Father's Day Cookies

What a great day to cook on the grill!  I asked my husband what he wanted me to grill for Father's Day and he said, "hamburgers and  hot dogs...REAL hamburgers."  He said that because I always make turkey burgers.  I was thinking he would say steaks or shish-kabobs, but nope, just REAL burgers.  So, I got some ground sirloin and he got his wish.  We had my mom and dad over too, to celebrate Father's Day.  I made LOTS of food.  I always overdo it.  BUT, it was yummy and now I don't have to cook tomorrow.

Here are my naked ties.  I ordered the tie cookie cutter, but it didn't come in time, so I just carved them out.  Not difficult at all, especially since they are all straight lines!

Anyway, I made potato salad, two bean salad, deviled eggs, homemade salsa, lime cupcakes, cookies, and corn on the cob.  Plus we had strawberries, watermelon and chips.  Basically all your grilling necessities.  Plus, I sauteed some mushrooms and onions to go on the burgers and served lettuce from the garden and sliced tomatoes too.  Mmmm.....it was good.  Hebrew National hot dogs are the only ones I buy.  Guys said they were good, so I'll take their word for it.

These cookies were decorated for my hubby.  He is a suit and tie guy.  I love the old cliche that you buy your dad a tie on Father's Day.  He would actually like a tie! 

My dad, on the other hand, would NOT like a tie.  I don't think I have seen him in one more than twice.  So I made these cookies for him:

My dad taught me to build lots of things growing up.  I can handle tools as well as a lot of guys and maybe better than a few!  He also is a retired bricklayer (thus the bricks and mortar with the trowel).  He gets a kick out of my cookies...but really likes eating them.  I thought he would like his very own tool box of cookies, so went for it.

I think they all turned out cute.  I wish I had gotten the cutters, but I think I did okay freehand.  I wonder if they will last till tomorrow?

This is my husband Rafael with his tie cookie.

Happy Father's Day, Rafael.  Your boys think the world of you!  And so do I!

Prince Cookies

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a HUGE Prince fan.  I love any and all things Prince.  So when my favorite local band (The Unit) was doing a Prince Tribute, I had to make these for the event AND the bassists birthday.  :)  I had a blast making these.  There will be more purple to come too, I had lots of ideas as I made these!

People referred to Prince as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince when he changed his name to this symbol.  It is known as the LOVE SYMBOL.  Although he is back to his old name, I still think this looks awesome and had to make a cookie featuring it!  lol

Free hand Love Symbol is not easy!  Some looked better than others, but I think they turned out great anyway.  Can't go wrong with Prince and Purple!!

The guitars were a must for me too!  Initially I wanted to do the yellow cloud guitar...my favorite guitar (from the Get Off video), but then I came across this and went with it.  To make this cookie, I printed out a picture of this guitar on card stock and used it as a template to make the guitar.  I cut the dough with a pairing knife.  (Yes, each one was cut out by hand.  Yes, it was a bit of work.  BUT, for any Prince fan....soooo worth it!  lol)

I wanted to put strings on these, but the neck of the guitar was so thin, it just looked a mess when I tried it.  So, I left them with naked frets! 

Here's Jen and I in our PURPLE attire for the Prince Tribute.  

 Such a great hubby...he takes me all the way to Chicago! 

Enjoying the band and people watching. 

If you want to see all of the pictures go to:  Chrome Kiss Photos.  My friend Heidi is an awesome photographer and takes pictures at a lot of gigs. 

Margarita Cookies for Bunco

I hosted Bunco this month...or Drunko Bunco as many women call it today.  It was a Mexican theme with taquitos, rice and beans, chicken fajitas, pork tacos, guacamole, fresh salsa, taco dip, fried plantains, veggies, margarita cupcakes, homemade twix & nutella bars and these super cute cookies.  Okay, even as I type it I know I over did it!  But I would do nothing less for the Bunco gals.  I love hanging out and rolling dice...the drinking parts not so bad either!  Margaritas, of course.

Anyway, I made some other cookies too.

It is Bunco after all, so dice are a must!  Okay, for my over achieving mind it is a must.  They were cute though and easy to make.

I especially like the limes on the rim of the glass.

And the "salt" on the rim.  I know you are wondering, "how many pictures did she take?"  Well, I can take lots of pictures of cookies.  I have turned into a cookie monster of sorts.  Obsessed with cookie cutters and thinking of the next cookie I can create.  I know...it's a sickness.  lol

One more for the road!  :)  You knew I would!

In case you are wondering, Jen Batey won Bunco.  She basically kicked our asses!  She won bunco and had most buncos too! 

Congrats Jen!  Have a Margarita on me!  :)

To see more cookies and baked goods go to www.JanisBakes.com

Decorated Lingerie Cookies

 

Um yes, I did it.  I made lingerie cookies.  These would be great for a bachelor or bachelorette party!  My friend Jen emailed me some like this awhile ago and suggested I make them.  Couldn't resist, so here they are. 

Brasiers and thongs, what more do you need? 

You know they are super cute! 

Someone suggested the bra cookies with pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness.  I think that is a GREAT idea.  Now why didn't I think of that?

Mother's Day Cookie Bouquet

I made these for my mom and grandmother for Mother's Day, along with breakfast.  I just had to share them with you.  

Hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day!!!

Apple Cookies for Teacher Appreciation Week

This year I told the PTO I would make an apple cookie for all of the teachers at the school.  I think they turned out super cute.  I know teachers are sick of apples, but it's a cookie!!!  So hopefully they won't mind. They will be put in the teachers mailboxes this week along with a thank you note.  :)

 Like I said, I think they turned out cute.  HOWEVER, I will not be coloring anything red for awhile...what a pain!  lol

 

Here is how I packaged them.  Use a cellophane bag and then put a cute "thank you" on the back!  Feel free to steal it!  

Thank you to all of you who are teachers!  We appreciate all that you do for our children.  Keep in mind there are  many parents more than willing to help, so when you need it, simply ask!

Marcus wanted me to make sure and take a picture of the apple for his kindergarten teacher, Miss Blimm.  She has taken over for Mrs. Mulder since she left to have her baby girl.  She is a great teacher and Marcus loves learning from her each day!  THANK YOU, MISS BLIMM for everything you do!

Mr. Meyer is my son Nicholas' fourth grade teacher.  I must say I think he is the best teacher Nicholas has ever had.  Not only is he a great male role model for Nicholas, he takes the time to understand his students and work with them to help them lean in a fun way.  Nicholas loves science and Mr. Meyer is always having them do experiments.  (Although I could have done without the crayfish Nicholas got to take home when the class was done with them.  lol)  THANK YOU, MR. MEYER for being such a great teacher!

Tulip Bouquets

Didn't these potted tulip cookies turn out cute?  I made these for the office ladies at the school for Administrative Professionals Day.  (Why can't we just call it Secretary's Day?  I had to actually google it to remember what it's called!  lol)

These would be great for Mother's Day!  I plan to put some on our table!  I'm actually toying with the idea of a cookie decorating business.  So if you need some for an event.  Let me know and I will see if I can help you out!  :)  Or you can make them yourself!  Here's how you do it:

Use your tulip cutter to cut out the cookies.  You will have to make sure the dough is thick enough to put the stick into it.  Then bake your cookies as usual.  Don't worry, it doesn't burn the sticks! 

To decorate use a thicker icing to outline, then thin out the icing and fill in the center by flooding the cookie outline.  

I got these cute pots at the dollar store.  I also bought the foam to stick the lollipop sicks into so the flowers would stand up, and some grass from the Easter section.  When I put the flowers into the foam, I was afraid that it would tip over so I hot glued the foam to the bottom of the pot (just enough to keep it from falling, so that the glue could easily be removed if they want to use the pots for something else).  Oh, and make sure you get the LONG lollipop sticks or your tulips will barely reach the top of the pot!  

Easter Cookies

Well, I am a huge fan of decorated sugar cookies.  I love eating them, and I love making them.  I love finding new occasions to make them for.  :)  For some reason I find it relaxing and loved how these turned out!  I tried a few techniques that I have seen on some of my favorite blogs, but I have come to love the sugar cookie recipe from Annie's Eats and I use it EVERY TIME.

I made eggs.

And butterflies!

And chicks!

Have fun decorating!

Shamrock Cookies

I have become a huge fan of the decorated cookie!  I love them!  They are cute and taste delicious.  If you have a good recipe for a sugar cookie and icing...you are set!  Thanks to a favorite blog of mine:  Annie's Eats I have both!  I used these same recipes for my Conversation Heat Cookies.  Just different gel coloring.  Click either link to check them out.

I made a couple different colors of shamrocks.  Marcus chose the color for the shamrocks for his classmates for St. Patrick's Day:

I think they turned out super cute!

I also made extras for us to  have on St. Patrick's Day at our Irish Dinner, and to put into Nicholas' lunchbox.

I preferred a darker green:

You have plenty of time to make your own.  These are great because you can make them a day or two ahead and they will keep well in an airtight container.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's WEEK! 

Conversation Heart Cookies for Valentine's Day

Are these not the cutest Valentine's Day cookies ever?  I saw a few versions online and decided on these for the boys' Valentine parties at school.  I LOVE baking.  I have wanted to decorate cookies forever, but was afraid it would be to difficult and they wouldn't turn out well.  I proved myself wrong.  The kids were so excited to take them and I think they turned out great.  Not bad for a first try, if I don't say so myself.   :)

I got the recipes for the sugar cookies and icing from a great blog called Annie's Eats.  She has amazing goodies on there all the time.  I used her recipes for:  "Ella's White Sugar Cookies" and "Royal Icing." You can find the recipes on her website by following the link above.

Here is what I did:

 

Make the dough and shape into disks.  Place in the refrigerator until firm.  Roll out and cut out heat shapes.  I used a scalloped cutter.

 Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Do not brown them.  Let cool on a baking sheet.  Prepare the icing to outline the cookies.

Outline the cookies with the icing.  I left room on the edges so you can see the scalloped edges.

Thin the icing and put into a small squeeze bottle to make it easier to flood the cookies.

Squeeze the thinned icing into the center of the outline.  Use a toothpick or the bottle tip to move the icing around.  You can also gently shake the cookie to make sure it is evenly coated.

Put them somewhere and let them dry completely.  I used the cooling rack.

Here is another shot of the other colors that I did.

Be sure to let them dry completely before trying to write on them or you will have a mess.  Luckily all my cookies turned out.  NO ISSUES!  That is a first!  :) 

Write the regular conversation hearts messages or make your own!  :) 

I tied to make them Kid appropriate since they were going to school.  My husband and I questioned the KISS ME ones.  But you can't have conversation hearts without a couple KISS MEs!  :) 

I sealed them individually and put a label on the back from the boys.

TOO CUTE!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!