It's Giveaway Time!!

The giveaway is now closed.  Good luck to everyone who entered!  I will be announcing the winners on Wednesday, February 22nd.

I recently passed 1,500 likes on my facebook page, and as a thank you to all of my fans for being so supportive, i wanted to have this giveaway!  When I first started decorating cookies a year and a half ago I never thought that it would become such a huge part of my life.  I have met many wonderful people who share my love of baking and I am so happy to have come to know each and every one of them. 

I started my facebook page at the end of the summer as a way for my family and friends to see the creations I had been making. I never imagined that a little over 6 months later i would be sharing my photos with over 1,500 of you and in the process turning my passion for cookie decorating into a cookie business!  As a way of saying thank you for being so sweet I've put together not one, but two prize packages...so there are going to be two winners this time around!

I also want to thank those people who first inspired me to begin cookie decorating: Annie of Annie's Eats, Callye of The Sweet Adventures Of Sugarbelle, Maryanne of Cookie Artisan, Glory of Glorious Treats and Marian of Sweetopia.  Yours were the first pages that i ever came across when i started learning how to become a "cookier". I am forever grateful for the wonderful photos, tutorials and helpful tips that i have received from you whether it be from emails or your blog posts.  Thank you so much!

I am very excited to have some wonderful sponsors with this giveaway.  Foose Cookie Cutters, TheRedCooky, Peas and Thank You's, The Back Porch Shoppe, Bake A Box and The Littlebeane Boutique have all graciously donated some items!  And I'm going to be adding some items as well. 

Rules:

1) To enter, please become a follower of my facebook page or blog and leave a comment saying you have done so.

2) For one additional entry, please like one or more of my sponsors pages and thank them for donating items to this giveaway.  

Please include your email address in the comment so I will have a way to contact you if you are the winner.  Be sure to leave your comments on this post so i will be able to include you in the drawing.   

The giveaway ends on Monday, February 20th at midnight EST.  I'll be announcing the winning comments on Wednesday, February 22nd using random.org.  The first comment chosen will receive package #1, the second comment will receive package #2.  Only 2 entries per person and the same person cannot win both packages.  This giveaway is open to US Residents only.  

Good Luck!!!

Winner #1 will receive

The Coffee & Cookies Package!

1) A Copy of Coffee Scrumptious Drinks & Treats



photo from amazon.com



2) Mini Coffee Press and Mug

3) Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans & one package of Peet's Coffee Grinds



photo from target.com



4) A $25 credit to Peas and Thank You's!



photo courtesy of peas and thank you's



  

5) Life's Short Eat Cookies Sign donated by The Back Porch Shoppe!

6) A super cute cake box with scalloped window courtesy of Bake A Box!

7) Fox Run Tea Party Cookie Cutter Set





photo from amazon.com





Winner #2 will receive

The Valentine's Package!

1) Valentine 7 piece cookie cutter set donated by Foose Cookie Cutters!



photo courtesy of foosecookiecutters.com

2) Mini Valentine Cookie Cutter Set

3) A Copy of Julia Usher's Ultimate Cookies donated by TheRedCooky



4) A Credit to Littlebeane Boutique for personalized stickers!



photo courtesy of littlebeane boutique



5)  Heart Whisk and Two Wilton Valentine Cookie Cutters

6) 12 Wilton Silicone Baking Cups



photo from amazon.com





7) Heart Measuring Cups

 photo from amazon.com  Have A Sweet Day! ~sarah





Itsy Bitsy Smiley Faces & Hearts

Have A Sweet Day!

~sarah

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

I have yet to share a recipe on my website, and i thought it would be fun to start with cupcakes.  If you remember my first giveaway a couple months ago, you know that i LOVE cupcakes!  And this recipe is fantastic, though it does take a little bit of time and a few extra steps, its definitely worth it!  I made these for my husband's co-workers and they went over so well that i made them again a week later for my in-laws too.

The cake itself is light and fluffy and i paired it with a delicious brown sugar frosting.  so good!!!  If you are a coffee lover (which i am) they also tasted great with an espresso buttercream.  These would be so much fun to make for Valentine's day...just add some heart shaped sprinkles and you will be good to go! 

Have A Sweet Day!

~sarah

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk (i used 1%)

1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

5 large egg whites, room temperature

2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk together 3 1/4 cups cake flour, the baking powder, and salt.  Stir the vanilla into the milk to combine.

2) With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth.  Adding the sugar in a steady stream, beat until pale and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until just combined after each.

3) In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk the egg whites until peaks form (do not overmix).  Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten.  Gently fold in the remaining whites until just combined.  Toss chocolate chips with remaining tablespoon of cake flour, and then gently fold into batter.  This simple step really helps to keep the chocolate chips from falling to the bottom of each cupcake while baking.

4) Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean and the tops are springy to the touch, about 22 minutes.  although baking times will vary depending on your oven.  i only baked mine for about 18 minutes and they were perfect.  Make sure to check on your cupcakes towards the end, this batter seems to overbake quickly.

5) Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

6) To finish, frost your cupcakes.  Decorate with mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, etc.  Have fun with it!

Brown Sugar Frosting

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

1) To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.

2) Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

3) Beat in the flour and salt. Finally, mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

4) Decorate as desired.  I like to use a 1M tip for cupcakes.

Espresso Buttercream (an extra frosting option, in case you are in a coffee mood)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons espresso powder

1) Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.

2) Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more.

3) Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary.

Sources:  for the cupcakes, Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
             for the espresso buttercream, Brown Eyed Baker
             for the brown sugar frosting, Annie's Eats 
                (if you visit Annie's page, check out her cookie dough
                    cupcakes, they are amazing!)
             

       

Once Upon A Time...

The lovely and incredibly talented Anne, of Flour Box Bakery, has put together a collaborative cookie project with 22 other cookiers, and im honored to be a part of it!  The theme is "Once Upon A Time" and each cookie artist was randomly assigned their own fairy tale to use as inspiration for a baby shower collection.  I was assigned Hercules and i based my designs on the 12 Trials of Hercules!  When i told my husband the theme i was given, he was super excited since he loves Greek mythology.  He was a huge help when it came to familiarizing me with each of the Herculean trials.  Thanks hon!!

We were all given adorable favor tags to include as part of our collection, which were provided by One Sweet Party.

A big thank you to Anne for putting this together!!  It was so much fun!

Below is a list, in no particular order, of the other artists who participated in this collaboration.  You will be blown away by the talent and creativity that each cookier put into their fairy tale theme.  Enjoy!!

Have A Sweet Day!

~sarah

Little Red Riding Hood, presented by Angela of Oh, Sugar Events
Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oh-Sugar-Events/112788605471341
Oh, Sugar Events Blog

http://www.ohsugareventplanning.blogspot.com/

Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, presented by Susan of The Painted Cookie
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/The.Painted.CookieThe Painted Cookie Blog

http://www.paintedcookiedesigns.blogspot.com/

Aladdin, presented by Nicole of Life's a Batch
Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/LifesABatch

Life's a Batch Blog

http://lifesabatch.com/

Rapunzel, presented by Adrianne of Color Me Cookie
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Color-Me-Cookie/162223187177066

Alice in Wonderland, presented by Debbie of Mt. Lookout Sweets
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/mtlookoutsweets?ref=ts

Prince Charming of Cinderella, presented by Tiffany of TheRedCooky
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/RedCooky
TheRedCooky Blog
http://www.theredcooky.com/

Jack and the Beanstalk, presented by Laura of Laura's Cookies
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/LaurasCookies?ref=ts

Princess and the Pea, presented by Anne of Flour Box Bakery
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flour-Box-Bakery/173731761312
Flour Box Bakery Blog

http://www.flourboxbakery.com/blogs/tidbits

Pinocchio, presented by Stephanie of the Hungry Hippopotamus
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hungry-Hippopotamus/112419025459340

Peter Pan, presented by Elizabeth of SweetArt Sweets
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/SweetArtSweets
SweetArt Sweets Blog

http://www.sweetartsweets.blogspot.com/

The Frog Prince, presented by Anita of Sweet Hope Cookies
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/SweetHopeCookies
Sweet Hope Cookies Blog

http://www.sweethopecookies.com/

Jasmine, presented by Kimberly of Sweet Creations
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/SweetCreationsCookies?ref=ts
Sweet Creations Blog

http://www.sweetcreationscookies.com/

Little Bo Peep, presented by Lorraine of Lorraine's Cookies
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/lrussocookies
Lorraine's Cookies Blog

http://lorrainescookies.com/

Tinkerbell, presented by Andrea of Cupookie
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/cupookie?sk=wall
Cupookie Blog

http://www.cupookie.com/

Cinderella, presented by Hillary of The Cookie Countess
Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Cookie-Countess/103080619783637

The Cookie Countess Blog

http://thecookiecountess.com/

Sleeping Beauty, presented by Natalie of Palestine Painted Cookie
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palestine-Painted-Cookie/117050834995523?ref=ts
Palestine Painted Cookie Blog

http://www.palestinepaintedcookie.com/

Goldilocks, presented by Liz of Arty McGoo
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arty-McGoo/125208926025
Arty McGoo Blog

http://artymcgoo.blogspot.com/

Robin Hood, presented by Teresa of Sweet-T-CakeS
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/sweettcakes

Thumbelina, presented by Callye of Sweet Sugarbelle
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SugarBelles/124136444301279
Sweet Sugarbelle Blog

http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/

Mulan, presented by Krista of Cookies with Character
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookies-with-Character/216082438437841
Cookies with Character

http://kristascookieswithcharacter.blogspot.com/

Ariel, presented by Georganne of LilaLoa
Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/LilaLoa/130733710321037
LilaLoa Blog

http://lilaloa.blogspot.com/

Penguins!

I made 4 dozen of these cute penguins for a first birthday party.  It was my first time using sugarbelle's twenty second rule for royal icing and i absolutely love it!  If you havnt tried it yet, i definitely recommend it!

Here is the link on how to make it if you are interested:

http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/04/the-twenty-second-rule/

Thanks for the order, Mrs. Mitchell!

Have A Sweet Day!

~sarah

Baby Shower Umbrellas

 I made an elmo birthday collection for Heather's son and she liked the cookies so much that she contacted me to make some cookies for an upcoming baby shower!  Her only request was that they be pink and brown with some fun details like polka dots, etc.  I actually made these a couple months ago, but i just realized that i never posted them here.  Thanks for the order, Heather!!

Have A Sweet Day!
~sarah

linked with : A To Zebra Celebrations Tuesday Link Party http://atozebracelebrations.blogspot.com/2012/01/totally-cute-crafts-tuesday.html

Butterflies & Flowers

These were made for a 7th birthday.  I was asked to make butterflies & flowers to match the party decor...i just love the stitching on these! 

Thanks for the order, Amy!!!

Have A Sweet Day!

~sarah