Remember the Alamo!... Cookies

This past week was a big one for Texas!  First, Texas celebrated its 178th birthday on March 2nd!  Then, the historic Battle of the Alamo ended on March 6th.  This had me feeling very Texan-proud and I thought it was the perfect time to share these Texas cookies I made back in the fall.  

My mother-in-law had some friends visiting from New Zealand and she wanted to give them some Texas themed cookies to welcome them in their first visit to our Lone Star state.  She didn't give me any parameters on the cookies and said to just make them something special that would represent Texas well.

I know to outsiders, Texas is a bunch of cowboys and cowgirls, so I had to include some boots.  Rather than make them traditional boots, I thought putting a paisley print on them would make a cute touch.  I knew I had to include a Texas cookie and chose to use the Texas flag design.  Finally, since they were visiting San Antonio, I wanted to include our most iconic landmark: the Alamo.  To make add a little more Texas culture to the cookies, I decided it would be the Alamo in the spring and added bluebonnets to the base of the building.

The texture on the Alamo was a happy mistake.  One of the Alamo cookies cracked down the middle and I had to perform "cookie surgery" and use icing to piece it back together.  This worked, but then there was a very visible seam down the center of the cookie.  My husband Kevin suggested adding another layer of thin icing on top to hid it.  In the process, I used a spatula to place on icing and scrap it off and I loved the effect.

"Texas, our Texas, all hail the mighty state!"

Texas Theme Cookies

It might appear that things have been slow around here for the past week or so, but it is actually the opposite! I've been so busy making cookies, that I haven't had time to blog about them.

Before our big move to San Antonio, I was a teacher and I coached cheerleading.  I loved coaching cheer and definitely miss it, in big part because of my amazing girls (yes, I still consider them my girls and always will).  One of these said amazing girls, Olivia, contacted me about making birthday cookies for her grandmother.  She saw my bluebonnet ones and said that is her grandmother's favorite flower.  We decided to go with a whole Texas theme and as the proud Texas I am, I love the results!

The whole collection

Bluebonnets

Indian Blankets

Texas with Texas flag design

 

And now for the close-ups....

I don't know about you, but these Texas cookies make me want to sing out "Texas, Our Texas" at the top of my lungs!  Thank you, Olivia, for giving me the opportunity to make these Texas cookies.  I am so proud of you and am extremely excited for the big changes you have coming with a career in nursing and a marriage on the horizon.

Texas Wildflower Cookies

I love springtime in Texas.  It isn't too "cold" (I realize my native Texan definition of cold is much different than others') to go outside anymore, but the sweltering heat of summertime hasn't set in just yet.  But most of all, I love springtime in Texas for the wildflowers.  Beautiful bluebonnets, colorful Indian Blankets, and vibrant Indian paintbrushes line every highway and fill previously empty fields.  It adds so much color and life to areas that are usually a monotonous shade of green.  

It is definitely a "rite of passage" for a Texan to take pictures in bluebonnets, and James had to endure two different sessions. The first was over Easter weekend at our family lake house and the second was with some friends at a local park.

 

Photo-bomb from Sophie

James with some of his best buds: Brady, Mark and Fox.  Yes, he wore the same outfit because I liked the way it looked.  Also, in my mind, I built this up to be this adorable picture with all of them sitting there and smiling at the camera.  Needless to say, it was more of a try-to-just-get-them-all-to-sit-still-and-who-cares-if-they're-smiling kind of experience.

So, on to the cookies! I knew immediately I wanted to make some bluebonnet cookies this spring, but I also wanted to make another wildflower to compliment it.  After trying to sketch an Indian paintbrush for what felt like an eternity, I threw in the towel and decided to do Indian Blankets instead.

I tried two different cutters to get the bluebonnet shape.  The first was a carrot cutter and the second was two flower shapes that I squished and then pieced together.

Enjoy these beautiful wildflowers while they last! But once they're gone, at least we can still have some cookies!