Five minutes before I finished cutting out 400 cookies to donate to
the BIKE MS bake sale at the dream job, I received an e-mail
from a former coworker asking if I would create cookies for a very
special bridal shower she was hosting this weekend. Despite feeling
very tempted to never touch another cookie cutter so long as I live...
And, despite receiving the call that this was the weekend
we would have to rush down to Ft. Benning in order to
squeeze our Ranger before his 5th deployment back
to Afghanistan... I still found it impossible to say no!
So... With a gentle reminder from this vintage
German plaque to Create Gladly, I got started!
My friend's wish was to delight guests attending the Bridal Tea with some
of my decorated sugar cookies in the shape of wedding gowns, teacups and
teapots. I was asked to incorporate a touch of the bride's color as well!
Perhaps it was the crush of creating 400 cookies just ten days ago... Or
maybe it's because I was ordered to stay off my feet for the past seven
weeks to allow my Achilles tendon to heal... Which by the way, being
confined to the house has me missing the dream-job more than I ever
imagined would be possible! Or maybe it's a little of all that on top of
the call regarding Ranger's deployment date being certain; but bottom
line, when the time came to create teapots and teacups, I simply had
nothing left. For the first time that I can remember, I felt entirely...
Uninspired! Then, I realized that all my little teapots and
teacups needed to tie them to a Bridal Tea was a little Love!
So I grabbed the tiny heart-shaped cookie cutter from my
Martha by Mail collection and, I cut hearts into the handles!
Nothing inspires like Love!
Not only did Love solve the dilemma of how to transform simple
teapot and teacup cookies into cookies worthy of a Bridal Tea...
The resulting heart cut-out made the
perfect miniature cookies to go with them!
Because everyone knows you can't have tea without cookies!
Isn't that right?
Honestly, how cute are these tiny heart cookies?
Suddenly, it all came together and I
couldn't wait for my friend to see them!
You know, it's funny how things work out...
My friend happens to live near Charlotte so finding out that
we had to leave a day before she planned to come pick up
the cookies seemed like a problem. However, since we were
driving right through Charlotte on our way to Ft. Benning...
Problem solved!
We met early this morning and guess what...
My friend loved the cookies!
I couldn't help but hold back one teapot and teacup set to send to
my mom... This week was her birthday and in the package of gifts I
sent, I included one of the bicycle cookies I created. Sadly, it did
not arrive in one piece... But that's okay because unless my cookies
arrive broken, my mother will not eat them! She tells me they are
too pretty to eat... However, since the bike was broken she enjoyed
it with her evening tea. I can't wait to hear what she thinks of these!
These wedding gown cookies were created with what has become
my go-to cookie cutter for wedding-favor cookies. It is of course, by
wardrobe of dress shapes and I used most of them here. But when
given a choice, this is the shape that always wins for weddings!
Shhhh! Don't tell... But I may have recently
added a pink cake stand to my collection!
In terms of how I decorated the wedding gowns...
Each is different; however, I kept it simple with an elegant
white-on-white royal icing design. To complete them, I
tied a silky ribbon in the bride's color around the waist!
When decorating cookies with ribbon, I always choose a transparent
fabric because it allows the icing decoration to show through...
See? No cover-up!
It's always a little hard to let them go...
But imaging about how much they'll be enjoyed always helps!
Ready to go!
Remember that collection of copper cookie cutters that found me
last month? You might remember that I told you I planned to sell
all of the duplicates to help fund my hunt for some more of the
Martha by Mail sets missing from my collection... Well, I'm happy
to share with you that last week, I was successful in acquiring Dogs II!
I still cannot believe it's finally mine! I've wanted this little Scottie-dog
cutter for so, so long... I wish I had it when I created this cake for my
boss since it resembles her Sweet Pea... But that's okay. I have it now!
I'm still hunting the Baby Shower cookie cutter set from the Martha by Mail
cookie cutter collection... But at least I can finally check Dogs II off my list!
Although I've been up to my eyeballs in cookies lately,
there was still some baking left for me to do last night!
You see, after I packed our suitcases I decided I just couldn't show up
empty handed... After all, it's going to be a very hectic few days for our
Ranger and his battle buddies as they prepare to deploy. So what better
to leave for them than a six tins of homemade chocolate chip cookies!
But not just any chocolate chip cookies... Yes, I whipped up three batches of
Nestle's Toll House cookies, and two batches of chocolate cookies with Reese's
peanut butter chips mixed in... But I also made my dear friend David's delicious
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies! If you haven't already, you absolutely must
bake some now! I won't even try adding to David's already-perfect description of
these treats... They are simply the best combination of chocolate and fruit, ever!
Ranger has always been a Reese's peanut butter cup fan. So these were a must!
Not pretty at all... But stupid-easy to make and, they taste just
like a Reese's peanut butter cup turned into a chewy cookie!
To pack all of these cookies, I used these Bake it Forward tins
from Imperial Sugar. You can learn more about the story here!
These tins are perfect! Not only do they fit exactly into the USPS's APO, AE
flat-rate shipping boxes I use to send Ranger and his buddies care packages...
My cookies always arrive in one piece, no matter what type of cookies I ship!
The message on the top of these tins also lets the people
we love know their happiness is very important to us!
Honestly... What's better than that?
I used Ranger-yellow tissue paper and
Red, White and Blue twine... Of course!
Before I close, I must tell you about a truly spectacular find today!
And no, it's not the train rack I picked up at the
Pottery Barn outlet. Although that was pretty sweet!
No, I'm referring to Kudzu. Not the invasive vine eating the South, silly!
I'm talking about the amazing Antique market on the outskirts of
downtown Atlanta! Today marks our 15th trip to Ft. Benning; and yet,
somehow we've managed to miss Kudzu every time. Until today, that is!
I was especially excited to find this collection of vintage mason
jars like the one David uses to store vanilla sugar in his kitchen!
I keep vanilla beans in the sugar dedicated for use in my sugar cookie
recipe too; however, I thought it was high time I had a few jars like David!
I'm glad I phoned him because while I would have gladly paid $32 for the
first half-gallon jar I found... After speaking with David, I learned that price
is probably at the top of the range I should expect to pay. So I kept looking!
And, it paid off! Because I found this lot, priced just $22 for 1/2 gallon
jars, $16 for the middle size you see there and only $12 for pints!
By the way, it was 95 degrees in Atlanta today and much too warm to
leave Ranger's cookies in the Jeep while we shopped. So I brought them
into Kudzu with me. The people there were so kind to watch my tote
full of cookies that I passed out a few to thank them. Two of the sweet
ladies helping at the register said they were the best cookies ever!
Oh, to have a kitchen large enough for this stainless steel pot rack
and work table would be a dream... If your kitchen is big enough,
you better hurry to Kudzu and snap it up before it disappears!
I love your tea party cookies and how you cut the heart shape into the teapots and cups, perfect for a bridal shower. And I sure wish Atlanta was closer to Los Angeles, I'd be at Kudzu every day looking for treasure! What a great looking shop!
ReplyDeleteI always feel so uplifted after reading your blog posts. Your cookies are perfection as usual. Praying for the Ranger and his battle buddies. May they all return home safely. Love your spectacular find. You're one special lady and you continue to bless others even when you're supposed to be resting and healing. Happy Birthday to your Mom!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you dove right in to baking and decorating cookies once you finished that huge Bike MS order! The heart shaped tea pot and tea cup handles was a stroke of genious but your wonderful decorating is what makes these cookies sing, not to mention your creative packaging. I also can't believe that your Ranger is being deployed again!! He and his buddies will enjoy all those homemade cookies as much as the store clerks did. Safe travels and God's speed to all the troops.
ReplyDeleteWhat a GREAT post!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou've been a busy bee all week, but I'm not surprised because you always have something to do. I'm glad all of your cookie projects were a success and that those who tried your various treats loved them.
You're SO nice to your mother!! Love it!
By the way, that antique mall is just the type of store I love shopping at. It's those places where you end up finding those hidden treasures. The Ball jars are going to serve you well my friend, plus they're going to look so wonderful in your kitchen.
Safe travels!!!
Bisous
Wishing Ranger and you all the best for his deployment, I hope that it goes well and that he returns safely. I will keep you in my thoughts until he is back.
ReplyDeleteHope that you have fun with your ball jars - sorry, does that sound like a really odd sentance, it isn't meant to be!
Take care, Amy x