Spring is one of my favorite times of year to decorate cookies! These cute and easy decorated Easter egg cookies are such a sweet way to celebrate this beautiful time of year. With just a few colors of icing and a simple egg cutter, the decorating options are endless!
In fact, this batch of cute cookies came together for me in almost no time… well, that’s mostly because I didn’t make them! This sweet set was made by my talented friend Bethany, of Auntie Bea’s Bakery.
I’ve recently found myself in over my head with a few different projects, and asked Bethany if she had time to share some of her talent here on Glorious Treats. I’m so happy she said yes!
Now I’ll pass it over to Bethany and she’ll walk you through the details of these pretty cookies!
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Hi there! My name is Bethany, I’m known here in the cookie world as Auntie Bea.
When Glory asked me to be a guest blogger on Glorious Treats, I VERY excitedly said yes! She was looking for something fun for Easter that would be cute yet simple. We came up with these adorable Easter egg cookies that can be done using only one icing constancy and only one piping tip!
Easter Egg cookies are literally one of my favorite cookies to make. They can be decorated in so many ways, from elaborate and filigreed to simple polka dots. These eggs are somewhere in the middle, but super easy! Your Easter guests will think you spent DAYS on them!
I started with a basic sugar cookie dough. Using the good ol’ Wilton egg cookie cutter (found in the 101 cookie cutter set) I cut out my cookies. Once the cookies were cooled, I made my icing. I prefer “20 second” royal icing instead of outlining and flooding. It’s quick and easy and you can do both steps with one bag!
Ok, now comes the fun stuff…..
Color your icing with your desired egg colors. I chose pink, white, yellow, green and purple. Fit your piping bags with #2 tips (I only used 1 bag per color). The #2 tip is my favorite! It’s large enough to fill in background color but small enough to pipe details. That being said, now it’s time to “color” your eggs.
(1.) Once you have filled in the background color you will need to let it dry completely. I like to let them dry overnight. But if you don’t have the time, try to wait at least 4 hours. They need to be dry to the touch otherwise the colors can bleed.
(2.) After the background has dried, start by piping the center outline. I like to divide the cookie into thirds. That way I get nice, even spacing.
(3.) Now add some simple details around the center. I used polka dots, lines and zigzags.
I fill in the center area last. This is really the focal point of the cookie and I like to make that part extra special! You can add a message or a name or pretty “dot” flowers (to make: start by piping a dot with your tip then drag the tip down using the same amount of pressure so the dot becomes a petal). Add a couple extra polka dots and wha-la! A pretty, detailed cookie that is simple as pie!
These cookies would be perfect wrapped individually in Easter baskets or simply placed on a pretty platter.
I hope you all enjoyed my little tutorial. Thank you Glory for giving me the opportunity to share it with your readers.
Happy Decorating, Auntie Bea
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Thank you so much Bethany! I love these sweet and perfect Easter Egg Cookies so much!
To keep up with all of Bethany (Auntie Bea’s) beautiful sweets, be sure to bookmark her site Auntie Bea’s Bakery, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
And if you’d rather order cookies than make them, you’re in luck! Bethany sells her beautiful and delicious cookies in her Etsy Shop!
(images in this post by Glorious Treats)
Our next door neighbors have a big orange tree just out of reach from our property. Luckily, at least once each (winter) season a big bag of fresh oranges arrives on our porch, courtesy of our neighbors.
In addition to eating the oranges fresh, and making juice, I usually try to bake something with the delicious fruit. One year, I made yummy Orange Cranberry Muffins with the bounty. This year, I thought some Orange Zest Sugar Cookies would be a great way to use the fresh oranges.
The recipe is just a slight variation of my regular Sugar Cookie Recipe. Instead of decorating the cookies with royal icing, I made a simple (and delicious) orange glaze. I think these simple, yet pretty cookies would be a perfect addition to a tea party, or ladies brunch. I cut the cookies with a shortbread cookie cutter, but any shape would produce equally delicious results.
Orange Zest Sugar Cookies with Fresh Orange Glaze
Fresh orange zest adds a delicioust twist to traditional rolled sugar cookies.
Yield: About 30- 2 1/2 inch cookies, or 16- 31/2 inch cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies-
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 Tablespoon fresh orange zest, finely chopped
For the glaze-
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest
Directions:
Make the cookies-
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 3 minutes.
Add the egg, vanilla, almond extract and orange zest and beat another minute or so.
Add the flour mixture slowly. (Be careful not to add too much at a time or you will have a snowstorm of flour.)
Blend until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a piece of parchment paper.
Using your hands, knead the dough a few times.
Place the dough in a large plastic (ziplock type) bag and refrigerate for about 2 hours. If you want to speed up the chilling process, place the bag of dough in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. Just don’t forget it in the freezer, or it will become too firm to work with (and then you’ll have to wait for it to thaw).
When it’s almost time to remove the dough from the refrigerator (or freezer), preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Roll out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut out desired shapes, and place on a baking sheet. Place the entire baking sheet of cookies in the freezer for about 5 minutes (this helps prevent the cookies from losing their shape when baking).
Once chilled, bake cookies at 350* for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies.
Allow cookies to cool, and prepare orange glaze.
Make the glaze-
In a medium sized bowl, melt butter in microwave (less than 30 seconds). Add all other glaze ingredients, and stir well with a whisk. If the glaze is too thick, add a tiny bit more orange juice, if the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
Drizzle glaze over cookies, as deisred. You can put the glaze into a small ziplock-type baggie, snip off the end, and use that to drizzle on the glaze.
Recipes Source- Glorious Treats
Happy Baking!
One of the “secrets” to being a great cook is having the right tools. If you love making smoothies (like we do), a great blender is a must! But a really great blender can do so much more than just make smoothies!
A blender from Blendtec is perfect for smoothies, sauces, soups, ice cream, nut butters, baby food, and so much more!
Today I’m giving away Blendtec’s new Designer Series Total Blender with Wildside Jar plus Twister Jar. A retail value of over $600!
Blentec’s Designer Series is a powerful, functional blender, and it’s beautiful too! The new design is sleek, modern, and easy to clean. You read more about this new line, and see a video about the blender at Blendtec. 
Here’s how to enter… {Giveaway Closed}
Simply leave a comment below telling me what you wo uld love to make your new Blendtec Blender.
For 2 additional entries…
Follow @GloriousTreats on twitter, “Like” Glorious Treats on Facebook, or follow Glorious Treats on Pinterest (chose one or all three)
Subscribe to the Blendtec Blog for weekly e-mail with recipe ideas and more.
Leave one comment per entry, up to three total comments maximum per person.
Details- Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends March 6th, 2013, 9pm Pacific. Winner will be chosen by Random.org, and contacted via e-mail (and announced on this post) within 3 days. If the winner does not reply within 3 days, another winner will be chosen. Giveaway items provided by Blendtec. All text and opinions are my own.
If you are viewing this blog post as an e-mail, you must click HERE to view this post on-line, and leave your comment on this blog post, not as an e-mail reply.
******************************* Giveaway Closed *******************************
Winning comment #227 Carolyn H.
A few weeks before my daughter’s Rainbow Art Birthday Party, I prepared a set of three melted crayon canvases to act as the backdrop for the dessert/snack table. There is always something so pretty and cheerful about rainbow colors! I loved the way the canvases brought color to the table, and pulled in the art theme.
I’ve seen lots of rainbow crayon art circulating around the internet for quite some time, but this is the first time I’ve given it a try. It’s a really fun and rewarding project!
For less than the cost of a framed print to hang on a wall, you can create a custom work of art, adjusting the size and colors to your liking. The total cost of this project for me was about $35.00. That includes the canvas ($15), heat gun ($12, using a coupon), and crayons ($7). I am not counting the cost of the glue gun, since I already owned one, and most of you likely do as well.
Here’s how to make one…
Gather your supplies…
You’ll need a canvas (the one shown is 24″x12″)
a hot glue gun (and extra glue)
crayons (for this 24″ wide canvas I used most of the colors from a 96 crayon pack, as well as two 8 crayon packs- buy more than you think you’ll need)
a heat gun (available from most craft stores, sold near stamping supplies, or gift wrap/cellophane)
Step 1- Quickly sort the crayons by color. You will likely not want to include any browns, black or grey.
Step 2- Line up the crayons by color, then fine tune the exact order you’d like the different shades. Line up the crayons next to the canvas, so you know exactly how many you’ll need to fit the length of the canvas.
Step 3- Begin hot gluing the crayons to the canvas. I chose to lay the crayons so the name of the color was showing. Apply enough glue to attach 3 or 4 crayons, lay those crayons down, then add more glue, and so on.
Step 4- Once all the crayons are glued on, cover your work area with paper, and lean the canvas up against a support (such as a case of canning jars) =)
Step 5- Begin heating one section of the crayons with the heat gun. Hold the gun about 12 inches from the crayons. It will take a couple minutes for the crayons to begin to melt.
*A note about using a heat gun vs. a blow dryer. I have seen melted crayon projects using a blow dryer, but it is much more difficult to control the direction of the melted wax. With a blow dryer the wax tends to fly in all directions, not just drip down. A heat gun produces hotter heat, and blows the air with less force. Using a heat gun (instead of a blow dryer) seems to cut down the total time of the melting process by at least half. As is, it will take 45 minutes or so to melt the crayons (using a canvas of similar size). I think attempting this project with a blow dryer would be quite frustrating. As always, feel free to experiment… I’m just sharing my recommendations.
Step 6- Continue directing heat at a section of crayons, and use the air and heat as needed to direct the wax down the canvas.
Step 7- Continue working a section at a time. The total time for melting the crayons on this canvas (24″ wide) was about 45 minutes.
Step 8- When all the crayons have melted, and dripped down, pick up the canvas from your work area. Scrape off any excess wax from along the bottom edge of the canvas, then use the heat gun as needed to melt the wax along the edge of the canvas.
Step 9- Project is complete! Admire the beautiful art you just created =)
This project was a perfect addition to my daughter’s Rainbow Art Birthday Party, and would make a beautiful piece to hang in a child’s room, class room, or any place that could use a beautiful pop of color!
Earlier this week I shared photos from my youngest daughter’s Rainbow Art Birthday Party. Today, I’ll share all the details of one of the main crafts the children completed at the party.
When thinking of craft ideas for the party, I wanted something that would take a little time to create, be personalized for each child, and result in a craft that would look great enough to save. I was quite happy with what I came up with, and this craft is very adaptable to a variety of occasions, and ages.
At our party, the children creating the crafts were all about 6 years old. They were able to enjoy the craft, and complete it with just a little bit of adult help. This project would be great for boys or girls ages 6+ (again, ages 6-7 may need a bit of help).
Here’s how we made them…
The supplies you’ll need are…
1- Bottle of Mod Podge (pictured above) – Sold near other glues in the craft store.
Sponge paint brushes (2 per child) – 1 brush will be used to paint the letter, one will be used to mod podge the tissue to the canvas, planning two brushes per child prevents you from having to wash the brushes between stages.
Cardboard (chipboard) letters (1 per child) – I bought the letters at Hobby Lobby, they are sold in the scrapbooking section. The letters pictured cost $1.95 each.
8″x10″ paint canvas (1 per child) - Use any size canvas you like, that is large enough to hold the letters you buy. I found the best price was at Michael’s, where I bought a 10 pack of canvases for $20.
Assorted craft paint (as shown above) - I find it’s best to limit the choices a bit, or children will spend too long making their selection. Provide 4-6 total color choices, making sure there are appropriate choices for boys and girls (if you have both boys and girls at the party).
Assorted colors of tissue paper, cut or torn into small pieces – I bought a box of pre-cut tissue paper squares from Lakeshore Learning Store. There are lots of alternatives here… you could cut your own tissue squares, have the children tear tissue for the project, or use assorted colored papers of any kind.
Hot glue gun (and glue)
The cost for each project was under $5 (this will vary of course based on your supplies). For me, the canvases were $2 each, the letters were $2 each, the paint less than $5 (for 6 bottles). I already had the bottle of mod podge, the tissue and the hot glue gun.
Note- It may be good to prepare a sample mosaic, so kids can see what the final project will look like. I had my older daugher prepare the example a few days before the party.
Getting started…
Allow the children to choose the paint color, and start painting their letter. I had each letter laying on a piece of paper, so that paint would not get on the table (at least not too much). Once the letters are painted, move them (with the paper underneath) to a place to dry (preferably outside, where they will dry the quickest).
Next, get started on the canvases. Provide each child with a small dish of mod podge glue, and allow them to chose a mix of colored tissue to cover their canvas. Using a sponge brush, apply mod modge to the canvas, in a small section, then lay a single layer of tissue paper squares (overlapping just a bit). Apply a second layer of mod podge glue on top of the tissue paper. Continue working in sections around the canvas. Make sure there is a good layer of mod podge BOTH below and on top of the tissue paper. The mod podge glue will dry clear.
Allow the mosaic canvases to dry. Our canvases were mostly dry after being outside about an hour (depending on the weather, they make take a longer).
Once the letters and canvases are dry, attach the letters to the canvas using hot glue. Drying time will vary based on your weather and how thick the paint or mod podge was layered. If the projects are not quite dry at the end of your party, you could send the two pieces home separately, to be glued together (at home) once dry.
It was fun to see each child’s personality a bit, in the way they created their mosaics.
This would be a fun project for a birthday party, holiday craft party, school art project or church camp/Vacation Bible School.
Happy Crafting!
