Gender Reveal: Part 2

Recap: The Ducks

Aaannd we're back!
If you missed Part 1 of this series you can find it by clicking HERE. 
If you've already seen it and you're ready for Part 2 and ALL the spoilers then you're in the right place!! 
Just a teeny recap: here's the beautiful ducks (well the first half) I sent all my fam so they could be included in the gender reveal. They are referred to on the internets (yes I said internets LOL) as "pinata cookies" or "surprise cookies" meaning there are SPRINKLES inside!!!
And a little note. 
Unless you got one of the sets with the envelopes... the little note is inside those because... I got ahead of myself and forgot.. haha.
BUT everybody got SPRINKLES and a little note.

The Process

Here's how I created the cookies.
Each duck is actually 3 cookies.
I used a small rectangle cutter to cut the surprise pocket out of the middle of the ducks before baking.

I don't think I've ever made this many full sized (3-4 inch) cookies.
Usually I make about 8-10 full sized cookies and then I have minis as extras.
Man how I wished I had mini ducks once I started baking...
​BUT...
I think they would have been much harder to break open and I'm glad I went with the full sized ducks.

I know... some of them look a *bit* well done... there is good reason for that.
As I mentioned in Part 1 I'm sending these across the US and I was afraid if I made them too soft (like I normally do) there would have been a better chance of them breaking in transit. I wanted them to be good and sturdy so I baked them a *tad* longer.
​They aren't burnt though.. just a little cripsy.. haha.
AND ALL of them made it to their destination WITHOUT breaking!
Even the set that went ALL the way to California made it.
I could NOT have been happier!!!!

The Fillings

Hubby and I picked out the sprinkle mixes together.
He suggested that they should be the same (shapes) for both cookies.
He was right.
​I'm glad we picked the same kinds of sprinkles for both mixes.
Again, the pink looks dull but I promise it's not.
​One day I will remember to use the proper settings on my camera.
I also decided to add a cute little note, one for boy and one for girl. 

Boy or Girl!?

This is what the inside of the cookies looked like before I "glued" the white or yellow duck on top.

The Assembly

To assemble these bad boys all 3 cookies had to be "glued" together as one cookie. I had to seal off the center with icing so that the sprinkles didn't fall out and give away which cookie contained which sprinkles.
I sealed around the edges of the cookie and along the rectangle in the middle. 

I filled the white ducks with pink sprinkles and the yellow ducks with blue sprinkles. I made hubby pick which duck would be filled with which color sprinkles. He likes making those decisions. I'd rather not LOL.

So a solid cookie went on the bottom and the cookie with the surprise pocket was glued on top with either white or yellow icing.
​Once dried they were filled with blue or pink sprinkles and the little note.
The other solid cookie was decorated as either a white duck or a yellow duck and then once it dried it was glued to the surprise-filled cookie.

Side Note*

Just an extra little funny tid bit.
When I first started creating these ducks hubby and I had a discussion about putting eyes on the ducks.
I was not feeling super confident about it and I knew it would take up more time so we decided to skip the eyes.
I was actually pretty happy with that decision.

Fast forward to the END of the project.
I've sent ALL of the cookies off and I'm finishing Jaxon's set.
Jaxon comes in and says "Mom you should have put eyes on the ducks"
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? LOL
So. For Jaxon. I put eyes on his ducks.
​(Don't worry no spoilers!! I only filled the cookies while he was at school or asleep. I didn't want him to know which was which either!)

The Result

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Here

we

go

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.
.

​Jaxon is getting a BROTHER!!

I don't publicly post photos of my family often as I prefer to protect their privacy but I absolutely LOVE this photo of us... 
Right after Jaxon popped his cookie open. You can tell him and Dad are genuinely happy vs those moments when they're smiling in a picture for Wife and Mom (which I truly appreciate!!!) but this is a rare photo and I want to showcase it.

Whew!
So that's it! We did it! LOL. 
We had a HUGE gender reveal party across the US with 12 different households to call/video chat and it was actually a blast!!!
I loved seeing/hearing each person pop their cookie open and reveal it was going to be a boy!!! Additionally, I didn't mix any of them up which was a huge fear of mine! My brain on pregnancy is not always firing on all cylinders so I was worried I may have mixed one up, but it all went perfectly!
Just to add the cherry on top, everybody got delicious cookies to eat as well. YAY!!
I call this one a succes!!
Now to prepare for baby boy in September!!!

I hope y'all enjoyed this little journey!
Thanks for hanging out!
Much Love,
Amanda