The Decorated Cookie » cookie cutters

Sugarlicious GIVEAWAY!!! signed copy of Sugarlicious, some prizes and some cookie cutters

meaghanmountford — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:32:34 +0000

UPDATE: Congratulations to Meg! She won the book and prizes. And Congratulations to DD, Shannon, Elin and Ilissa! They won the cookie cutters and other Sugarlicious goodies. Thank you to all for participating!!

Just in time for the holidays! OK, so I’m too late for Halloween, but the other holidays. One last hoorah and trip to the post office before Baby 2 arrives in December. So I’m giving away a signed copy of my book, published earlier this year, Sugarlicious: 50 Cute and Clever Treats for Every Occasion (because you covet my autograph, right? Just humor me). AND I’m giving away some other things, like some Sugarlicious oven mitts, aprons, spatulas and Post-It notes. AND I’m giving away some Fall and Winter-themed cookie cutters for your baking in the next couple of months. It’s an all-out extravaganza, I think.

Read all about my book, Sugarlicious, HERE.

A peek inside the book:

(scroll to the end for the giveaway)

THE GIVEAWAY!

To enter: Leave a comment to this post before Thursday, November 8, midnight, EST. That’s it!

The Prizes: Five winners will be randomly drawn to win:

• 1 winner will get a signed copy of Sugarlicious AND the Sugarlicous oven mitt, spatula, apron and Post-It notes AND the cookie cutters (leaf, turkey, pumpkin, snowman and snowflake).

• 4 more winners will receive: The Sugarlicious oven mitt, spatula, apron and Post-It notes AND the five cookie cutters. (Sorry, folks, I only have one copy of the actual book to giveaway, so that goes to the 1st place winner.)

The Details:

Given my limited funds, I can ship to US addresses only.

Winners have 48 hours to respond after being notified before another winner is drawn.

Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

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pumpkin fudge on a stick and 20+ other ways to use a pumpkin cutter, for Sugarbelle

meaghanmountford — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:33:33 +0000

Hello Fall, come on in. I’ve missed you ever so much this long, hot, sticky Summer. I embrace you, Fall, and all you bring, like pumpkins. So yes, Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, of course I’m joining your pumpkin cookie cutter extravaganza. Remember back when she asked a bunch of supercool bloggers to create something, anything with a star cookie cutter? This time around, it’s a pumpkin cookie cutter. Isn’t this collection of talent and sweet art freakin’ amazing? Forgive my language, but it just is. For links to all 23 bloggers, scroll to the end.

I didn’t live up to my name and actually decorate my pumpkins. No cookie recipe is used here.

I’ve mentioned 169 and 39 times on this blog that Fall is my favorite season (by the way, “169 and 39″ is my daughter’s go-to phrase for expressing a large volume, so I thought I’d try and start a trend). Summer is too hot. Fall brings a crisp chill that is fully welcome after the sweltering heat. And Fall brings the promise of winter and holidays and pretty snowfalls. And that promise is even better than the real thing, because the real thing is terribly inconvenient when it happens. But the promise of it makes you only think of the pretty part. As a fan of Fall, I adore the smells and flavors of the season. So when Callye challenge us to use a pumpkin cutter, I not only wanted to step away from my usual cookies, but I wanted to make something that incorporated the flavors of Fall.

So I chose candy. Pumpkin fudge, that is. On a stick, of course. I played around with my go-to recipe for chocolate fudge until I got the pumpkin fudge just right. And by “played around” I mean I made four batches. We’re swimming in pumpkin fudge in my house.

I have a few different sizes of pumpkin cutters, but I chose the little one-inch pumpkin cutter I got in a set of Fall cutters for these. It was a wise choice. This fudge is way too rich to have more than an inch. I know, because I ate all the scraps as I went along and I could barely move afterwards.

how to make pumpkin fudge on a stick

pumpkin fudge recipe

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (a can of Libby’s is the best)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 1/2 to 3 cups white chocolate chips*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Note that this is just over a 24-ounce bag of chocolate chips. You don’t necessarily need the extra half cup, but I wanted my fudge a little thicker so it would hold its shape better, so I bought the larger bag.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. In a small bowl, combine the salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves and set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin and the salt and spice mixture. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture comes to a boil. Lower the heat a bit and continue to simmer for five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and use a spoon or spatula to stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Stir, stir, stir until all the chocolate chips are melted. Pour into the pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Remove and cut into squares or pumpkins. Keep refrigerated to keep firm. Makes about 25 little pumpkins.

putting it on a stick

you will need:*

1-inch pumpkin cookie cutter

lollipop sticks

When the fudge has set, use the cookie cutter to cut out the pumpkins as closely together as possible. If the fudge is too firm, let it rest at room temperature a bit. To make the cutting easier, dip the cutter’s edges in hot water or grease with shortening. I pressed down my greased cookie cutter, then used a large, off set spatula to lift the piece out of the baking pan, then I gently pushed the fudge out of the cutter. Insert a lollipop stick. Refrigerate the fudge to keep it firm.

Here they are, 20+ ways to use a pumpkin cutter, hosted by Sugarbelle. Click the links to go to the bloggers’ posts.

1. Panda Calaveras, Miss Cuit

2. Owl S’mores on a Stick, Kitchen Fun with my Three Sons

3. Pumpkin Cheesecake Pasties, Bakingdom

4. Halloween Pumpkin Wall, Arty McGoo

5. Cocoa Krispies Trick or Treat Bears, Hungry Happenings

6. Creative Cherry Cookies, Lila Loa

7. The Ultimate Halloween Candy Bar, Dollhouse Bake Shoppe

8. Halloween Pumpkin Carriage Cookie, Trilogy Edibles

9. Easy Cheveron Pumpkin Cookies, Lizy B Bakes

10. Pumpkin Fudge on a Stick, The Decorated Cookie

11. Funny Face Pumpkin Cookies, Munchkin Munchies

12. Woodland Owl Cookies, The Bearfoot Baker

13. Pumpkin Cheesecake Hand Pies, Created by Diane

14. Wide Eyed Owl Cookies, Simply Sweets by Honeybee

15. Zombie Girl and Brains Cookies, Not Your Momma’s Cookies

16. Cookie Cutter Pumpkin Fudge, The Partiologist

17. 3-D Pumpkin Cookie, Cookie Crazie

18. Faberge-Style Pumpkin Coach, Oh, Sugar Events

19. Peek-a-Boo Pumpkin Cupcake Topper, Sweetology 101

20. Slimy Green Ghost Cookies, Pink Little Cake

21. Silly Pumpkin Face Cookies, Klickitat Street

22. Pretty Painted Pumpkin Cookies, Glorious Treats

23. Lalaloopsie Cookies with a Twist, SweetSugarBelle

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GIVEAWAY!! ParaNorman Decorating Kits to celebrate the film’s release!!

meaghanmountford — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:06:00 +0000

UPDATE: Congratulations to Melissa, Amber, Mikey, Stephanie and Carla! Their comments (numbers 5, 64, 65, 44 and 7) were randomly drawn to win and their prizes are on the way…

I know, it feels almost too early for Halloween, but the eerie chill you feel (right? that’s what I was going for) is actually meant to celebrate the almost-release of the 3D stop-motion family film, ParaNorman, from Focus Features, opening August 17. Focus Features asked me to help spread the word via sweets, and how can I resist this awesome combination of kid fun, dessert and movies? They created an uber-fantastic, supernatural decorating kit so you could create your own themed desserts. Scroll to the end to enter the GIVEAWAY!!!

ABOUT THE FLICK:

Before you do anything, watch the hilariously creepy trailer:

Quoted from Focus Features: “The film ParaNorman follows Norman, a misunderstood boy who can speak with the dead and his adventures as he takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups, in order to save his town from a centuries-old curse. The film is rated PG and from the makers of Coraline. It promotes the positive message of embracing the qualities that make each of us unique and not to shy away from our gifts, like the tagline says, ;You don’t become a hero by being normal.’ Leslie Mann, John Goodman, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck and Kodi Smit-McPhee lend their voices to the film.” Read more about the film HERE.

THE DECORATING KITS and WHAT I MADE:

Each kit includes: ParaNorman cupcake liners with character cupcake picks, edible frosting toppers, and a custom-made ParaNorman cookie cutter.

I made some cookies on a stick with the cookie cutters, and given the film’s subject matter, I feel entirely OK about the whole head-on-a-stick thing. By the way, that red felt tie is supposed to represent Norman’s sweatshirt. I also used the edible frosting toppers to make cookie pops. And I used the cupcake liners and picks to make some neon green cupcakes oozing blood.

To make the cookie pops, I made my cookie dough, chilled, rolled out and cut out 2 1/2-inch circles for the frosting topper cookie pops and used my Norman cookie cutter to make Norman. For cookie pop how-tos, click here. I prepared my royal icing, divided and tinted using my Americolor Soft Gel Pastes (Bright White, Super Black, Peach, a mix of Sky and Royal Blue, and Chocolate Brown). To make Norman, I prepped decorating bags with couplers and size 1, 2, and 3 tips and piped my decoration. For the circle pops, I outlined each circle with white and flooded with white icing. (For basic cookie decorating how-tos, click here and to find supplies, click here.) Then I let the flooded icing dry overnight. I brushed the surface of the cookie with light corn syrup, then gently placed a frosting topper on top and smoothed with my fingers.

To make the cupcakes, I simply prepared white cake batter from a mix, and added some Electric Green Americolor Soft Gel Paste. I made some frosting, tinted it with the same Electric Green, and used a decorating bag with size 1M tip to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes. Then I put some strawberry preserves in a decorating bag, snipped the tip and piped “blood” on the cupcakes. Insert the picks, and that’s it.

THE GIVEAWAY!!!

Leave me a creepy comment (a non-creepy comment works, too) here before

Sunday August 12, midnight EST

and FIVE of you will be randomly chosen to win a

ParaNorman decorating kit.

Winners must have a US address.

Winners have 48 hours to respond after being notified before another name is drawn.

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“star”berry shortcake pops for Sugarbelle’s “20 + Ways to Use a Star Cutter”

meaghanmountford — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:00:33 +0000

Callye, of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, inspired my own starry dessert. You see, she’s hosting a star-shaped extravaganza of ideas from bloggers around the web for the 4th. Want to see the brilliance that is out there? Scroll to the end of this post to visit all of these stars above. This is what I made. You can groan if you like at my naming these “starberry shortcake pops“, but “star-shaped strawberry shortcake on a stick” was just too long, don’t you agree?

Callye left the star-theme wide open. We could do anything star-shaped, aslong as we used a star cutter. So I had to do something besides cookies, because as usual, my first thought was cookies. One of my favorite desserts growing up was my mom’s strawberry shortcake. And because I’m a firm believer that anything can be put on a stick, that’s where this shortcake had to go. While moving things vertically means these are heavier on the shortcake part than the strawberries, I wouldn’t stop you from grabbing a spoonful of fruit with each bite. Served with whipped cream for dipping, no forks or plates are necessary!

how to make STARberry shortcake pops

you will need:

2 1/3 cups Bisquick mix

4 tablespoons sugar, divided

4 tablespoons butter, melted and divided

1/2 cup half and half or whole milk

3-inch star cookie cutter

lollipop sticks

4 or 5 strawberries, washed, hulled and thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream

4th of July sprinkles (optional)

what to do:

1. prepare your shortcake stars.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the Bisquick, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of butter, melted, and the half and half in a bowl. Mix with a spoon until a dough forms, then turn out the dough on a surface sprinkled with Bisquick. Knead 8 to 10 times and form a ball. Roll the ball of dough about 3/8-inch thick. Cut out star shapes, insert lollipop sticks and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush the remaining tablespoon of butter, melted, on the surface of the stars. Place one to two strawberry slices on each star, sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired, and place in the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool. Yields 12 star pops.

2. prepare your whipped cream.

Before serving, whip the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Blend in a tablespoon of sugar. Spoon in a bowl and top with sprinkles (if desired), and serve with the shortcake stars for dipping. Or, spoon a dollop on each star, sprinkle with sprinkles, and serve.

AND NOW THE SUPER STARS!!

Hosted by Sweet SugarBelle, find the roundup HERE.

How would YOU use a star-shaped cookie cutter??

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fruit pops and silly veggie faces, a lesson in fun food

meaghanmountford — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:29:33 +0000

Once the word leaked out at my daughter’s school that I decorate cookies and cupcakes and marshmallows and such things, it wasn’t long before I was tapped as a resource. My daughter’s teacher asked me if I’d like to lead a session with some kids in the school. I love kids, I love my daughter’s school, I love her teachers. So yes, of course I would. My task was to come up with a 50-minute activity for a bunch of three, four and five year olds. The catch: The school is a no sweets zone. And I’m all about sweets. And they just completed a whole lot of lessons in fruits and veggies and gardens and healthy eating. Sigh. So… no cookies, no cupcakes, no marshmallows? You see why this poses a challenge for me. Rather than even attempt a healthy version of icing, I just went with fruit and veggie decorating. We made silly veggie faces with tortillas and cut up vegetables, vegetable field scenes, and some yummy star, heart and flower fruit pops from slices of watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe.

I briefly (very briefly, it would be torture to make kids so young wait to play with food) introduced the concept of food as art, then we yakked about shapes. What shapes are on our faces, the shapes of the vegetables, and what might be used for what. The results? While the kids were way quicker with their creations than I anticipated, I was crazy impressed by their veggie face skills. Even the youngest of the group made clever faces, adding features I didn’t even consider, like eyebrows and mustaches. Of course! Eyebrows and mustaches. How could I forget those? And I needlessly worried that the cookie cutters and fruit would take dexterity and strength they lacked. They wielded those cutters, melons and lollipop sticks like old pros.

I snapped a few photos of the veggie faces so you can see them in action. It was too hectic to get photos of the rest, so apologies for that. And while I’ll post pics of my own kid from here to Kalamazoo, I don’t ever post pictures of other people’s children without their permission, so I’m afraid the cute and smiley real faces have been cropped out of sight.

Some tips on what I did in case you’re asked to lead 20 three to five year olds in a healthy, fun food activity, too.

silly veggie faces

Start with mini tortillas. I thought about slices of bread, but tortillas are much more sturdy to hold the veggies. Each child got a tortilla on a paper plate.

Ideas for veggies: I used cucumbers (cut in circles or semicircles), cherry tomatoes (halved), baby carrot slices, carrot and cucumber and celery sticks, green peppers (great for smiles!), shredded cheese and alfalfa sprouts (great for hair!), provolone and American cheese slices cut with a cookie cutter and scissors into circles and triangles.

field-of-veggie scenes

We also made these field-of-veggie scenes. I drew a tree and meadow in each plate:

And let kids use broccoli for the tree leaves, cauliflower for the clouds, sticks of cucumber and celery for the tree trunk, smaller sticks of cucumber and celery for flower stems, and carrots and tomatoes for flowers.

melon fruit pops

For the fruit pops, I sliced honeydew, watermelon and cantaloupe, brought in a bunch of cookie cutters (smaller is better) and lollipop sticks and let the kids cut out their desired shapes and make pops. These they ate right away, so there was no evidence afterwards.

It’s not often I take a break from sweets, but every now and then it’s nice to play with other food.

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