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Fondant Flower Stem Cookies

There are lots of things that inspire me and my cookie decorations, but I tend to find lots of inspiration from cake decorators! They are just so talented and are working with a very similar medium (and limitations), which make adapting certain cake designs to cookies pretty easy.

These particular cookies were inspired by a cake an Australian cake designer who goes by @donttellcharles. His cake was very simple. A little bit of a painted effect topped with two beautiful ranunculuses, tied to the cake with a bit of twine. I mean, it’s just gorgeous! 

Which is why I had to make something similar in cookie form. And while they aren’t quite the same – they don’t have fresh flowers on them – I did try to recreate the flowers using clay and fondant molds. 

Tools and Recipes

For these cookies you will need sugar cookies cut into some sort of basic shape, like a rectangle or plaque. 

You will also need royal icing:

  • White or plain flood consistency icing
  • Green stiff consistency icing
  • Brown stiff consistency icing

To make the flowers you will need:

  • Fondant
  • Gel food coloring
  • Fondant or clay molds (I included some of my favorites below)

This was my first time using a fondant mold and it could not have been easier! Fondant is so similar to clay and is easy to shape using just about anything. I found one mold at the local craft store in the clay modeling aisle and I bought another one online that is specifically designed for fondant. Both worked the exact same way.

For the rest of the decorating, it would be helpful to have:

  • Clear alcohol (such as everclear or vodka)
  • Paint brushes
  • Piping bags
  • Piping tips in a #9 for the stems and #1 for the twine

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How to Make Them

First, color your fondant in whatever shades you’d like. Then press small amounts of fondant into the cavity of your mold. 

Make sure to really press and pack the fondant into all the groves.

The fondant doesn’t need to be dry or hardened before you can press the newly formed fondant flower out of the mold. But I would recommend letting them harden a bit before attaching them to the cookie.

Once you are ready to assemble. Abstractly paint a few complimentary shades of diluted gel food coloring onto the iced cookie. 

Pipe the stems of the flowers where you would like them with the green stiff consistency icing. 

Then glue the flower onto the top of the stem with a little bit of extra icing. 

Create more dimension in the flower by painting it with gel food coloring diluted with a bit of alcohol until you have something resembling a watercolor paint. 

Finally, pipe the twine across the stems of the flowers. 

And voila! A beautiful bunch of fondant flower stems that look like that are tied to the cookie! So cute, right?

 

How to Make a Letterboard Cake

I have to give the credit for this cake to one of my Instagram followers. While I am not sure it was her intention was to make her own letterboard cake, a string of messages sparked this cute idea!  

This letterboard cake would be perfect for an announcement, birthday, or any other special event. Since I am sort of out of announcements, I just made it for the heck of it! 

But seriously, how cute would this be for a gender reveal!? Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

Tools and Recipes

All you need for the cake is one batch of your favorite cake recipe or cake mix baked in a square baking dish. If you want to make this a two-tier cake, double up your cake and use some of your extra buttercream to fill the center. 

Here are some cake recipes you may like:

You will also need one batch of buttercream, although I had enough buttercream left over to frost a few cupcakes. 

Aside from the cake, you will also need the following:

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How to Make It

I will say, this was one of the easier cakes I have made. The most time-consuming part was cutting out the individual letters, but that wasn’t very difficult. 

The trick to this cake is just to pipe straight lines. Which is why you see me change directions of piping a few rows in. I noticed that the lines got thinner towards the end of the line. After a while it seemed like they sloped up. Going back and forth seemed to straighten out the lines. 

Other than that little tip, there is really nothing else you need to know to make this cake!

Fondant Flower Sugar Cookies

Disclaimer: Wilton provided me with their new decorating kits and other supplies in exchange for a blog post about their new products. However, all thoughts and opinions in this post are my own.

Fondant isn’t just for wedding cakes anymore!

Well, you guys know that already. I have been using fondant on cookies for a while now (exhibit 1, 2, 3). But these cookies take fondant to a whole new level, IMO, thanks to the Wilton Fondant Shapes and Cutout Kit. 

I was so inspired by the photo on the front of the box that I was dying to make a similar cake. But, sometimes I need to know my strengths (and weaknesses), and I knew I could execute a similar look on a cookie. 

The cookies were a lot of fun to create, and actually kind of therapeutic. Working with fondant is a lot like working with modeling clay. It can be very forgiving and if you mess up, you can just roll it up and try again. These cookies are definitely something that just about anyone can recreate with the right tools!

How to Make Them

Start by dying fondant in the desired shades of colors. A little fondant goes a long way, so you may only need a gumball (or smaller) -sized ball of fondant per color. 

To dye the fondant, dab a tiny amount of gel food coloring onto the fondant. Then using your hands, stretch and knead the fondant until the color is evenly incorporated. If the color is too light, add additional food coloring.

Tip: Use food-safe gloves to prevent getting food coloring all over your skin. 

Roll out the fondant with the fondant roller and the thinnest of the roller bands. Punch out various sized flowers and leaves. 

Place the cut-out flowers onto the foam and press down using the ball tool to create a more dimensional flower. 

To add some more dimension and color, brush some pink luster dust in the center of the flower. Add a little ball of the same or different color fondant to the center of the flower. Attach with a dab of water. 

To add a little more detail to the leaves, use the smaller end of the ball tool to roll around the edges. Use a toothpick to add a little line down the center. 

Allow to dry and harden while you work on the next step.

To create the striped fondant, dye a small ball of fondant a light blue (or your color of choice). Roll out the blue fondant using the fondant roller, then cut into equal sized strips. 

Roll out the plain white fondant and attach the strips of colored fondant with a little bit of water. 

Place a piece of parchment on top of the fondant and roll out the fondant with the fondant roller and widest fondant roller guide. 

Cut out the fondant using the same sized cookie cutter as the cookies the fondant will be placed on. 

Tip: Work in small batches because once your roll out the striped fondant, you will not be able to re-roll it and maintain the stripes. 

Attach the fondant to the cookie by brushing a little bit of water onto the back of the fondant then sticking it to the cookie. Use your finger to smooth out the top and edges of the fondant. 

There is not a lot of rhyme or reason for placing the flowers on the cookie. I like to start by adding the biggest flowers first, then adding smaller flowers around it. 

I also like to make sure that the arrangement is asymmetrical. So if there is one large center flower with two small flowers on one side, I won’t add two flowers to the other. I will make sure the two sides are not balanced which will make it look a bit more natural. 

“Glue” the flowers onto the cookies with a bit of stiff consistency royal icing. 

Layer the flowers and leaves until you are happy with the arrangement. Allow the royal icing to dry for about 15-20 minutes before stacking or packaging. 

Tools and Recipes

As I mentioned above, almost all of the tools I used came from the How to Decorate with Fondant Shapes and Cut-Outs including the fondant cutters, the fondant roller, the ball tool, and the foam.

I also used Wilton fondant in white and their gel food coloring, both of which I already had on hand but they had provided me with extras. 

For the exact colors of the flowers and leaves, I used very small amounts of the following colors:

  • Pink + Red
  • Pink + Brown
  • Pink + Orange + Brown
  • Orange + Pink
  • Leaf Green + Blue
  • Leaf Green + Brown

Then, of course, I left one ball of fondant just plain white. In all of the cases, the first color listed was the main color, then I added a tiny amount of the second color just to add a different tint. It’s a little bit of trial and error. 

The cookies themselves were made with a version of my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I am still working on perfecting the flavor, but my basic cookie is always a winner. Or you could try the lavender-vanilla recipe (scroll to the bottom of the post for the recipe) for a nice floral twist. 

 

 

 

Limoncello Cupcakes with Fondant Topper

Since we are headed off to Italy, I have been getting into the spirit with all things Italian. I have been taking Italian lessons with Duolingo, doing some very in-depth research (eating) of the various types of pasta and pizza, and have been finding ways to incorporate my favorite Italian liquor into anything I can think of.

Hense these limoncello cupcakes that just as delicious as they are nice to look at!

How to Make Them

To make the cupcakes, start by getting all your ducks in a row. It will make the cake making process so much easier. 

First combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Then in another bowl or measuring cup combine the wet ingredients. 

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then mix in the eggs one at a time. 

Alternate mixing in the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry. For me, I like to do this in five parts: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. 

Portion the batter into the muffin tin so that each cup is about 2/3rds full. I like using an ice cream scoop because it makes this step so much easier. 

Bake until they are just a little bit golden around the edges or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. 

As an optional step to really impart more limoncello flavor into the cupcakes, you can brush the tops of the cupcakes with a little bit of limoncello. Not only will you get a tad more flavor (and a little kick!), but it will ensure that the cupcakes stay nice and moist.

How to Decorate Them

Decorating, for me, is the best part. And these limoncello cupcakes are actually really simple to decorate thanks to the fondant topper.

Start by rolling out some fondant so that it’s about 1/8th to 1/4th inch thick. Then cut out with a round cutter about the diameter of the top of the cupcake.

Paint the fondant using a combination of food coloring and clear alcohol (I use vodka) to create a paint similar to watercolor. 

From here, let your creativity shine and paint whatever you like. I personally like to paint the basic shapes first, let that layer of paint dry a bit, then paint in additional details on top. One thing to know about painting on fondant is that it can get gummy if you use too much liquid. Just keep that in mind as you are painting or painting over another color.

Once the paint has dried (which will only take a few minutes), you can add the fondant toppers to the cupcakes. First spread on a bit of buttercream over the top of the cupcake. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but I recommend trying to get the top as even as possible.

Then lay the fondant circle right on top.

Gently press down the fondant so that it is firmly attached to the buttercream and is laying flat. 

And there you have it. Super delicious, beautiful, but easy to make limoncello cupcakes! In my mind, it’s the perfect way to get excited for our Italian adventure!

Supplies and Recipe

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Embossed Fondant Cookies for Easter

I can’t tell you how much I love these cookies! Don’t they look so pretty and perfect, almost like they were stamped?

Oh yeah, it’s because they were! 

These embossed fondant cookies are actually just cookies covered in a layer of fondant that has been stamped or rolled with an embossed/engraved rolling pin. Embossing fondant is just about as easy as rolling out cookie dough. Anyone can do it!

The gold bows on the other hand, well those were a bit trickier…I’ll get to that later. 

How to Make Them

Start by coloring your fondant whatever color you would like. Just add a dot of food coloring and need the fondant until it’s evenly colored.

Roll the fondant out into a flat sheet that’s about 1/8th of an inch thick. Then roll over it with either an embossed or engraved rolling pin, 

Then cut out the fondant using the same cookie cutter that you used to cut out your cookie and affix it to the cookie by brushing some water onto the back of the fondant. 

You can also use a regular old stamp! However, I recommend only using stamps that have never been inked and have been thoroughly cleaned. 

And that’s all it takes to make these really cute embossed fondant cookies!

Now if you want to add a little extra flair to your fondant covered cookies you can add these adorable little fondant bows that, while not as easy as tying a regular bow, are actually pretty simple to make!

I think they add a nice little touch to the embossed fondant and makes these cookies stand out even more!

What do you think? Ready to wow your family and friends with these adorable Easter cookies? 

Products and Recipes

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Of course, I always recommend my favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe, but I would say this time it is especially important to use a cookie dough that doesn’t lose it’s shape when baked. When you cut out your fondant you want it to pretty much cover the cookie completely, and the easiest way to do that is to have a cookie that is pretty much the same size and shape as the cookie cutter.

50 Ways to Donate to Hurricane Harvey Victims

A little bit of my heart is in Houston. It was the first city I lived in all on my own with my own big girl apartment and my own big girl job. I moved to Houston after college to be close to friends. Not because I had a job offer; I found that later. I literally moved there because that’s where my best friends were going after graduation. It may not have been the most thoughtful or wise decision, but I don’t regret it for a single second. 

I have so many fond memories of Houston. It is where I had my first date with my husband. Our second was at a Houston Astro’s game. It is where I lived with two of my bestest friends. Where one of those friends met her husband, and where the other one lives to this day. 

Actually, the very first place I lived in Houston was in my friend’s parent’s spare room. Without asking any questions, or telling me how long I could stay, they put me up until I found my own apartment. 

Houston may get a bad rap thanks to the weather, but its a beautiful city filled with beautiful people. 

It’s also a BIG city. And I mean BIG. It’s not only the 4th largest city in the country in terms of population, it just downright takes up a ton of space. The entire metro area is over 8,000 square miles big! 

When you hear about how much money it is going to cost to rebuild the city after hurricane Harvey (it’s billions with a B), that’s half of the equation. There is just so much to rebuild. 

One of my not so fond memories of Houston was hunkering down during Ike, a hurricane that went right over the city. While there was a lot of wind damage, the flooding and total damage wasn’t nearly as bad as hurricane Harvey. Even then, I remember windows in the sky rises along highway 59 were boarded up for months afterwards. It took a friend of mine 2 weeks to get a tree removed from his living room and even longer to get his wall fixed. And Harvey is supposed to be at least 10 times worse. 

I recently heard that the FEMA can’t even afford to make these people whole again. Some of them have lost their entire homes, their lives. And between FEMA and their insurance, they probably won’t receive enough to start over. 

Which is why we need to help. If you don’t know where to start, here is an exhaustive list of 50 charities, organizations, foundations, etc. you can donate to. I promise, no matter how big or small, your donation will make a difference.

I know Houston will rebuild. It has done it before and it will do it again. It could just use a little help along the way. 

 

 

Red White and Blue Fringe Cookies

These cookies are a little bit different than what I normally make. For starters, there are no royal icing flowers anywhere! Actually, there was little to no piping done on these cookies at all (who am I?). What makes these cookies so different is the fondant! Those fringes you see are actually made with colored strips of fondant that have been expertly and delicately haphazardly cut into a fringe. 

I forget how much I like working with fondant! It’s a lot like working with that molding clay or play-doh as a kid. If you mess up, you can just roll it back into a ball and start over again!

I do have a couple tips for working with fondant, however. 

  1. Keep unused fondant wrapped in plastic wrap and in a zip top bag. It will dry out quickly. As you will see in the video below, I also kept the balls of fondant that were waiting to be rolled out under a damp cloth.
  2. Buy white fondant and color it whatever color you want. Sure they sell lots of colors of fondant, but sometimes you want a particular shade of blue or pink. Which leads me to…
  3. When coloring fondant, it’s best to use food-safe gloves. Something I clearly didn’t take to heart as evidenced by the food coloring stains on my hands. 

See how easy fondant is? When I just don’t feel like making royal icing or piping tons of cookies, I turn to fondant. I didn’t even pipe the bottom layer of white royal icing you see on the cookie. Nope! I dipped the cookie into the icing. All of those cookies you see in the pictures above were dipped. Yeah, I was feeling extra lazy that day! But they still turned out really cute!

Recipes and items used:

 
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Easy Easter Bunny Cookies

Easter-Bunny-Cookies-title-1b

Is it just me, or do you think Easter is a little underrated (commercially, not religiously). I mean, for kids, it’s great! Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, and lots and lots of candy. There is none of that stuff for adults! Seriously, I would still love to do an Easter egg hunt every year. I keep telling my husband this, but he isn’t getting the hint. Can you tell I am in the Easter spirit? 

To kick off my Easter baking extravaganza, I made these adorable Easter Bunny cookies. Aren’t they cute? (I can’t really take credit for their cuteness. I got these idea from Sweet Bake Shop’s Instagram feed, which you must follow if you love looking at beautiful baked goods.) And the best thing about these cookies is how easy they are!

Can you use a cookie cutter? You can make these cookies!

Easter Bunny Cookies-1

You know I love to decorate cookies, but making the icing and then decorating them can be so time consuming. So to take a bit of a short cut, I used fondant! If you have never used fondant before, it’s basically the same consistency as Play-doh. It’s soft and pliable and can be rolled out and cut into any shape. 

Easter Bunny Cookies-2

To cover these bunny cookies, I rolled the fondant out to about 1/16th inch and cut it with the same cookie cutter as the cookie. The cookie will be slightly bigger since it expands in the oven, but it should fit perfectly. If not, the fondant does have some stretch, so you can pull it a little to fit the cookie, if necessary. 

Easter Bunny Cookies-3

To stick the fondant to the cookie, I brushed some water on to the back of the fondant. Since its basically made of sugar, when it’s wet it becomes really tacky and sticks easily to the cookie. Once the fondant is on the cookie, I run my finger around the edge to soften it a bit and make sure that its completely pressed down. 

Easter Bunny Cookies-4

The other great thing about fondant, it doesn’t require any drying time! You can pretty much immediately start decorating them. The next step with these cookies is to draw on the eye with an edible food marker. Like @sweetbakeshop, I drew the closed eye which makes them look so sweet and feminine. If you don’t like that you could just make a small dot or draw an open eye. 

Easter Bunny Cookies-5

To create the pink nose and cheeks, I used a little bit of pink luster dust that I picked up from Michaels. Luster dust is basically edible powdered pigment. You don’t need a lot of it to make an impact. What I do is tap a little bit into the lid, then dab my brush into the lid and tap off the excess. For the nose, I just brush a bit on. For the cheeks, I move my brush in circular motions right under the eye, first starting in a small circle, then working my way out. 

That’s it. That’s the whole process. I told you it was easy!

Easter Bunny Cookies-10

Come on! Don’t tell me you don’t want to make these cookies right this second! Anyone can make these cookies. Even if you don’t bake regularly or have never decorated cookies.

Easter Bunny Cookies-7

What would also be fun to do with these cookies is to create some water colors with watered down food coloring (gel food coloring + vanilla extract) and let the kids paint the bunnies with the water colors. The world is your oyster!

Enjoy!

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