Because it’s hard to plant tulips in January.
I got into gardening when we bought our farm. In fact, for a long time I pretty much only decorated cookies during the yucky months (which in Ohio is like SIX OF THEM) when I’d be stuck inside and it was too hot or too cold to garden. Ohio weather is insane. It’s negative double digits in winter, rain until May, you get June if you’re lucky, July-September suck, and by October it’s getting dark way too early.
So what to do while I’m dreaming about starting seeds and mulching paths? Decorate garden cookies of course!
I didn’t come up with these, but I still love them. They were pretty straightforward to make too. Credit for this design goes to Make Me Cake Me.
And then I got fancy.
I went out early last spring (when it still felt like winter) and finally bought an airbrush specifically so I could decorate these stargazer lilies. I’d been wanting one for a while, but kept going back and forth on which brand. I read mixed reviews on the super mini compressors so decided to go with a slightly larger one, not specifically made for cakes and cookies. I ended up with this compressor. (although I’m a little salty; mine only came with one gun and no airbrush color!)
The airbrush really makes the lilies pop. I’m excited to try some other colors, maybe orange tiger lilies!
But wait. I can be fancier!
I’ve always had this idea that piped flowers were for cakes only. But when I saw these gorgeous violas by the amazing Cookie Cutter Kingdom I knew I needed to up my game.
This was my first time piping with stiff icing and special tips (rose petal tip if I recall). I had no faith in my ability to succeed with direct-to-cookie piping, so these are royal icing transfers and trust me, I went through quite a few before I got any that looked remotely like violas. Then they just started to slide right off the end of the icing tip like magic! Beginners luck, probably. I doubt I’ll be able to make these look this good again.
A bit about copying others’ cookies
I spend a lot of time copying other peoples cookies. It helps me understand and practice techniques, and usually inspires me to create something unique. When I have a cookie in mind I usually turn to Pinterest and pull bits and pieces from my favorites. When I share a cookie I copied closely I try to include a link to the creator (hey, free blog traffic!) and not pass it off as mine. It’s possible I’ll make a mistake and forget to credit someone. Just poke me and remind me if you ever catch me. And if I ever post something I copied from YOU and you don’t want me to, just let me know and I’ll take it down. (Just remember, high quality backlinks are Google’s friend!) Here’s what other cookie artists think about copying in the cookie realm.
So, it is with a clear conscience I present to you: The Vegetable Garden Cookie!
This one is all 100% mine although you can see the inspiration from the violas, can’t you? I only ever made this one cookie, so I think I’ll have to do a set of these soon. It’s been a few years and my skills and toolset have grown. I think I can make this better.
I’ll end with a couple other garden cookies, (credits in the captions) and the promise of a coming VIDEO TUTORIAL for a cookie design I’ve been spending a lot of time on. This will be my first full length tutorial. I have a first not-full-length-nor-very-tutorially tutorial, but this one is the real deal. I HAVE CAPTIONS AND EVERYTHING. I’ve been itching to post this weeks and I’m not sure if it’s the cookie or the tutorial that has me so excited!
To plant bake a garden cookie is to believe in tomorrow.
— Audrey Hepburn, who presumably loved cookies.
