Remember this? Mother's Day Giveaway

I have been pondering on what to do for a giveaway for Mother's day and today I finally figured it out. Yay for me!

Do you remember my Anniversary/Martha Stewart Post? You can view it here if you missed it. Eight Amazing Years.

That is the day we went to the Atlanta Aquarium to see Martha Stewart and that is also the day that she complimented my necklaces. (Cheeezy grin goin' on here) I could kick myself for not saying anymore than thank you. I just spazzed! Anyway....I have decided to give away one of the necklace and earring ensembles that she complimented. It is called Promenade and is from the Premier Designs Jewelry line that I sell.
The beads are beautiful genuine shells,tigers eye,and faux turquoise. It is one of my favorites and one lucky reader is going to win it.Here is what you do for a entry....

1. Leave me a comment on this post (1 entry)

2. Follow me and leave a separate comment here telling me you did so (1 extra entry)

3. Blog about the giveaway and post your link here (2 extra entries)

4. Follow me on twitter thecookiegirl and tweet about the giveaway (3 extra entries)

That is 7 total chances you can earn.

This will make a beautiful Mother's Day gift or you can just keep it for yourself if you win. ( I would have a hard time parting with it) :)

So off you go...Earn those chances! I will announce the winner on Wednesday, May 6th.

Good Luck to you all!

FINALLY!!! Cookie Club Recipe #7

Boy do I feel like a new Woman! I am so glad that Monster Migraine took a hike so I can get on with my Fabulous life and get y'all a cookie recipe for your sweet tooth.
This week I have decided to do cut out sugar cookies. Now, for the record I am an impatient individual that does not really care to wait on cut out cookies. If I can find a quicker way I will. But these cookies are just too cute not to make so I will keep my patience in tact and do my very best to get through it. :)

Have you ever wondered how to make those beautiful cookies in different shapes with the icing on top? Well I am going to tell you. Below is the recipe for the cookies as well as the icing (I do not like flavorless icing so I will add flavoring to mine) I will be doing mine in Spring and Easter shapes. I can't wait to see what you come up with too. Let me know when you make them and post pictures.

Buttery Sugar Cookie Cutouts

4 cups sifted AP flour,plus more for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract (or flavor of choice)

Directions:

Sift flour,baking powder and salt into a bowl.

Put butter and sugar into a bowl and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to just under 1/4 inch thick, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Cut out cookies with a 4-to-5 inch cookie cutter, transferring shapes to baking pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with scraps and other disk of dough.

Chill cookies in freezer until very firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating half way through, until edges turn golden, 15-18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Royal Icing Recipe

1 lb. confectioners sugar

5 Tblsp. Meringue Powder

Scant 1/2 cup water

Flavoring (optional)

Icing coloring for decorating

sanding sugar (optional)

Combine all ingredients into bowl of electric mixer using paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until smooth, about 7 minutes. If icing is too thick add more water. If it is too thin beat icing 2-3 minutes longer or add more sugar a tablespoon at a time.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container up to 2 days. (Icing hardens quickly when exposed to air) Beat well with rubber spatula before using.

To decorate cookies:

You will want to use an piping bag fitted with a coupler and #2 tip. Fill bag within 3 inches of top.

Outline top of cookie with icing and let it stand for 5-10 minutes to set. Once set, use a #5 tip and pipe zigzags across the entire surface of the cookie. (this is called Flooding)

Spread the icing evenly over the cookie with an offset spatula.

You can then sprinkle with sanding sugar or add alternate colors of polka dots. Get creative!

Let the icing set over night uncovered. Just remember.....if you want to add more icing to the top in different shapes, you must let the base color dry overnight.

Once cookies have been decorated and icing is dry, store between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container.

I know this recipe is a little more intense than other's I have posted. If you have any questions please let me know. Leave me you email so I can contact you.

Have Fun!!! Get the kids involved too.

Recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies

Cookie Club Recipe #4

I am so happy for the weekend. I have been sick all week with a virus and finally feel really great today. I did not make the cookies for this week but Suzi over a Savy Suzi made them and they were a big hit with her kids.
Spring is really around the corner and I am so ready for it. Old man winter can surely pack up and go away. So this week I have a really yummy Spring recipe for cookies that will get you in the mood for chirping birds and flower blooms. It is from my Martha Stewart cookie book but with a Cookie Girl twist.

I hope you all enjoy them...

Lime Sugar Cookies (Lime Flowers)

2 cups AP flour, plus more for work surface

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs. finely grated lime zest

1 1/2 sticks butter (room temp.)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

( I will use key lime juice)

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Directions: Sift together flour,baking powder,and salt into a bowl.

Put granulated sugar and lime zest in a separate bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Add butter, and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla and lime juice. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flower mixture.

On a lightly floured work surface, halve the dough. Flatten each half into a 10 inch disk, and wrap each in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Working with one half at a time, roll out dough on parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes with a 3 inch flower cookie cutter or cookie cutter of choice. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining disk.

Wrap scraps in plastic. Freeze 30 minutes, re-roll and cut.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until cookies are set, 12-13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on wire rack. Before serving, sift confectioners sugar over cookies.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.

Cookie Girl Notes: I will be using key lime juice. I am going to forgo the freezing step and use my cookie press instead. I will chill the cookies before I bake them.

Eight Amazing Years

Tuesday, February 17th marked eight wonderful years of marriage to Mr. Cookie. I just don't know where the time has gone. It was just like yesterday I was walking down the aisle to Unchained Melodies with butterflies in my tummy waiting to become the wife of the most amazing man you will ever meet.

It is funny how I reminisce and remember every little detail of our wedding day, right down to the moment he carried me through the threshold of our first home. I still miss that little place and all the memories that were made there.

So for our anniversary this year I wanted to go to the Georgia Aquarium and see the fish....sort of :) I really wanted to meet Martha Stewart who was going to be there signing her newest cookbooks. Being the wonderful man that my husband is he happily agreed to take me.

We got up early Tuesday morning and had mmmm...well, breakfast. We then left the house house and headed to the great ATL. An hour and half later we arrive at the aquarium and make our grand entrance toward the Ocean Ballroom where Martha was waiting to see ME. Okay, Okay...maybe not me personally but she was there. We actually waited and waited and waited for about two hours in line. Luckily we got there early enough to get a good place in line. There were hundreds of people behind us. The picture only captures a small amount of them.

We were even entertained by the beautiful Beluga whales the whole time. We were all served milk and cookies during the wait which for me was like Heaven! Helloooooo..I am the Cookie Girl.Yep...this is me! 100% Guilty with Dark Chocolate on my fingers and a smile on my face!

After the long wait....did I mention my AMAZING husband stood in line with me? Yes he did Girls....I just love him sooooooo much. There were reporters there with cameras taking pictures of the crowd. Once they saw Mr. Cookie and I they completely forgot everyone else and we were swamped with flashing lights and microphones......well, that is only half true. :) They did take our picture and ask us some questions about our Anniversary. Who knows if they made it into the paper. I would say Martha's picture took a little more precedence over ours.

Finally.....the doors opened and the line was moving very quickly. I was so excited but really contained myself for Mr. Cookies sake. Once we got close enough to the door they told us that we could not get a personal picture with Martha but we could take pictures from the line. Bummer!


I did have an idea though. There were two of us so Mr. Cookie could snap a picture while I was keeping Martha occupied with my Cookie Book. Woo Hooooo! I am so freakin' smart! LOL
Not really....but he was able to get a quick shot of us. Darn I should have looked at the camera.
Yes...those are real fish behind her in the aquarium!
Martha was very nice and soft spoken. She really is a beautiful lady. She complimented on my necklaces saying they were very pretty. I replied quietly with a thank you. I told her it was nice to have met her and she of course being the polite lady she is ,said it was nice to meet me as well.
I wish that we could have had tea or something after the signing but I just could not wait on her all day. :)

After all of this Mr. Cookie and I took a tour of the Aquarium gazing at all of the beautiful fish and sea otters. We got a couple of pictures of each other at this water fall that uses reclaimed rain water. Pretty Cool I thought.

The aquarium wasn't as big as I had thought. We finished up and headed out about the same time Martha did. Nope, no romantic dinner for us either. I had been feeling a little dizzy and nauseated all morning and on the way home it escalated into a full blown stomach virus. Yep...I did the most horrible thing ever....upchuck in the car. Ewwwww! Finally we made it home and my wonderful Mr. Cookie has been nursing me back to health ever since. I spared you the Gorey details...Trust me! You will thank me for that part.
All in all, it was a great anniversary DAY!

Thanks Honey for all you do. You are the LOVE OF MY LIFE!

I love you!

Martha and the ATL

I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. Mr. Cookie is taking me to Atlanta in a couple of weeks to the new Georgia Aquarium. I have not been yet and can't wait to see all of the cool things it has to offer. But wait! Did I say I was excited? Yep, I did. And the aquarium isn't the only reason. I get to see Martha Stewart too! WooHoo. She is going to be there for a book signing. So me and Mr. Cookie will be trucking it down there with my Martha Stewart Cookie Books in hand.
Yippeeee! I hope to get a picture with her. Maybe since IT IS my anniversary that day she will be nice and let me. Keeping my fingers crossed!
I will definitely be posting about it with all the details and hopefully pictures! There might even be a giveaway involved.....hmmmmm