Super delicious birthday cookies

I just love hearing about couples getting engaged...don't you? Just the thought of a new marriage, a new family...and well, the wedding cake, makes me turn to mush.


My cousin Meg got engaged last month...yay! Now, I have 9 younger cousins...just on one side of the family. Hearing about their engagements is always exciting, but this one was especially thrilling because I've actually gotten a chance to get to know her *now* fiance....and he is such GREAT GUY!

Let me tell you a just little about Meg & Sean:
♥Meg is about 12 years younger than I am. She used to write to me in college...telling me about how she would get up before school to do "Mousercise" (Mickey Mouse jazzercise) and writing out songs she had composed....at age 7! (As I remember, there were a lot of "Ooo, baby's" in the lyrics!) I think she is the most stylish person I know!
♥Sean was the first person my son ever met who owned an iPhone. And he let him PLAY WITH IT...that promoted him to "cool" right there. He plays guitar and sings and...Sean is also a SCRABBLE Champion. And that's where the cookies come in.




The cookies:
My original thought (a year and a half ago when I met Sean and had a feeling this day was coming) was to make a cookie Scrabble board. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get it to look quite right, so I made Scrabble cookie tiles.


Using my bench scraper, I divided square cookies into fourths.

I jazzed up my usual cookie recipe with 3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste in place of the 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Since they were smaller, I cut the baking time down by 2 minutes.


To decorate:

♥Outline each cookie with a #2 tip in ivory (AmeriColor Ivory).
♥Thin the royal icing with water, stirring in a teaspoon at a time until it is the consistency of a thick syrup. Cover with a damp dish towel and let sit for several minutes.
♥Stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop any air bubbles that have formed on the top and transfer to a squeeze bottle.

♥Fill in the cookies with the thinned icing. Use a toothpick to guide into the corners.
♥Let sit for at least 1 hour.

♥Using a #2 tip pipe the letters in black icing (AmeriColor Super Black).
{I tried to get as close the the Scrabble letters as possible.}

♥Switch to a #1 tip and add the point value for the letters in the corners.
♥With red icing and a #3 tip, pipe hearts on several of the cookies.

♥Let dry overnight and package.

{Wouldn't these be darling for Valentine's Day?}


Related posts:
♥Yes, I said Yes! Engagement Cookies
♥For June Brides...
♥Valentine Cookies with va-va-va-vanilla

*updated...thank you all so much for your sweet comments, emails and tweets about my Nana, Marge. they meant so much to me!*

Thirteen years ago tonight, my husband proposed. Valentine's Day had come and gone and I was left thinking WHEN IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN?!? He had other plans....he wanted to throw me off guard, I think. Over a loaf of Great Harvest Bread Company bread (you knew there was food involved, right?!? He's a smart man!) and glasses of champagne, the question was popped. M...THANK YOU for asking!!! I still say YES! :)

1. Outline a diamond shape in white icing using a #2 or #3 tip.
2. Outline the shape of the ring, inner and outer circle, in yellow using a #2 or #3 tip (AmeriColor Egg Yellow)
3. Thin white and yellow icings with water until the consistency of syrup. Cover with a damp dishtowel and let sit several minutes.
4. Run a rubber spatula through the icing to break any air bubbles that have formed on top. Pour into squeeze bottles.
5. Fill in the diamond on white flood icing. Use a toothpick to guide into corners.
6. Fill in the ring with yellow icing.
7. With a #3 or #4 tip, fill in the center of the rings in pink (AmeriColor soft Pink).
8. Let sit at least one hour.
9. With a #2 tip, pipe "yay!" across the cookies.
10. Let dry overnight.
11. Mix a small amount of meringue powder with water.
12. Paint mixture on the diamond with a small paintbrush and immediately sprinkle with clear sparkling sugar.

Like these cookies? Check out some wedding cake cookies here!

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With this simple tiered cake cookie cutter, the possibilities are really endless. Don't limit yourself to just wedding cookies, this makes a perfect birthday cookie, too. Over the years, I've probably used this cutter and my scalloped square cutter the most.

The edge on this cookie was finished in gold lustre dust.
This "squiggle cake" is a really simple design and still one of my absolute favorites! Here's how to make them:

• Outline cookies in white royal icing, using a #2 or #3 tip.
• Thin icing with water to the consistency of syrup. Let sit for several minutes covered with a damp dishtowel. Use a rubber spatula and run through the icing after sitting to break most of the air bubbles that have risen to the top. Pour this into a squeeze bottle.
• Fill in cookies with the thinned flood icing, using a toothpick to guide into corners.
• Let dry at least 1 hour.
• Using a #1 or #2 tip (these cookies were piped with a #2, look at the top pic for #1 tip example), squeeze piping icing in a free-form squiggle pattern. (Be sure on this design to fill your piping bag no more than half full....any more and your hand will start to hurt and cramp....trust me...it's a lot of squeezing!) :)
• Ta-da! Place in a bag and tie with coordinating ribbon.