I totally got the car and airplane! And, I think your cookies and decorations are Perfect!

Keep up the great work. You inspire me! Daily... For real! Thank you!

[Anna]

These are wonderful! I too knew right away that they were cars and airplanes.

[cathy]

Quite obviously a car and a plane! My daughter's having a baking party for her 7th birthday so I'm here looking for inspiration. I love these cookies - a nice take-home gift for our party. However I think my writing will be too wobbly!

[ElizaBeth]

Great job! I knew they were planes and cars right away! The butterflies are darling. Hope she enjoys your work!

[Amanda Sikes]

I could tell that they were planes! That was my first guess. I love the pink butterflies! I have a butterfly cutter so I will be trying these when I ever have time to "play" again.

[Mary]

We love them!!! And we knew they were cars and airplanes right away! I think we were more excited to see our names on someone's blog :) ha ha ha We cannot wait to see and taste them in person. And how did you know green was my favorite color!?

[Molly]

These are really cute cookies! I love the simple design - they look great!

[Kate]

I saw a car and a plane right away. Your awesomeness was not lost on me, my friend.

Lovely looking cookies :-) (As always!)

[Kristin]

I noticed even before you asked that they were cars and airplanes!

[Kari]

Super job! And... yes... I could easily tell that they were planes and cars. My boys would love them. :)

I should never look at pictures of cookies at 10 at night... now I wants something SWEET to eat. LOL.

Good night,
Kari

[janis]

Could those be any cuter????

I totally saw the planes and cars so don't worry about those! :)

Have a great week and a fantastic time at your class!!!

TTYL

[Nancy]

Just so you know....I say the planes and the car right away!
I think they are just gorgeous! The butterflies are great!
Keep it up Amanda!

[sheri]

too cute! they totally look like airplanes and cars.

[pea & pear]

I just found your gorgeous blog. I can't wait to spend some more time here :) These cookies are divine!

[bridget {bake at 350}]

I knew exactly what they were (my 10 y.o. says, "me, too")! I love the green and pink...so bright and happy!

Yes, Sweetopia is AMAZING!!! I just about CRIED the first time I saw her blog...it is SO, SO beautiful!

[Alex]

I have never made royal icing before, a crime, I know. This recipe looks really good, though, so I'll have to try it! The cookies are so pretty. We'll see how good I do...

[Mandi]

Oh my goodness, sweetness!! They turned out great - and before I even read that people couldn't identify the shapes, I totally saw the cars and airplanes! So no worries! The girly ones are adorable as well - I LOVE your handwriting (ok ok, I'm more jealous cause I have scribbly boy hand writing) and am super impressed at how neat and clean it turns out on your cookies!

[Christina]

Two of my favorite colors!
Kelly Green and Coral.
Love them!!
And did you take those pictures?
You could so do professional photography!!

[Kristin Smith]

Beautiful work...simple yet classic. I love them! And I could tell right away that was an airplane...so don't put yourself down too much!! :) I am sure that she was blessed by them!

Have a great day!
Kristin

[Diane {createdbydiane.blogspot.com}]

I can't believe I missed so many posts :(
If you don't want it so crunchy but still hard to touch, add a tablespoon of corn syrup and it makes it very shiny too :)

[grace]

how could anyone not like such delighful cookies? of course she'll like them! so colorful and tidy. and for the record, i can totally see a car and plane. :)

[Susan]

planes and cars were totally my first guess. don't give up!

[Memoria]

I guessed airplane and car, too! Lovely designs.