Root Beer Float (Cookie Tutorial)~

 

I thought it would be fun to post an easy tutorial for the root beer float cookies I made earlier this summer (in honor of National Root Beer Float Day~ yep, that's tomorrow).  These were made for a graduation party styled by my friend, Christy from Itsy Belle.

I colored my fondant brown & rolled it so it wasn't too thin, since I'd be using stamps on it.

I measured my cookie so I knew what size to make my fondant, then used a pizza cutter to cut it down to size.  Next, I stamped out the words I wanted...this may take some practice so maybe try a word or two on a scrap piece of fondant first to get a hang of stamping straight.  I actually like the imperfect look that stamping brings to a project, it gives it character!

Once your words are on, take a toothpick and make the lines for your mug, make sure you space these evenly.

Brush corn syrup onto your cookies, staying away from the edges of the cookie because this stuff is super sticky and will sneak out from under the fondant if you add too much.  Once the corn syrup is on you can gently press your mug onto the cookie.

I used the top of this purse cutter to make my fondant, ice cream scoop but a circle cutter would work too.  Add this to the top of the cookie.

Now is a good time to start mixing your royal icing. While that's mixing up you can make your straws...I LOVE stripey straws but you can make them a single color if you'd like, it would definitely save you some time.  If you want the 2 tone affect just roll out 2 different colors of fondant into long, thin ropes.  lay them next to one another and start twisting, gently pressing as you roll it back and forth on your surface so it sticks together.  I always use a little powdered sugar on my work surface to keep the fondant from getting too sticky.  You could also use corn starch.

Cut your straws evenly by finding a size you like then laying your cut straw next to the fondant rope and cutting the next straw the same size.  Continue this until all of your straws are cut.
           (Oops, we have an over achiever in the group!!)

By now your royal icing should be ready.  Put it in a pastry bag with a pretty small tip, I used a #2.  First I outlined the mug and added a handle on the side.  Next I added the "over flow" so it looks like the foam is running down the side of the glass.  Add more royal icing where you plan on placing your straw and immediately add the straw (the royal icing will start to set up pretty quickly).

Add a few swirls of royal icing to hide the seam between the mug and the ice cream and your finished... SO cute, right!!  Let them set up for a few hours before serving them and give them a good 12-24 hours to harden before you place them in bags.

These were used at a graduation party, such a cute idea!  I also made these bottle cap cookies to go with the root beer theme...

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a ROOTIN' great day!!



 xo

Hi Mom, I'm on TV.!!!

Hey everybody!  Sorry it's been a while but I've been having one heck of a busy summer.  Both of my girls are on the local pool's summer swim team, which means practice EVERY day (no weekends, thank God!!) I had my kitchen and dining room made over for a new TV show, and I've had some pretty cool orders, I'll have to share them with you soon.

Wait a minute, rewind to the TV makeover...
That's right, my kitchen was selected out of scads of applications to be made over for the new show, Knock it Off!  This makeover was SOO needed because whether you know or not, I run my business out of my home kitchen.

Here's one of the pics. I sent to the designers and stars of the show, Monica and Jess of the popular DIY blog, East Coast Creative.  Pickled pine cabinets, laminate counter tops, and those floors!! No wonder they chose us! ;)

I don't want to give too much away because our episode airs TONIGHT at 7 EST on the Live Well Network. (Check HERE for local listings.)  Go set your DVR's and let me know what you think!!

SPOILER: If you don't have access to a TV or maybe you don't have cable, you can watch the full episode HERE right now....Shhhh, don't tell everyone else!! ;))


Oh... PS, Happy National Ice Cream Day!!  Check out this "COOL" cookie tutorial I had featured on timetoplaymag.com

Leprechaun Cookie Tutorial

  Happy St. Patrick's Day... I'm feeling lucky today!!!  This week I had the pleasure of working with my sweet, artistic mother.

Most of the good things that happen to me in my life start with my mother.  She has always encouraged me to use my creativity, and has been saying, "Linda, you are an artist" since I was in kindergarten! ;))  The truth is, SHE is the artist!!  Still, at 82 years young, she is SO clever and funny and is always drawing on everything from newspapers to mailing envelopes.  I'm pretty sure I've never gotten mail from her that didn't have some sort of funny drawing on it.   Well, last week I found a sketch she had drawn of a leprechaun sitting on a rainbow and decided I needed to "cookie it".  It was such a fun project for me, so I  decided to make this tutorial for you guys.

The steps are pretty easy to follow and I've included lots of pictures, taken by my talented photographer friend, Nicole of Expressions by Nicole Marie.

                             What you'll need~

Your favorite sugar cookie recipe

fondant

food coloring.

fondant roller

corn syrup

pearl dust

gold disco dust

food use only- paint brushes

black food writer

scissors

sharp knife or blade

parchment or tracing paper

                                          
                           My Mom's sketch~

 

 1.) Start out by tracing the original drawing onto parchment paper.

2.) Make an outline around your drawing to determine the size of your cookie. (I actually scaled my copy down a little because I didn't want a huge cookie. By doing this, I think the drawing started taking on the characteristics of my own drawing style).

3.) Roll out the sugar cookie dough. Using your drawing as a guide, cut out your cookie.

 

                     While your cookie is baking...

4.) Now you can cut your drawing apart to use as a template for forming your fondant pieces.

 For each color, I used around a 2 inch ball of fondant. I added food coloring a little at a time until I had the color I wanted.  I use Duff Goldman brand in white, vanilla, it has a nice flavor and is easy to work with. The fondant comes in a 2 lb container. I buy it at Michaels. You can use any brand of fondant or make your own.  

 

To make the fondant stripes for the rainbow, roll out the colored fondant into long, thin strips. Make sure to apply even pressure while you're rolling them out so they are uniform in size.

 

   Lay your colored strips down, pressing them lightly together, and roll them flat.

5.) Brush your cookie with corn syrup. This will act as your "glue" sticking the fondant pieces to the cookie.

*Make sure you add the fondant pieces to your cookie in the right order. (I'd recommend setting them up on parchment first. Then once you're happy with the layout, add them to the cookie). The corn syrup is sticky so it will be difficult to remove the fondant once you've laid it down.

 

 

6.) Finishing touches~ I add pearl, lustre dust to almost all of my cookies, because it really makes the fondant pop. I used my large brush to add it to the rainbow and the pot of gold. To add the gold disco dust to the pieces of gold, brush them with a tiny bit of water. Then take your large brush, dip it into the disco dust and shake it out over the wet areas. Shake the excess off, it will stick to only the wet areas.

 Near misty stream in Ireland
in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns
who are clever as can be

With their pointed ears,
and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes
and try hard not to be seen.

Only those who really believe
have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves.
{Irish Blessing~ author unknown}
                       xo

Fondant, Favor Cookies {A Tutorial!}

Have you ever decorated sugar cookies? 

  Some cookiers {is that even a word?} prefer decorating their cookies with royal icing, ya know the stuff you use on gingerbread houses.  It goes on wet and dries very hard.  It's great for creating tiny details and intricate designs but in my opinion is not always user friendly.  I like to use fondant to decorate my sugar cookies.  I like the way it tastes (some brands are much better than others), and most of all I love the 3D effects you can achieve without a tremendous amount of effort. 
A friend of mine who makes delicious, gluten free cookies asked me to do a fondant tutorial for her.  So D, this is for you!! {check out her blog, it's very cool!!)

I made these cookies to be used as favors for a bridal shower and think they are something that anyone from a beginner to a professional can and will want to try.  

Once you find a cookie recipe you like, bake your cookies and let them cool completely before you start decorating.  Fondant is temperature sensitive and I can testify that it will melt if it isn't used AND kept at room temperature.  (Sadly, the air conditioning in my car went out just in time for my sister, Carrie's 50th birthday party on a 90+ degree, August day.  What she ended up with for a cake was...let's just say, messy but delicious!!)
  Back to the cookies~

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
cookies to decorate
fondant
food coloring (2 different colors)
powdered sugar (for rolling out your fondant)
fondant rolling pin (if you don't have one a regular rolling pin should work too)
corn syrup
water
small and large paint brushes
patterned stamp (mine is from Michaels craft store)
letter stamps (also from Michaels~clay section)
royal icing (you can buy a mix or make your own)
edible glitter

I find it's easiest to use corn syrup in a squeeze bottle.  You can squeeze out as much or as little as you'd like.  The other option would be to paint it on with a small paint brush used only for this purpose.

 

 I was asked to make cookies to match these pretty, bridal shower invitations.  I started my search for the perfect stamp to use to mimic the filigree and was SO happy when I found the one below at a local craft store!

I added the food coloring little by little until I had a perfect match to the invitation.  Using a little powdered sugar sprinkled on a piece of parchment, I rolled the fondant pretty thin. (around 1/16th of an inch)  You want is as thin as possible because you're going to be using 2 layers of fondant for this design and fondant is very sweet!

Place your stamp down and roll over it with your rolling pin. (pressing firmly but not too hard or the fondant will stick to the stamp.  Adding a little powdered sugar to the top of the fondant should keep it from sticking).

 

 Cut out a circle with your large cutter and press it onto the corn syrup-covered cookie.

 

Follow the same steps for the smaller inside circle.  I recommend stamping your monogram first, then cutting it out.  Add a dab of water to the back of your small circle and press it down to stick it to the larger circle.  Brush the entire cookie with edible glitter such as pearl dust, it makes the filagree POP!

*You could actually stop here, let your cookies sit out for a few hours until the fondant is firm then wrap them in cellophane bags and tie them with a coordinating ribbon.

 

OR...for the more experienced (or daring) decorators, use a pastry bag filled with royal icing and a #2 tip to pipe borders around both circles.  If you do this, I'd recommend letting the cookies sit out overnight before placing them in bags.

 

I hope this was easy to follow.  If not, I'd be happy to answer any questions....for a fee...just kidding!! . 

 

  

Here are some cupcakes and a cake  that I made that same weekend.  I just love the fall colors, don't you?!!

 

 

 

Happy FALL and Happy decorating!!!

xo

You can also find this tutorial on:

 

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Back To School~ Apple Cake Pop Tutorial

 Happy Labor Day 2012!

 

 My kiddos start back to school this week and thankfully, they are really excited to go back.  (I guess watching me decorate cookies all summer wasn't exactly their idea of fun)!??!

 

Here's something FUN to do with your own kids.  Don't forget to send some in to their teachers!!    

 

     APPLE CAKE POPS~ (yummy and adorable)!!!

Here's what you'll need~
red candy melts
lollipop sticks
home made/store bought cake
container of icing
fondant
food color~ green, brown, yellow
edible eyeballs
parchment paper
baking tray
styrofoam (for drying your pops)
Crisco shortening (optional)

 You'll only really need the red candy melts but if you want to add the worm, stem, and leaf buy a small pack of fondant.

First make the stems, leaves, and worms.  Attach the eyes by brushing a very small amount of water or vodka onto the worms head.  Press down gently on the eyes until they are set.  Leave these aside to harden.

 

Mix (by hand or with an electric mixer) cake and a small amount of icing.  Add just enough icing so that you can easily form balls out of your cake mixture.  Be sure to add the icing just a little at a time, if you add too much you will have a mushy mess!!!

Form small, round cake balls.  (I flatten one end to give it the apple shape).  Put them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Place these in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to firm up.

In the meantime, melt your red candy melts in the microwave (30 seconds at a time, stirring).  Or on the stove in a double broiler. 

Once melted, stir in a tsp. or so of  Crisco shortening to keep the chocolate from firming up too quickly.

Take the cake balls out of the refrigerator.  Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate then stick it into a cake ball.  (This will help the stick stay put).

Dunk the cake pop into the melted chocolate.  When you pull it out, let the excess chocolate drip back into the container.

Stick your cake pop into styrofoam to dry.

Quickly take a fondant worm and push it into the side of your apple.  Hold it there for 15-20 seconds to make sure it isn't going anywhere. Now place the stem and leaf on top, pressing them into place.

Once you finish your apple pops put them back in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them.

 

Look how cute they turn out!!!

 

and they are delicious too, just ask Kati!!  ; )

Here's the back to school table I put together for the Fall 2012 issue of Bird's Party Magazine.  I had such a fun time planning this and the best part is that it was SO affordable.  You might be tempted to do this for your own kids, or for a teacher appreciation luncheon.  You could even take the basic layout and turn it into a sweet table for a birthday party.  Here's what I did. . . .

 

I bought these small flower pots at Michaels craft store for a party I had last year.  I re-purposed them by spraying them with chalk board paint. And they only needed one coat!  I made the pinwheel cookies which you can order by emailing me here. Or make your own cookies on a stick and pop it into a small piece of styrofoam (why not use the leftover styrofoam from drying your apple pops)!

 

These adorable favor boxes open just like a real lunch box and were made by Do Driver, the creative force behind Piggy Bank Parties.  She can make anything into a favor box and her prices...well, her name says it all...You pay just $9 for these and can print out as many as you need!!!  I added the name tags that I found at Michaels in the dollar bins.  And the ribbon (also from Michaels) I used a 40% off coupon that they send you every week if you subscribe to receive their emails. 

OK, not everyone has the time, energy, or need to refinish a desk just for a party.  We actually needed a desk for my younger daughter so it was a win, win for us when I found this gem at a rummage sale for $15!  It was old, brown, and beaten up but all it needed was a little TLC.  OK, it actually needed serious sanding, 2 coats of primer and around 6 coats of spray paint.  I used chalk board paint on the top. ( I really got a lot of use out of just 1 can.  The desk, pots, and the "black board").

 

The reason I have it in quotes is that this is not a real blackboard, well at least it wasn't when I started.  Here's what I did~

I bought poster board sized, foam board at Dollar General (my favorite dollar store).  I sprayed it with the chalkboard paint and voila'!  Yes, I know that spray paint melts foam board but I only paid a dollar for it so it was worth trying out.  Just make sure you keep away from the edges or at least spray them very lightly.  Your finish will not be perfect because, like I said spray paint and foam board are not friends.  I just took a chalk dust-filled eraser and went to town erasing.  This covered up any evidence of my crime!! ;))

 

The bunting sign below took all of 20 minutes to make.  I buy rolls of craft paper at the dollar store and use it for everything:  drop cloths, coloring/painting with the kids, wrapping the books I have the cake pops displayed on, wrapping gifts, making cute bunting signs!!  I bought the stamp set at Michael and hung it on twine.  My favorite place to buy twine is The Twinery.

 These cookie, drawer pulls are one of my favorite parts of the display.  I baked apple-shaped sugar cookies upside down, with a lollipop stick (cut in half) sticking straight out of the back of it.  I slid this into the hole left when I removed the original drawer pull.(crazy or pure genius)!?!?!

I hand painted all of the apple cookies with food coloring thinned with a tiny bit of vodka {hiccup!!!}

Well, good luck with the new school year....or with making the apple pops, or with creating your own magazine-shoot worthy party on a budget!!  You can always email me with any questions. xo



As always, gorgeous photography by~ Expressions by Nicole Marie

This post is linked up on Piggy Bank Party's Silly Sunday link party!! : )
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Easy, Peasy Measuring~ Ribbon for Favor Cookies

Yesterday I made 180 favor cookies for a wedding. Baking and decorating them took a very LONG time.  By the time I was ready to cut the ribbon to tie the bags, I was beat!!   Earlier, when I was buying ribbon, I figured I would need around 12 inches of ribbon to tie each favor bag. The spools of ribbon I had chosen were 10 yards long, so I bought 6 spools.
There IS a reason I'm boring you with these details...

I had just enough ribbon for 180 bows.  Why didn't I buy more ribbon?  I just don't have a good answer for that one!!!
I was going to measure out and cut a 12" piece of ribbon and cut the others, all 179 of them, by measuring them against it.  I came up with this time-saver instead and thought I'd pass it along!! 

I held the end of the ribbon against the tip of a ruler and started wrapping...around... and around... and... well, you get it!  ; )

Once the entire spool of ribbon was tightly wrapped around my ruler, I GENTLY eased the ruler out.  (Make sure you have a good grip on the top of the ribbon so nothing falls out of place.)
You will be left with loops of ribbon.  Now, cut through the bottoms, then the tops.   This was such a huge time saver for me!

In the end, each cut ribbon measured 12 inches!  Here's what your finished 12 inch bow will look like.

<3

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{Featured} Holiday Cookie Tutorial~

I can hardly contain my excitement over my very first magazine feature!!!  I was asked to make a holiday cookie tutorial for Bird's Party Magazine Holiday 2011 edition.  Let me start by saying that Bird's Party is an incredibly creative site and a great resource for party ideas.   The magazine is equally as fantastic with tons of ideas for DIY holiday entertaining!

I wanted to make something unique and right away thought about the cookie ornaments my daughter, Amanda always insists I make for our Christmas tree.  I found this cute snow globe cookie cutter at Foose cookie cutters.  Check out the ezine for the full tutorial {It's SO easy to make!!}

The great thing about these cookies is their ability to be personalized. They can be used as ornaments, as I mentioned above or as a gift tag on a cute package.  Happy baking!!!  xo

I'd love to see what you create~ send pics. of your finished gift tag/ornament cookies to me at linda.p.schwart@gmail.com