Donna Reed, here I come!

Hehehehe.... I have now officially done something I never thought I would do.... I made cookies for C's birthday. Mind you, these are not just any cookies.... They were hand decorated sugar cookies. And to top that all off, I made the dough and the icing myself. (Pat, pat, pat -- my back needed it.) The inspiration was a fellow adoptive mom and her cookie-making ability. Here are hers..... She also shows you how at http://tinyurl.com/2fqahy. She has more pictures (like those at http://tinyurl.com/yttkvp) that are just amazing.....

Anyway.... mine turned out pretty well for the first try. They tasted really good if that matters. I used the recipe at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thick-Cut-Outs/Detail.aspx?src=etaf for the cookies (I substituted 1/2 tsp Haitian vanilla instead of the 1 1/2 tsp regular vanilla) and I used the recipe at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Cookie-Icing/Detail.aspx?src=etaf for the icing. This one I really had to adjust, though. I used Haitian vanilla instead of the almond extract since a girl in C's class is allergic to nuts and when I did a double recipe per the instructions it was waaaaaaayyyyyyyy too thick to pipe through a bag! I don't remember exactly what I ended up with, but probably close to 1/4 cup of milk and 3 Tblsp corn syrup in the end. I basically got it the consistency of Elmer's glue. It held its place pretty well when squeezed through the bag, but it did not hold its shape -- if that makes any sense. Anyway, here are the results! (Oh -- If you are looking for cookie cutters, check out http://www.cookiecutter.com and http://www.wineandcake.com for a really good assortment!)