Simple Farm Cookies

I got a request last month for

Farm Animal cookie.

I was so excited, one dozen farm animal cookies.

Sounds like fun!

Until, I looked at my cookie calendar,

and realized it was the same week

that I had an order for 13 dozen cookies!

UGGH!

Never Fear, I could make this work.

I found this cute set of stickers at Hobby Lobby,

that I used as inspiration.

Then I put my own special,

"Keep it simple, The Cookie Puzzle Twist" on them.

Using a pale brown, and a darker brown, I popped the

sticker in my KopyKake,and simple outlined

the image.  I just followed the outline, then

add the features.

No need to add every little detail,

the simpler, the better.

While the barn is technically NOT a farm animal,

I could not help adding it to the set.

I LOVE how these turned out.

This set taught me a good lesson.

You don't have to use a million colors, and have tons of

details to make a cute set of cookies.

Remember some times it is just better to

KISS

Keep

IT

SIMPLE

STUPID

Until next time

I am linking up at 

What's Cookin'Wednesday @ Buns In My Oven 

Hugs





Stenciled Cupcake Cookies

Cupcake cookies have to be some of my

favorite cookies to make.

 

They are simple.

 

They can be made is any color combination.

 

They can be used for any occasion.

 

They just make me smile

 

 

 

 

Collin is blessed with two of the best

Paraprofessionals on the earth.

 

Mrs. B and Mrs. D, are simple amazing.

 

They celebrate their birthdays within a day of

each other, and it also falls at the

start of the school year.

 

We wanted to make cookies for them, and Collin (I) decided

that cupcake cookies would be perfect.

 

 

I used This Cutter from Cristin's Cookie Cutters,

I am in LOVE with it, I have a million cupcake cutters,

and this one has become my FAVORITE!

 

 

I wanted to kick them up a notch.

So I busted out my airbrush machine,

some sheen color, and went to town.

 

If you have a new airbrush machine, and are scared of it

like I was, I suggest starting out with

the sheen colors, it will give you

a subtle look, and they are very forgiving.

 

For this set, I used Gold Sheen and Pearl Sheen.

 

 

Other great Airbrushed stenciling posts to check out

Airbrush 101 by The Bearfoot Baker

Simple Delft Blue Easter Egg Cookies by Sugarbelle  

(great tutorial for those who want to stencil, without an airbrush)

Airbrushing with Stencils....What I learned by Simply Sweets by Honeybee

Until next time,

 

 

Hugs

 

 



Donut Cookies

 

 

Happy Belated Labor Day.

 

With the passing of Labor Day, many Kids are heading back to school.

 

Here in the Mid West, we have been in school for a while.

 

In fact, Collin went back to school on

August 19th.

 

In fact, Collin started his

SENIOR YEAR

 

in school on August 19th.

 

Did you read that?

 

OMG!

 

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

 

While I would like to tell you that

I was OK, that I did not cry like a baby,

that would, in fact, be a lie.

 

I woke Collin up for school that morning and he said to me,

 

"Good Morning, Mom, today is my last first day of school."

 

And I cried, and cried,

and then hide in the bathroom and cried some more.

 

Then I took him to school, and cried.

 

Then I drove to work and cried.

 

It was a rough day for me.

 

 

I made it though the day, and it is getting easier,

but there are still moments when it gets to me.

 

 

Now...onto the donut cookies.

 

 



 

A few weeks before school started, I got an email from a member

of the PTO, they asked if I would like to donate cookies to the

back to school breakfast for the teachers and staff, the

Thursday before school started.

 

Of course I said YES!

 

When I asked what they wanted, I was told,

"Whatever, they just love your cookies"

 

Ok...so..anything I wanted, great.

 

I will do apples...with "Welcome Back " on them,

easy enough.

 

Then, when I told Collin about me making

cookies for the Back to School Breakfast,

I was told I had a change in plans.

 

Collin simply looked at me and said

 

"Apple?  It is a BREAKFAST, they need donut cookies.  You eat

Donuts for breakfast, not apples"

 

DUH!

 

I should have known that, silly me.

 

Then Collin told me that I would make blue and white

Donut cookies, because the school colors were blue and white.

 

Fine, I got it.

 

But, as I explained before, we live in the middle of

NO WHERE, and Collin and I looked all over the place,

and could not find blue jimmies, for the cookies.

 

UGGGHHHH!

 

No problem, Collin said I cold use blue sanding sugar.

 

 

While they looked good while we were decorating them, once they

dried, we both decided that jimmies are better,

so we made chocolate donuts with rainbow jimmies.

 

 

 

Then we decided that they both looked good,

so we packed them up, and send both of them.

 

 

Then, we delivered them to the school the morning of the

breakfast, and I cried some more.

 

Collin just looked at me and said

 

"This is going to be a whole year of you crying, right mom?"

 

Yes Collin...it is.

 

 

Until next time

 

 

Hugs

 



 

 

 

 

 

Peanut Cookies

 

 

 

Ever feel like you are loosing your mind?

 

Like everything you touch falls apart?

 

Is your "to do" list much bigger then your "done" list?

 

Do you just want to crawl into bed, cover your head,

and sleep until you just wake up?

 

Yeah, me too!

 

I find myself really struggling to stay a float.

 

Here is it the 16th of the month and this is my

first blog post.

 

I have made a ton of cookies this month.

 

And I am TIRED!

 

 

I work a full time job, leave the house at 7am, often get home

after 6pm, only to toss some food at my

husband , son and dogs, and work on cookies.

 

 

Then when I get the cookies done,

there is still pictures to take, cookies to bag and box

and when that is all done, the last thing I want

to do is edit and watermark pictures, and the

thought of sitting down to write a blog post,

well...I just don't have it in me most nights.

 

I know we are all busy, I am not alone in this,

so I don't want your sympathy, what I want to know is

HOW!

 

How do people, work full time, work on hobby businesses like cookies

or cake, and maintain a blog.

 

I know that in order to grow a blog, you have to be

on a schedule.  You have to post

good blog posts, and post them regularly.

 

I have come to conclusion, that, well,

I just can not do that.

 

I was talking to a dear friend of mine, a fellow blogger, who

also works a full time job, and she feels much the

same way I do.  Her blog is very successful, but she is

stressed all the time,

 

I have to wonder, Is it worth it?

 

Is it even possible to have a successful

blog AND work a full time job?

 

If so, how?

 

 

I just don't have it in me, I don't think I am

a lazy person, although some days I just want to spend my

day on the couch watching Bravo TV.

 

But I do care about my blog, I want it to grow, but

I just don't know how.

 

Do you have any idea how heartbreaking it is

to work really hard making cookies you are proud of,

take the time to picture them just perfect, edit them to

perfection, spend hours creating a wonderful blog post, only

to post it and have 20  people see it, and of those 20 people,

no one leaves a comment.

 

How about that total sense of failure, when you

post a picture of Facebook and 145 of your 2,500 likers see it?

 

 

Yeah...that all sucks.

 

SOOOO

 

Instead of busting my bum, only to get upset,

I have decided to stop stressing about it.

 

I will do WHAT I can...WHEN I can.

 

 

Sorry, if you are here and expecting regular posts.

 

Sorry, if you want to know that every M-W-F, there will be

a new post at The Cookie Puzzle at 9 am.

 

Sorry if you think I am a total looser, who can

not get her act together.

 

Haters gonna Hate

 

 

And there is nothing I can do about it.

 

 

Take it or leave it

 

My world will go on.

 

 

Oh...these cute Peanut cookies, I made them

for my sister, for her birthday.

 

Happy Birthday Susan!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time (whenever that might be)

 

 

Hugs

 

 

 



Funfetti Marshmallow Bars

I am not a very adventurous baker.

 

 

 

I use the same sugar cookie recipe I first tried.

 

I tried it, I liked it, others liked it, so why change?

 

Right?

 

 

I use glaze icing on my cookies,

because that is what I started with.

 

I liked it...why change?

 

 

I have tried to get out of my

comfort zone a few times,

it was not traumatizing, but I always go back to what

I started with.

 

 

Recently Kristan of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

and Shelly of Cookies and Cups, announced that

they would be having a Recipe Contest.

 

 

This is a contest like none other I had seen before.
 

One that I thought I could actually do.

 

One that I got very excited about.

 

You see, they ask entrants to search THEIR blogs,

 find a recipe, and change it up a bit.

 

Take THEIR recipe, and adapt it into a different recipe all your own.

 

Oh...I can do that.

 

Yep Yep Yep.

 

 

I have been following them both for YEARS,

but not in the creepy, stalky way, but in a

"wow, they are amazing" way, which is totally cool.

 

 

I spent days looking around to find the

perfect recipe (which was really hard, because everything looked so YUMMY)

 

In the end, I chose

Kristan's

 

Red Velvet Marshmallow Bars

 

Here is a picture of her bars.

 

 

Don't they look Yummy?

 

While I have not tried them yet, they will be made soon, very soon.

 

I changed it up a little, adding my own little twist.

 

AND  OMG...I died a little!

 

Soooo good!

 

 

 

 

 

I changed it up by using a Funfetti cake mix and Mini M&M's.

 

I will be making this recipe again soon, like this week.

 

My mind is spinning at all the combinations that I want to try.

 

 

I am entering this Funfetti Marshmallow Bar  in the Creative Recipe Contest hosted by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and Cookies and Cups!

 

Make sure you check out all the entries, I know I will be.

 

 

 

 

 

Funfetti Marshmallow Bars

 

Print it

 

Adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box Funfetti Cake Mix
• 1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• ½  cup Mini  M&Ms

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 9×13 pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

 

2.  In the bowl of a mixer, combine cake mix, butter, water and egg.  Mix on medium low until a smooth, thick batter forms.  Press batter evenly into pan.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffy and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately top with marshmallows and candy — place back in the oven for a couple minutes, just long enough for marshmallows to puff up.

 

3.  Let cool completely before cutting and serving.



 Thank you Kristan and Shelly for hosting this

fun project. 

 

Thank you for being the awesome supportive

bloggers that you are.

 

The world is much better place

because of people like you.