Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Cherry Pie Cookies.....and a Tutorial Too!!

Would you like some pie?




Best thing about a pie cookie is that you can eat the WHOLE thing!
(You don't have to share!!)

I've always loved cookies that look like food.

Ever since I first saw Ali Bee's pie cookies, I've wanted to make these myself!

I've done chocolate cream and pumpkin, but I hadn't yet tackled fruit pies.






Want to make your own?


Tutorial Time!


Bake round cookies using your favorite recipe and mix a batch of royal icing.

Thin some of your icing to a 20-second consistency and color it a 'fruit' color.
I used dark red for this cherry pie, but you could make blueberry or apple too!

(I almost always refer to Sugarbelle's color chart when I mix a custom color!)




Pipe a circle about 3/8 of an inch inside the edge of your cookie.

The space you leave will be how thick your 'outer crust' will be.







Make some cherry shaped blobs with some space between them.
(highly technical, I know)

These are all different sizes and shapes.
Some the size of peas...all the way up to the size of a dime.

Set that cookie aside and let it dry about 20 minutes or so.



Then....do the same thing all over again.
Make some cherry shaped dots, let dry, repeat until full.










Let those dry!






Now the Crust!!!

The top and side crust are both made with piping consistency ivory icing.




I used a 301 tip for the lattice strips.





Its a small flat tip, kind of like a basket weave without the grooves.

I've seen it called a 'calligraphy' tip, but I've never actually tried it for writing.






First one direction...




....then the other.




Easy-peasy.

I liked that the lines are all bumpy like a real pie!






Now, how you feel the edges of a pie should look really depends on your family.
Some people just fold it over on itself, others make a little ruffle.


My grandmother used a fork to crimp the edges of her pies, 
so that's what I wanted to re-create.




This is a 101s petal tip.




I held the cookie in one hand and made a smooshed ruffle,
making sure that the crust met the filling.

Then set it down veeeeeeerrrrrrrry carefully.





Let it dry really well.

Overnight would be best.





Look....it's a pie!!!

But....hmmmm.
It still looks a bit....raw.



When my grandmother baked a pie it was all shiny and golden.
They never looked pale like this!

Nothing a little painting can't fix!


I can never remember if she used milk or an egg-wash,
so I used Vodka!!!!
(heh-heh)

Mix a bit of vodka (or water, or vanilla extract) with a bit of warm brown food coloring...




...and paint it on just like you would before you would bake a pie.

No need to be careful.
Just get your brush wet and brush over all the crust!




That's better!!!!




But now comes the real debate.








Do you prefer whipped cream or ice cream on your pie?








Or both?!



Thanks for stopping by! Lizy B
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Friday, July 26, 2013

Bridal Shower Crown and Glass Slipper Cookies!

What kind of cookies do you make for a bride who loves Cinderella?
Crowns of course!!!




White for the bride and pink for her lovely bridesmaids!










...and if you love Cinderella, what else do you need?










Glass Slippers of course!











These days, brides are much better prepared than Cinderella was.

They've learned, don't ever get caught with just one slipper!











Pack extra!!!









(Glass Slipper cookies were favors for bridal shower guests!)











Congratulations Krysalynn!

See you at the wedding!



Thanks for stopping by! Lizy B
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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Tropical Flower Cookies!





I have Hawaii on the brain lately.

Tropical drinks, suntan lotion, gorgeous sunsets.....

so I made some tropical flowers to go with my daydreams!



When readers ask me how to start decorating cookies,

or what shape to start with,

I usually suggest these wet-on-wet Hibiscus flowers.




They only require two colors, come together super quickly,

and because there isn't really a 'right way' to do them,

a beginner can get really great results!




The basic instructions are the same as the wet-on-wet tutorial I posted for Fall Leaf Cookies.

(You can see that HERE)

Except, I used a sand dollar cookie cutter, not a leaf.
That would have been weird.

You can find that cutter here...

Sand Dollar Cookie Cutter

The leaves....




are from the Wilton Set of 3 Leaf Cut Outs.

My all-time, favoritist, can't-live-without-them, leaf cutters!

You can find them here

Wilton Set of 3 Leaf Cut Outs
You can also find them just about anywhere that has a Wilton Cake Decorating aisle
(Michaels, Jo-Ann's, Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby etc.)




Happy Daydreams everybody!
Now if I could only find a hammock.....




Thanks for stopping by! Lizy B
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Friday, July 19, 2013

Jack's Summer Reading Tree

I love to read.
I love books, bookstores, words, word puzzles, blogs...you name it, I love it!

So it's really no surprise that I've been obsessed focused on instilling a love of reading in my boys.

After trying charts and timers, stickers and lollipops.....

I've found that they really enjoy a visual, tangible way 
to see how much they've read over the summer.


This year Jack and I came up with a Reading Tree!



Our tree has been growing for about three weeks!
(school gets out for us in late June)

What do you think!?


It started out as an idea after reading one of our favorite books,

Rocket Writes a Story


Rocket is a little dog who learns to read from his teacher, the little yellow bird.
 When ever they find a new word....they write it on a little sticky note and put it on their tree!

Jack said, "I wish we had a tree like that!  I would cover the whole thing up!"

I wasn't about to let an opportunity like that pass us by!




I found the branches in the clearance aisle at Jo-Ann's.




They're a little rubbery so I was able to bend and stretch them out.
At first I had them in the vase by themselves, but that bothered Jack.

"Mom, that's NOT a tree! 
Trees don't just grow in a vase full of air.  
They need to be planted in something or they'll flop over!"
(silly mommy, what was I thinking!)

The rocks are from our backyard and I had a little bag of moss.

Tree planted....problem solved (whew!).




I used green card stock and cut a bunch of leaf shapes
(just freehand, nothing fancy),
punched holes in them and precut some green ribbon.

These are all in a little bowl with a pencil by the base of the tree.




When Jack finishes a book, he grabs a leaf, writes the book's name on it
(this also gets him some much needed printing practice before 1st grade)...




...puts the little ribbon stem through the hole...



...and its ready for the tree!

Sometimes he ties it on, sometimes he leaves it for me.







I can't wait to see how full it gets by the end of summer!


Thanks for stopping by! Lizy B
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