Sunday, February 24, 2013
February just flew by!
Could it be that the last time I posted was February 3rd? Yikes!!! Well in my defense February is a short month and I was busy planning my daughter's baptism which got interrupted by a stomach virus and the days just got away from me! But I have two more projects to post and talk about, I just need to actually write about them. I guess this is what happens to everyone who says "I'm going to write a blog, how hard can it be?". Well my friends, I'm here to tell you that it is more difficult to keep up with than you think:) I promise to have new posts this week, just bear with me...
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Cookie Challenege Complete!
I did it! I completed the second inspiration challenge from Cake Central (http://cakecentral.com/b/inspiration-challenge-cookies). I just made the deadline last night by the skin of my teeth. I baked sugar cookies in a few different shapes. First I used a cookie pop pan to make 4 inch circles. I did this instead of using cookie cutters because I wanted a deep cookie and the batter I used does not lend itself to being rolled out easily. It's a great recipe because you don't have to chill the batter as with most sugar cookies recipes. I also used mini tart pans in both a circle and diamond shape.
After baking the cookies, I looked at the color scheme and started in on coloring the fondant and icing. I had this idea of making a base cookie with blue buttercream to represent the water and a second cookie that would be attached to the back of the first cookie decorated to look like the setting sun. Of course, things always look different in my head and on paper than they do when I first start putting them together.
Here is the finished product. I put light brown sugar on the cake plate to represent sand. The cookies actually held together well (and they tasted pretty good too:). The palm tree is made of a lollipop stick covered in brown fondant that I twisted to look like the bark of a palm tree. As I was assembling the plate to have it photographed the leaves of the palm tree fell off so I attempted to put them back on, but they looked a little limp. I think my mistake was not giving the tree enough time to set, but like I said I was on a time crunch.
I wanted to make a sailboat cookie, but again, time was not on my side, so I decided to make it look more like a surf board with a towel and some flip flops laying on it. I filled in the empty space with white chocolate shells that I dusted with silver luster dust to give them a little shine. I have to work on getting the scale of all the components to be equal.
I really enjoyed working on this project. It was nice to think about a tropical island when the temperatures here are freezing. I felt happy that I finished this challenge, but a little disappointed in the final product. I just didn't feel like I had a clear picture in my head of how I wanted the scene to look and the materials didn't work exactly as I thought they would. I was most pleased with the baking aspect of this project. The texture and taste of the cookies were great and I loved how they baked in the tart pans. Next time, I need to give myself more time and think through the design a little more. Thanks again to my wonderful husband for taking the photos!
The winner will be announced on February 4th. You can check out all the amazing entries here: http://cakecentral.com/g/a/3288366/cookie-challenge-2/. I'm so impressed by some of these cookies-the detail is unbelievable! Check back on the 4th to see who took 1st place.
After baking the cookies, I looked at the color scheme and started in on coloring the fondant and icing. I had this idea of making a base cookie with blue buttercream to represent the water and a second cookie that would be attached to the back of the first cookie decorated to look like the setting sun. Of course, things always look different in my head and on paper than they do when I first start putting them together.
Here is the finished product. I put light brown sugar on the cake plate to represent sand. The cookies actually held together well (and they tasted pretty good too:). The palm tree is made of a lollipop stick covered in brown fondant that I twisted to look like the bark of a palm tree. As I was assembling the plate to have it photographed the leaves of the palm tree fell off so I attempted to put them back on, but they looked a little limp. I think my mistake was not giving the tree enough time to set, but like I said I was on a time crunch.
I wanted to make a sailboat cookie, but again, time was not on my side, so I decided to make it look more like a surf board with a towel and some flip flops laying on it. I filled in the empty space with white chocolate shells that I dusted with silver luster dust to give them a little shine. I have to work on getting the scale of all the components to be equal.
I really enjoyed working on this project. It was nice to think about a tropical island when the temperatures here are freezing. I felt happy that I finished this challenge, but a little disappointed in the final product. I just didn't feel like I had a clear picture in my head of how I wanted the scene to look and the materials didn't work exactly as I thought they would. I was most pleased with the baking aspect of this project. The texture and taste of the cookies were great and I loved how they baked in the tart pans. Next time, I need to give myself more time and think through the design a little more. Thanks again to my wonderful husband for taking the photos!
The winner will be announced on February 4th. You can check out all the amazing entries here: http://cakecentral.com/g/a/3288366/cookie-challenge-2/. I'm so impressed by some of these cookies-the detail is unbelievable! Check back on the 4th to see who took 1st place.
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