Painted Christmas Tree Landscapes (December 2014)

The day after Thanksgiving, we had plans to help some close friends decorate their Christmas tree and then go to the tree-lighting ceremony in our town with a group of other friends.  Because I never seem to go to any occasion without a plate of cookies, I planned ahead (for a change).  Using the same technique I had used for my Thanksgiving Fall Foliage cookies, I made a few extra blue painted backgrounds to try with 

Christmas trees this time.

After the background was dry, I used 20-second icing to create a layered green tree and placed a yellow star sprinkle on top.

The biggest debate, especially since I don't celebrate Christmas, is what effect worked best for the garland, which was white icing draped across the tree and showered with either 1) white sanding sugar, 2) white nonpareils, or 3) rainbow nonpareils.

I quickly made a few mini trees with some remaining rainbow nonpareils for a mini option, all in one quick motion.  Personally, I thought the rainbow garland looked the best, but mostly because of all the color.  The most realistic, according to my husband and the hands-down winner in our informal poll of friends, was the sparkling white sanding sugar.

So thankful that we can help our friends and family celebrate Christmas in this way!

Painted Fall Foliage (November 2014)

Woah, I let a few months pass before having another chance to post...time to catch up!  This past Thanksgiving, I was really torn about whether or not to even make cookies.  Let's face it, there are always so many pies that who has enough room for a cookie?  Plus, I was getting tired of the whole turkey cookie...I mean there are only so many variations on creating a  cute cookie from, arguably, one of the ugliest birds.

But, after doing some research online, I came across a combination of several ideas that proved to be more inspiring at this beautiful time of year.  Happy Loris Baking on Etsy had a great concept that I was very eager to try...painting the background of the cookie before piping the design.  Using a very small amount of the icing itself and some water, I was able to create a sort of shading effect in blue and yellow.

After the backgrounds had dried, I piped the swirly trees (as inspired by a photo on by Julia Usher on Cookie Connection) and used the quins I had purchased on Etsy to represent leaves.

Although unsure how blue fit in with the platter of autumn hues, I think it was a nice contrast.

To provide a mini cookie option, I was inspired by a pinterest pin and used the autumn colors to create swirly leaves.

Ah, I love a good theme.

In the end, I was just happy to find a more sophisticated Thanksgiving theme (and I think I gave those pies a run for their money). :)

Hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!