Totally exhuasted but I am done! - Page 2

Thank you everyone for the nice comments. I told my daughter who is 7 what I was doing and she wanted me to do something older, but I just love arthur, LOL, I will watch it without the kids around. (How sad is that? LOL) And the Clifford ones were just too cute to not try and do them. My 7 year saw them this morning and really liked them, so I might even pull in the second and third grade crowd. =) I am okay with the price. If they are only 50 cents then people who normally wouldn't get fancy cookies can afford them (which is the whole reason why I started making my own anyways). I think that a dollar each would be reasonable though and that would make the PTA 30 bucks just off of those...but they can do as they please. =) I need to go see if they are dry enough to package yet. I want to get them to the school today. Then tonight I will make some double chocolate chocolate chip cookies per my daughter's second grade class request, because it is their favorite.

I have had a few people ask how I make them etc, so I will put it on here. Sorry if it is more info than anyone wants, or if it is a bit disjointed....still sleep deprived. LOL

I look online for images that I want using Google images. So if I want ducks I would look that up. I find the pic I like and save it. Then I print it out the size that I want. Cut around the shape and if it is something I think I will use again I will put contact paper around it and again cut around that shape. You lay this pattern on the cookie dough, and cut around it. The dough will cut easier if it is chilled. The warmer it is the harder it is to cut. (side note here. I found that the best rolling pin is a 2 foot piece of pvc pipe that I found at lowe's. Also pick up a 1/4 inch dowel. Cut that in two and lay them on each side of your dough. Place your rolling pin on that and roll out dough. It will give you an even layer of dough everytime. Total cost for both is less than $5.) If I get rough edges I will smooth them with my finger before baking. Oh be sure and roll your dough out on parchment paper and also line your cookie sheets with it. Preferably use the silicone treated kind that wilton sells. YOu can find it fairly cheap at walmart in the cake decorating isle. I will use a large icing spatula to lift my cookie off of the parchment paper and put it on the cookie sheet. When the cookies are done baking as soon as I take them out I roll them flat with my non stick rolling pin. To put the picture on the cookie I draw my outline in black royal icing that is semi thick. Don't be overwhelmed by this. I can't draw with a pen at all, but give me a tube of icing and it works somehow. Just start with the outside first. Then work your way in to the smaller details. You will want to buy americolor super black...stay away from wilton black blech! you can buy it on this website. I have a small kitchen, so the smaller the mess the better. I use only one bowl and one knife to make my colors in. I rinse after each color. Trust me it will save time and dishes in the long run. You will want to buy either parchment triangles or disposable piping bags (both available at walmart or michael's) For the outlining I use a #2 tip. For the flooding I just make a small hole and don't use a tip. I only use one color at a time, most of the time (it depends on the cookie). Really all I am doing is just copying the picture onto the cookie. I just decided to go for it one day and it worked, so don't be scared to try it. You never know what will happen. The first ones I ever did like this were my peanuts cookies and blondie and dagwood in my gallery. It is a learning curve, so don't expect that they will be perfect the first time or the fifteenth...LOL. I don't think any of mine are perfect. I can see a flaw in all of them, but they are good enough to keep going. Maybe someday I will achieve that perfect cookie. LOL This is probably more info than you were wanting but I hope that it helps. I will also include my recipes.

Sugar cookies:
2 sticks butter softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla (only the real kind)
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour

chill dough for 1 hour
bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown

royal icing
2 pound bag of C&H powdered sugar (only use this for best results)
3 tblsp meringue powder (found at michael's)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange
2 tsp lemon
*you can play around with the flavors....that is just what I like. I have to have enough to mask the meringue powder taste*
water to the right consistency....it will vary from place to place, so just keep adding water until it is a smooth consistency (think cool whip) then beat for 5 to 7 minutes.
for flooding, you add tiny tiny tiny amounts of water until it will blend into itself within a few seconds. DOn't get it too thin. I have found the easiest way to do this is to just wet my butter knife each time I need more water.

well, there you go....that is how I do it. =)

thank you, thank you, thank you, and you are welcome. But I do need to make a correction...my first more than basic cookies were curious george not the ones I mentioned.....I knew I was tired..I got to thinking about on my way home from my son's speech. LOL....but of course, feel free to check them all out! =) I was so disappointed when I took the cookies to the school. Everyone was busy and so no one even looked at them. They just had me leave them on the counter....=( oh well. I am sure that I will get some comments tomorrow or at least over hear them. I am not usually a high maintenence person, but when it comes to my baking I totally need the ego strokes.....anyone else like that? or is it just me?

I don't sell, because I am not licensed to do so....and because no one has asked with wanting to buy any LOL( except my Aunt)`. I would way charge more than 50 cents IF I were selling them myself. I am not sure how much though. I haven't figured that out. I have thought of making and selling some to people at church as a fundraiser for the PTA next year instead of selling stuff out of the crap catalogue they want you to buy from. or to make money for our remodeling campaign at church. But I need to think about it some more. Thank you everyone for all your kind words. It really does make me feel good and not second geuss myself.