Springtime Blue Birds

I'm still feeling spring so I thought these little Blue Birds would be perfect for my bookstore delivery today!

More Fall Cookies and a Great New Technique

These are some soccer ball cookies that I made for my niece's soccer team for their last game of the season.

Most people either love or hate this movie. I, myself, love Mr. Jack Skellington. My daughter asked me to make these for a Halloween party that she attended this past weekend. I'd been wanting to make these for a while.

It also gave me the chance to try out a new tip that I picked up. One of my great annoyances with corn syrup icing is the little craters that can form in the smaller details. I've debated if I should switch to royal icing but to be honest, I'm not a fan of the taste or the texture after it's dried. So, I've just lived with the craters. For example, the Hobbit doors from my previous post all ended up with a little indentation in the door knob. It looks like they collapse near the center. I've also noticed this happening at the beginning and end of thin lines. I haven't found an answer for why this happens but someone whose cookie blog I follow suggested I try her method of using a heat gun for a few seconds after icing to help it set quicker and dry faster. I gave it a whirl and it worked like a charm. Without drying with the heat gun the mouths and stitches on Mr. Jack would have been full of little craters but with the heat gun. When I used the heat gun ~ not one.

Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I tried it again on these pumpkins I made for my bookstore delivery today. The little stitches on the patches would have all had little craters but a quick blast from the heat gun right after they were drawn ~ not one. My heat gun is my new best friend when it comes to icing my cookies.