So, I a few months ago I received an invitation to my friend Mary's baby shower. She now lives in Washington DC and we don't talk as much as we used to, but I didn't even know she was pregnant! I assumed because I have not yet joined the Facebook revolution that that was why I was left out-of-the-loop, but no, she said she wanted to surprise all the guests and that no one had known.
Could have killed her. :)
I couldn't be happier for Shaman and her, and when I found out they were coming to Chicago for one of their baby showers, I knew I wanted to contribute some cookies, especially since I knew this was going to be no run-of-the-mill baby shower. I was right...my eclectic friends chose a Star Wars theme for their shower, and, from what we learned at the shower, their little daughter will receive a name likely based on a character from one of the movies/books.
Now, being a person who has not even sat through one full Star Wars movie (I know, Mary and Shaman don't even understand our friendship), I didn't really know where to start. I did some research, but pretty much stayed true to my original inspiration, Princess Leia and her famous buns...yes, even I know that.
So, Princess Leia was the only feminine aspect of Star Wars that I could think of.
I used two skull-shaped cookie cutters and overlapped them on the dough before baking, creating the shape of Leia's head. I used 20-second icing to create an ivory face, and then I alternated using 20-second brown icing for her hair, waiting for each side of her part to dry first before filling in the adjacent side. I used a few piping details, and voila...not too tricky.
I wanted to also have some full-length Leia's...well, not full-length, you know. I used the Wilton girl cookie cutter, since she already has pigtails. Really, Leia is pretty easy or maybe boring? Who designs the only love interest to be dressed in an all-white smock? I found a picture of her with a silver belt, so I went with it! Again, I waited for each part of her white "ensemble" to dry before adding another white element, like with the boots. And, I tried to add some more femininity with the heart-shaped pink lips...really trying here!
Ah yes, the rattle-shaped pink light saber...what, that's not a thing?
I decided to keep the rattle shape since, after all, it was a baby shower; I figured with it being so thin, the light might break off its handle too easily (lesson learned from many disassembled umbrella cookies); and maybe the extra sprinkles helped to give a little aura around the light?
But, perhaps my favorite was the last-minute onesie cookie. I had forgotten that Shaman and Mary's dog is named Luke (of course he is). :)
These could not have been made for any other reason!
Some of the Leia faces were bagged as favors saying, "Celebrating Mary and her bun in the oven."
I know...
The rest looked seemed to work together nicely on a platter. Seriously, this is one of the most fun projects I've ever worked on. It really pushed my creativity (as there was no one out there who had designs I could copy), so I take full ownership of these cookies (and my limited Star Wars knowledge).
To Shaman and Mary, I wish you both all the best welcoming your new little "Star Trooper."
May she be as awesome and unique as you both are. :)
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