The real meaning of Easter

As fun as it is to make adorable bunnies and colorful Easter eggs, it was very important to me to make a cookie that highlighted the truth behind why we celebrate Easter.

Matthew 28: 5 - 7: "The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.'”

Alleluia! He is risen! Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Cookies

I'm not crazy about hard-boiled eggs.  Love dying them and decorating them for Easter, but eating them afterwards? No thanks.  My mom usually makes deviled eggs out of them, but that just takes something I'm not fond of, hard-boiled eggs, and adding two things to it that I hate, mayonnaise and mustard.  Because of this, I found it necessary to create some Easter eggs that I would actually enjoy eating! 

It was also the perfect opportunity to test out a new chocolate cut-out cookie recipe.  I fortunately unfortunately messed one up, so I was able to try it and it passed with flying colors.  My official taste testers, AKA my family, will let me know what they think tomorrow.  Although, my dad willingly ate my Easy Bake oven concoctions when I was a little girl, so I think it is safe to say he doesn't have the most discerning palate when it comes to sweets. :)

 

The whole collection

That grubby little hand belongs to my sweet son, James.  Making and photographing cookies with a 13-month old around is not the easiest task.  He is like a vulture!

I think it is safe to say I will enjoy eating these Easter eggs significantly more than the deviled eggs that will come from our dyed ones- sorry, Mom!

Easter Bunny came early!

I love pasting cookie cut-outs together to get a desired shape or word.  I had previously done this for my sister's 30th birthday cookies and loved how easy it was to make a more impressive cookie.  I wanted to make an Easter bunny, but not the bodiless, floating head, but the whole bunny.  To do this I used the teddy bear cutter, beheaded him*, and then added on the bunny head.  The result was a bit adorable if I don't say so myself, and he is one dapper bunny dressed to impress!  

The carrot in his hand is made from left-over icing piped on wax paper, dried overnight and then peeled right off



Every-bunny needs some-bunny sometimes

                             

Close-up on that adorable mug

 

I brought these to our playgroup to wish everyone a very "Hoppy" Easter (too much with the puns?).  The best part of making cookies is definitely watching people enjoy them. Despite all the time and effort put in to making them, at the end of the day, it is still a cookie meant to be eaten and nothing was better than seeing James's friends smiling as they were eating the ears.

*No animals were harmed in the production of these cookies

Happy (Almost) Easter!

I went to my #1 inspiration source Pinterest for ideas for Easter.  I found these adorable bunny "tushy" cookies and wanted to try them. I didn't have a bunny cutter like the original blogger, so I had to cut and paste to get the desired shape.  And what would a bunny be digging for but carrots?

I tried two different types of carrots and ended up favoring the less realistic zig-zag ones



Bunnies digging for carrots

Hope everyone is getting as excited about Easter weekend as I am! More Easter cookies to come!

Happy 1st Birthday, Reese!

As I am writing this, everyone has gathered at the Delgado home to celebrate Reese's 1st birthday and I am not there.  Why do you ask?  Because my son picked the least opportune time to develop a stomach bug.  No party, no cake, and most importantly no COOKIES for us!

Reese's party is a rainbow theme and Alicia, Reese's mom, found these cookies on Pinterest and really liked them.  I told her I would love to make them for Reese's party.  I thought they were cute, but instead of making 2 dozen rainbow stripe cookies, I asked her how she felt about me throwing in some lace accent cookies to make it less monotonous.  She thought that was a great idea, so I ran with it!

 

I created this new lace design for more variety



Original Rainbow cookie design found by Alicia



Packed up and ready to go to the party!

Some close-up, more artistic shots!

 

Happy 1st Birthday, Reese! I hope it is a memorable one, and we are all pretty bummed here in the Supak house that we can't be there to celebrate with you.  But, I look forward to future birthdays and watching you grow up into a beautiful young lady!

Lace cookies

Ever since I saw lace cookies for the first time on Pinterest, I became obsessed. Ok, obsessed may be a bit of an overstatement, but I did spend a little too much time admiring the detail, intricacy, and beauty that someone took the time to put into a cookie.  I just had to try it. I had some leftover icing from practicing rainbow cookies for Reese's 1st birthday (post on that to come later), so I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

I was pretty proud of myself, especially this being my first effort.  And, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how simple these were to make.  A cookie that I thought would take hours was knocked out in under ten minutes (after allowing the base icing "coat" to dry overnight). I have to admit that I am still pretty infatuated with these cookies and I know I'll be doing them many more times.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I made these cookies for my sweet friend Vanessa to bring to school to give to her co-workers to brighten up their day.  It will be the first day back since spring break, and let's be honest, the students aren't the only ones dreading  not eagerly anticipating the end of a week's vacation.

The colors I chose were inspired by Ireland's flag: orange, green and white.  I threw in the lime green for a punch of color.  My husband's favorite ended up being the Shamrock with the face.  He liked the simplicity of it.  Meanwhile, I like the cookie with the orange, green and lime marbling with the sugar shamrock in the center.  Probably the busiest cookie in the bunch!

                                                           The entire package

The clovers

                                                                 Kevin's Favorite

                                                                       My favorite


"Top o' the morning" to all the hard-working teachers out there!  I know from experience how difficult the first day back after a break is.  Hopefully, these cookies can give you the burst of energy to get through it! 

Happy Birthday, Katie!

My older sister Katie turned the big 3-0 this year. Katie is more than a sister to me; she is my best friend. The older we've gotten, the closer we've grown. We talk daily as she is my shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, and a wealth of great advice from her experiences as a mom of three.

We were best buds from early on.. 

Even back then we knew the importance of getting in our phone conversations. 

Yes, our swimsuits match & yes, I brought a Cabbage Patch Doll to the beach.
In my defense, she did "tan" in the sun. 

Katie was a little anxious about hitting this milestone, so what better to get her excited about it than some sweet treats?

Happiest of birthdays to my wonderful, inspiring, beautiful sister. I look forward to celebrating many, many more with you! I love you!