National Drink Wine Day & Baking Adventures!

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Ya'll... Did you know February 18th was National Drink Wine Day? This holiday was meant for me. I'm currently enjoying a nice glass of Merlot on this day off. If you'll stick around you'll see David and I have been trying to branch out and enjoy wines from around the world on the weekends. We've tried out about 6 new brands. Anyhow, on to today's show and share...

So today I want to share the past month of baking and decorating sugar cookies. I have been in love with cookies for a long time. It started early in college when I had my own money and got to wander around the mall when I wanted. I stumbled upon the Great American Cookie Co. and though I love ALL cookies, it amazed me what they could do with decorating and creativity.

Fast forward to my junior year of college. My roommate Page comes along and she's like a miniature Betty Crocker. She knows recipes by heart, she bakes cookies like there's no tomorrow. She made me realize how fun it is to actually cook. I started messing with recipes to see what happened if I messed with certain ingredients. I should have written some things down though, my husband still wants me to recreate what he called fluffy cookies. They had Splenda and something else was changed but I can't remember what it was.

So I have enjoyed making the occasional cookies and cupcakes over the past few years, but I started trying to make sugar cookies the boys could decorate in December. They turned out so well! I also realized how fun it was to color icing and use sprinkles in different ways.


Attempt #1,  I didn't wait a day to ice these, notice none of the detail work looks good. The icing is too thick, but I heart these sprinkles.


Attempt #2, the icing was so much better. I learned that my husband doesn't like icing all over. He preferred the cookies with the blue only. I also discovered my love of tips with this set.


Attempt #3, This was my biggest batch. I made over 30 cookies this time and took a bunch to school for some of my high achieving kiddos. I learned to separate my icing better, but I still struggled with consistency. I splurged on some valentine's sprinkles, and I'm so glad I did!

Here's what I learned over the past few months:

  • You should probably wait a day to try to decorate the cookies. They're too warm right after baking for the icing to sit properly. 
  • Gel colors only require drops at a time... do not squeeze like you would for regular food coloring!
  • CONSISTENCY IS EVERYTHING IN ICING! Seriously, if it's not thinned enough, you won't be able to even get it to lay flat on the cookie. 
  • Tips are excellent! Use couplers to easily change out the tips. These things are game changers! I have also used bags and cut them, but I can control so much better with a tip. 
  • Outline everything. This keeps your icing from running off the cookie. It also can be moved if you mess up, just push it with the flood consistency of icing. 
  • When baking, take them out before you see browned edges. They stay softer that way. 
So there you go! If you want to keep up with my progress, check out my Google album! 

Cookie Practice 2019

5 new photos · Album by Jamie Casteel
If you have any tips or tricks, please leave them in the comments!

~Jamie




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