IntroductionWelcome!! Thanks for coming to check out my latest set in detail!This one has a few surprises, I played with some new techniques and some new flavors. As always let's start with the sketch/concept. *Recipe is at the bottom of the post. sketchI always start with a sketch! Sometimes execution goes differently than planned but I like to have a general idea before I get started. Some of these are different from what I ended up with but I'm happy with the results. This set is kinda special. My Gramma and I both enjoy going to Tea Rooms and Gramma would always take me when I'd come to visit so I wanted to create an ode to that in these cookies. A lot of the Tea Rooms I went to growing up are now out of business and I knew at this visit that we weren't going to be able to go this time. Not only do I have a little guy that needs a lot of attention right now but as I mentioned, most of the ones we used to go to are closed now. This set did require a bit of detective work. There are so many different kinds of tea sets it was really hard to choose a design. I knew which ones I really liked but I wasn't sure which ones Gramma would like, so I just ran a general poll on Facebook knowing that my Gramma would jump in. I also had to find out what kind of tea she liked beause I wanted to flavor these. I've been enjoying trying out different flavors of cookies. I decided to go with Orange Ginger. I will go through more of those details at the end of the post. Let's go through design first. Process & Close UpsI always love doing the icing photos! Since I knew I was taking a break... a long break (due to pregnancy and the birth of our new sweet boy) I decided to throw out all the icing I had in the freezer as it would be over a year old... Since I was starting fresh, I got to get a nice picture. Naked and Behind the ScenesUsing a StencilI *think* this is the first time I've used a stencil and boy did it come out cute!! I used a thick icing for the stencil. It's kinda supposed to look like a fancy napkin. Idk if it came across that way but it's cute regardless. Since I added the napkin design I decided not to add the pearls that I created in the sketch because it would have been too busy. As for the spoon I used parchment paper to create a crater for the "sugar" which is actually just clear sprinkles. The CoursesThis was one of the more challenging cookies. I was excited to do this one but it was difficult. I'd like to do another one just for fun though. I might actually get that chance later in the year. We'll see. I had to make one of these though. Gramma always made sure we went for dessert even if we were gonna share it. It was almost my favorite part of the whole experience. I decided to do everything white first and go back with paint, pens and markers. I don't know if it was easier that way or not but it did keep me from having to make a bunch of extra icing. If I had the icing already made I *may* have made each item with colored icing but I'm not mad about how they came out. I tried to do the tiers "proper" with dessert on the very top, scones and jelly on the middle layer and finger sandwiches on the bottom tier. Then I made a Lemon Blueberry Tart and a Chicken Salad Croissant. I ALWAYS order Chicken Salad when I go to the Tea Room. It's a must. I piped the blueberries with white icing and poked some little holes in top with a fondant tool. I painted those blue and I think it looks more realistic. I painted the crust with gold luster dust. Having the TeaI was so nervous about making the tea cups but they came out cute. I loved the design. The matching Tea Pot didn't come out as well but there's always one cookie that I end up redoing or wish I had redone.... This was my first time doing the wet on wet flowers and they were not as easy as I thought they would be. I think my darker pink icing was a tad too thick. I *might* try those again but I need more practice. The Completed Set3D Cookie and Fancy HatsHere is the 3D cookie of the bunch. It was still wet when I took the pictures but you get the idea. It was 2 cookies stacked on each other. I painted the icing on to give it texture. Nothing completes a Tea Room like a cute set of hats. Cake, Flowers and Birthday Tea TimeThe "Happy Birthday" cookies are usually my least favorite. I'm working on that but eh. It makes it easier to eat LOL. I used Edible Glitter from Sugar Art on the pearls between the roses and on the skirt. I *love* my fine edible pens they are awesome for details like the clock. Edible markers have their place and they are awesome too but having those super fine pens is great. I also used them in the tier cookie for those fine details. They are really handy. I got mine on Amazon. I did the bouqet different this time. I've done a lot of those and I wanted to try something new. I like how it came out. The SetBagged Upbonus/extrasFlavoringThis is the flavor part! I decided to do an Orange Ginger flavor for these as my Gramma said that's what she usually orders when she orders tea. I started with Orange Zest and Ginger and it wasn't enough once baked. So I tried again and decided to add some Orange and Spice tea and that helped a lot and added a "tea" flavor which was a bonus. All the cookies were flavored this way. My Gramma never wants to eat the decorated cookies I send her because they're "too pretty" and I get this from a lot of people I send cookies to so I started adding little extras that are just for eating! I thought these little flower shapes were perfect. You can find the recipe in the "Food Ventures" section or you can find it HERE Homemade Sugar CubesI usually always add little sprinkle packets with the cookies I do. I had some flowers left over so I added those and I decided to make my own sugar cubes, ---well sugar Butterfly and Bee cubes lol man was it way easier than I expected! It's just sugar and a little bit of water. I added it to my silicone mold and let it dry and they got hard as a rock!!! I was so impressed!! They're also really pretty so I added them to the sprinkle packet with some edible glitter it came out SO CUTE! If you get the opportunity to make your own sugar shapes for a tea party or a coffee gathering I highly recommend it!! They are so easy to do and they are so fun! Your friends will definitely be wowed by them. Cookies for Grampa & Cookie CanvasesI made the Tea cookies for my Gramma's birthday but I thought that Grampa might want something different. This was a special situation as we were going on a huge road trip to visit all the grandparents (so they could meet the baby boy) and the Grampa's LOVE peanut butter cookies. So I decided to make some Peanut Butter cookies (with love, hence the heart stamp) and I made some cookie canvases because hubby had a genius idea. We planned to be visiting my Grandparents during Gramma's birthday, which is a rare thing. My Gramma is also an artist (she's a painter among many other talents) SO I decided that we should create a cookie painting together (via hubby's idea). Cookie Canvas PaintingsThis is what became of our cookie cavases! Mine is on the left and Gramma's is on the right. It was Gramma's first time doing cookie art but I thought it still came out pretty impressive and I got to spend some time with my Gramma making a little piece of cookie art. Happy Birthday Gramma! The EndI hope you enjoyed this little journey!
As you can see this set was extra special! I'm excited for the next one and I hope to see you there! Much Love, Amanda
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