Okay… finally, here’s the post from last weekend. My camera never woke up, but I was able to rescue the photos using a friend’s card reader. Yay! Sadly, my printer and computer didn’t have built-in readers. Boo.
I would have posted this last night, but I spent the evening at Pioneer Woman’s book signing in Atlanta. It was a blast, and I did have a working camera for that—my friend lent me a Canon Digital Rebel XSi. It’s tempting to keep it: bigger screen, more megapixels, noticeably better photo quality. I keep hoping my own camera can be fixed, but I’m starting to worry it might not be. Is that even a word?
Anyway, here are the goodies from last weekend.
With Christmas approaching, I wanted to make decorated sugar cookies, but I didn’t feel like doing the usual Christmas shapes. Instead, I used a cute little cupcake cutter I recently bought, chose a less traditional color palette, and baked chocolate sugar cookies so the colors would really pop.
I love sugar cookies, though they don’t always love me back. I’m still working on my piping skills—no more lumpy lines. I won’t give up until my borders are smooth and precise.
Some of these turned out pretty well:
Others… not so much. But if you squint, they look better.
These are among the better ones. I like to plan ahead when working with royal icing: sketch the border colors and the flood colors before you start. It makes the process smoother and helps avoid muddying the hues.
The cookie recipe I used is from the book Cookie Craft. If you want to learn how to make decorated cookies like these, that book is full of practical tips and techniques—highly recommended.
And if you’re lucky, you might win a cookie-themed prize pack.
The prize includes the original Cookie Craft book plus the mini Cookie Craft Christmas book, both of which have recipes, ideas, and handy tips. The Christmas edition is especially cute and compact—perfect for quick reference.
Also included is a two-piece cupcake cookie cutter set, a few cupcake stencils you can use on cookies, a cupcake-shaped cake tester (completely unnecessary but adorable), and tiny cupcake spatulas. I picked most of these items up at Crate & Barrel; I love collecting small, charming baking tools and thought you might enjoy them, too.
Everything comes packed in a sparkly stocking—festive and fun.
Enter to win it all
- Leave a comment on this post telling me what you want for Christmas—big or small, silly or serious. Let’s share wishes this season.
- Me first: I want to spend time with my family—laughing, hugging, eating—and take lots of photos of them with that big, shiny camera I mentioned. That sounds perfect.
- Deadline to enter has passed. Time’s up!
- The winner was selected at random and announced on this post.
Good luck to everyone who entered.
Winner
We have a winner, and it was a high number this time.
#5935 – YAY CAROLINE! I hope you enjoy the stocking full of goodies and that you get that immersion blender you mentioned.
To everyone who entered: thank you for sharing your Christmas wishes. Reading them brought smiles and tears—many are truly meaningful. I hope each of your wishes comes true. Hugs to you all.