WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23
Cupcake Cookies, An Experiment Gone Right
An experiment. A test. A trial. In reality, that's all cookies really are. The only limitation is your imagination and how far you are willing to go to make your dream a reality.
A week or so ago, I had someone ask me about blogging. She's shied away from it, because she was not sure she wanted to document her mistakes. Although I completely understood where she was coming from, it reminded me of one of the most important lessons this great adventure has taught me...
You never really know how a cookie is going to go. Sometimes it's exactly what you expected. Sometimes it's a cleverly saved cookie-gone-wrong. OFTEN, it's a total bust, and then, every once in a while, you hit the jackpot.
This does not by any means imply that you hit the jackpot the very first time, but that sometimes a rough idea, with a little tweaking can really become something wonderful.
These aren't your everyday average cupcake cookies. I've done more of the flat version than I'd like to remember. This was my attempt at an idea I have been toying with for a few years, ever since I saw these babies on Martha Stewart's website {click on the image to see the original post}
A week or so ago, I had someone ask me about blogging. She's shied away from it, because she was not sure she wanted to document her mistakes. Although I completely understood where she was coming from, it reminded me of one of the most important lessons this great adventure has taught me...
You never really know how a cookie is going to go. Sometimes it's exactly what you expected. Sometimes it's a cleverly saved cookie-gone-wrong. OFTEN, it's a total bust, and then, every once in a while, you hit the jackpot.
This does not by any means imply that you hit the jackpot the very first time, but that sometimes a rough idea, with a little tweaking can really become something wonderful.
This is my latest cookie kick, an example of an idea gone right {after several tweaks}...
CUPCAKE COOKIES!!!
These aren't your everyday average cupcake cookies. I've done more of the flat version than I'd like to remember. This was my attempt at an idea I have been toying with for a few years, ever since I saw these babies on Martha Stewart's website {click on the image to see the original post}
{FYI, the photographs of my attempts are in the chronological order of attempts from the beginning to end.}
I found that for the first set, I made the flood icing a little to watery, so it was a bit more translucent than I liked.
So the second time around, I thickened my icing, and added a layer.
The thicker icing worked a lot better, but I didn't like the look of the taller version, so I tried again. This time leaning more toward simple.
This time I also used a LOT of icing to attach the crown to the cup. I was going for a "drippy" look.
Still, not quite what I pictured, so...
Learning something with each attempt, I tried something else. I changed the cutters I used to make the base, hoping to achieve the "drippy" look another way.
I liked them okay, but they still weren't quite there. Plus, I got to learn how much I appreciate the nice oven at our house after spending some time with the stone age model at my parent's cabin =)
I made one final attempt because I wanted to see what they would look like coated with glaze icing rather than royal, and I also wanted to use my wonkey flower cutters for the crown. I think I liked this version of the top best.
For now, I am going to take a little rest. But this won't be the last 3-D cupcake cookies you see from me. I already have another idea I need to try.
It usually takes me about three stabs at any design to get it pretty much where I want it to be, sometimes even more. In this case, I think it will be right between the first and final attempt.
I made a tutorial for this that I will be glad to share, but since I was learning also, I didn't know if it would be as helpful as one after experience. But, I'll post it if everyone's interested. Just me know!
For me, there is no by-the-book decorating. It's trial and error, mixed with a little fun, a lot of frustration, and even some tears. But if you keep at it...eventually, something works. And when it does, it's amazing!
