Simple Logo Cookies

I wanted to make super cute tags, but as with everything I ran out of time and steam.

 So Pork Chop is 8 now, and I am not as cool as I used to be.  I really thought I had until he was at least 10 before that happened.  But alas my kid is growing too fast.  There was a class trip and I said I would volunteer.  I am so lucky that at work we get one day a year to volunteer and get paid for it.  I mean really, how cool is that?

Simple as that, print it onto icing sheets!

  So I got the letter that he was going to the Royal Winter Fair.  I used to take him every year, but there is less and less to do for kids his age.  I mean it's not bad, but for the price for us it's just not something I plan to do any more until he is older and asks to go.

  Fun fact when I went with him when he was 4 or 5 I met a lady and for some reason the topic of weight loss came up, and she told me about having gastric bypass.  And that was how I got myself into the topic and got myself taken care of.  Weird how things work out I tell you.

This was the set up, cookies, icing sheets and somewhere was the icing too.

Anyway, I told him I would go and he was all "ok"  then I go to work and book the day and get it all set, and  the next day he tells me he wants to go with his friends mom. Sigh.

  I told him I was still going and that I was going to spend time with him, and that we would have fun.  I then said I would make cookies for his class.  I am officially uncool, and attempting to win the cool kids over with cookies.

I am getting smarter, instead of lining my table with cookies I put them on trays so I can move them around.  It only took me like 3 years to finally do this.

  So I went on line to find a logo for the fair.  And can I tell you that they have the most boring logo ever.  I mean really, I wanted a circle, because I like to work with those, less work really.  And all I got were rectangles.  So I got Hubby to work his magic, no idea how he did it, and really I better not ask.  He may expect me to clean something to thank him, and we all know that's not going to happen.

See my little tooth pick thingy, it is amazing, I love it!

  So I baked a butt load of cookies, and yes I know to say butt load in a sentence with cookies is sort of gross, BUT what can you do.  Did you see what I did there?  Never mind.

I outline them all first.

  So I was going to have to work this weird, as I had to work one evening that week and the trip was on Friday.  So Monday I mixed up a double batch of sugar cookie dough.  I was able to get it all in my mixer it was awesome to be able to make one batch rather than two separate  ones.  Then I let it chill over night.

Then I go back and flood them

 The next night I rolled, cut, froze then baked the cookies.  As that was going on I printed out the logos on my edible printer and I cut the circles out.  Then once the cookies were cool I outlined and flooded them.  And then went back and lightly brushed the tops of the cookies with light corn syrup. The icing had set enough for a little bit of pressure but if you put too much it would crack and smoosh the icing.  So using a light hand I painted them with corn syrup then laid the printed image on top. I smoothed it out with my finger tip and left them to dry.

All logo'd up.

  I left them for two nights because I wanted to make sure they were perfectly dry, and I also had to work one night so had no time to finish them. So Thursday night I made a small batch of black icing and outlined them, I wanted something fancy but I didn't really have time and I needed it to dry fast.  So I did an outline and then sprinkled on some black disco dust, because the logo needed something. But I had not used black before and it was not sparkly at all on the black icing.  It would have been great on white icing, but what can you do.  So I just did outlines on the rest.

All done!

 I pointed the fan at them and left them while we went to parent teacher night.  When we got home I used a dry paint brush to get off the extra disco dust on the few I did,  then bagged them up, being very careful not to ruin the outline that may not be 100% dry.

Just so you can see how I sprinkle my disco dust.  Cute little shakers.

I am so embarrassed with how crappy they look, but I was tired and figured the kids would care less.

 So the day of the trip I go in and the teacher gives us our groups.  I had Pork Chop and two other boys.  And we were told to basically have fun and do what we wanted.  So we got on the bus, which had the craziest bus driver ever.  The kids loved her. She told them as long as they stayed in their seats and listened they could listen to music and be as loud as they wanted.  Well then she put on the radio and Gangam Style came on and the kids were screaming and doing the dance in their seats.  It was hilarious.  Also did you know that 8 year olds like to change the words to songs?  I cannot type it here, but they make up their own word, enough said.

All bagged up and ready to go.

  So we get to the fair and the boys some how found this bull ride first thing.  So they all had a turn but I was not fast enough to get Pork Chops picture, I got a sideways picture.  It was great.  The boys loved it.  We saw cows, and they all screamed when they saw one pooping and they rode a pretend horse.  They made goop and they got potatoes and carrots to take home.  And it was great.

Go Pork Chop go!!

After that super long day we got back to school and Pork Chop handed out his cookies.  We then went to a super amazing kitchen store and I shopped like crazy.  Why?  Well I was very lucky to have been given a gift certificate from a friend for making her wedding desert table.  It was amazing and I didn't even spend it all yet!

  After that big Friday, we settled in and Pork Chop got his braces put on the next day.  He was very upset and I get that.  I think he is getting used to it now, so perfect teeth here we come!

These are the left over cookies I had, I wrote on them for my friends at work who had kids.  The thing 1, well there are four kids and for the life of me I could not remember their names.  But one of them had a shirt with that on it, so they all got thing cookies.  The other people, well they still got cookies but I didn't do anything fancy.  They still ate them all though!

  

My Edible Printer

This is what the icing sheet looks like just printed, it is hard to tell but the icing sheet is smaller and the backing is about 1 inch larger.

 I love baking gadgets, all kinds of gadgets.  I am the person that sees something and thinks "I need that!"  And I totally get it and use it once. Or pack it away for about 10 years. So when I was thinking about getting an edible printer I had a hard time justifying it.  I mean how often would I use it?  As it turns out, not too often, but often enough that I don't regret having it one little bit!

  So to start, I used to make simple image birthday cakes back in the day and the place I was at had an edible printer.  I was so in love with how easy it was to make any cake personal, no skill required.  Which is good, since I have hardly any skills.  So anyway, I always thought it would be hundreds of dollars to get my own, so never really thought about it.  Until I mentioned it to the lady and she told me you just use a regular printer.  I was in shock!!

My first attempt at a printed cookie, I was so lazy and tired I just pipped a boarder and put coloured sugar on it.

 So being the smarty smart smart that I am I went to google to see what this was all about, and that is how I found Kopy Kake.  Basically this company makes ink cartridges for regular old Espon and Canon printers.  I was so excited, until I realized the cost of some printers.  Kopy Kake has a handy list showing the model numbers of the printers that they make cartridges for.  I would check out our flyer's every week to see if any of the super on sale printers were on the list.  It took a few months, but finally Wal Mart had one, which was not only a printer, but a scanner, on sale for $35.  $35 people!  I was so excited, and Hubby went and got it for me.  Now he had told me to buy one before; that was until I told him that it could only be used for food, so that sort of put a damper on things.  He wanted a new printer, but any printer I got could only be used with the food cartridges, so he was out of luck.

This was for the elevator guys, and my first time using disco dust.  After this one I just used sugar, I didn't want them to be pooping glitter for weeks. And I cannot believe I just wrote the word pooping on my blog again, my blog about food.

 So I had my little printer, and I wanted the ink and paper. The cost of the cartridges is a bit much to start.  To get them here they are about $30 each and you need 4.  So I went on the Kopy Kake site and shipping was insane, but with a simple email they were able to offer cheaper, but slower shipping.  I was thrilled, and my Mom got them for me as an early Christmas gift, yay mom!  Then I bought the icing sheets at the local  baking supply store, they are less than $1 each, so that is great.

 So I had it all, I just needed something to make with it.  So my first job was to ask my co workers for some personal pictures, and I made my first attempt at printed cookies.  They came out okay, I was not used to the colours and the boarders were horrible, but you know a first try non the less.

These were my first cupcake toppers, just roll out some fondant/ sugar paste and glue the images to it with water.  Let dry and there you go, amazing stuff people!

This is the large image I used for Pork Chops little cake, that he didn't eat.  

See these are the cupcake toppers, how cool is that?  Well better than the lame lego chocolate men I made, which totally are Star War's because I put "S W" on them.  But jerky Hubby kept telling people they were "South West" workers, which makes no sense, they are not even in the stupid movie.  Jerk!

This was my second attempt at printer cookies and disco dust, much better I must say.

My first attempt at printer cake pops, not too bad, not amazing either.

And the cupcakes I made for Pork Chops Hockey banquet, which was really just kids sitting around a table eating a slice of pizza and talking really loud.  Good times!

So there is a lot of pictures to show you some of the things I have made so far.

 I love my printer, and Pork Chop loves to eat the paper.  He even had a friend over when I was using it and his friend would not believe you were supposed to eat the paper.

  The alternative to the printer is to check at your local bakery and see if they will sell you some printed sheets, but I have heard they charge about $10 each page.  And if you are going to use them a bunch getting the stuff yourself is much cheaper.

I Got To Be A Teacher for Night

Take a look at this!  See how pretty they made my sprinkles look?  I could never do that.

   Back in college we would sit through live cooking demos every other day, then the next day we would do the cooking ourselves.  It was kind of neat, you had the chef at the head of the class doing his thing, with this huge mirror over him so you could see what his hands were doing.  Each student got to help out now and then, I liked it, but I hated being in front of people.  Even people I knew.  So I knew I would never be a celebrity chef, unless they make drugs that make you not nervous, and if they do let me know.

I had to wear my cupcake apron of course.  I mean how can you teach without it?

And look at the size of that mixer, I made one huge batch of butter cream for the class, and I think I want one!  But in a pretty colour.

These boys were hilarious, and one of them may have used his cupcakes to ask his date to prom. 

  But when I found an ad on the local Craigslist type site asking for a volunteer chef to teach kids to cook for charity I was all "I can do that and it would be good Karma for charity and I could have Pork Chop and my mom help out!"

 So I emailed the person saying I was not a chef, because I never got all my hours in or wrote my papers.  I told them that I was a culinary graduate and had a baking blog, lame as it is, and that if I could I would love to help out.  The person sent me a note saying she would love my help, but since the class would be for kids, she did not think my box mix recipes would be the best idea.  Ouch, but really it's true, I love me a box mix.  I told her no worries we can do from scratch no problems and that she could let me know when she needed me.  Then I told my mom and said she could help me and watch Pork Chop.  She said no, because she said I would make fun of her.

Pork Chop is wearing my Robin Hood flour apron that my mom got for me and one for my sister when we were little.  It is so cute, and he loves using it. I should have made him wear the matching chef hat, that would have been great.

And Pork Chop was showing  off, as usual, and I was all "shh, I am teaching!"  And then he gave me the "your pathetic."  Look, or it was the "are you kidding me, I am the star!" Look, I can never tell with him.

There was icing sugar every where, just like at my house.  

  She knows me too well, but I promised not to bring up the fact she thought a Blog was actually called a Blob, and nothing at all about that one time she made a dessert so bad that everyone that had it put holes in their paper plates trying to cut it.  I would never expose those deep dark secrets to the world.  And if you are actually reading this mom, I am not making fun of you, I am pointing out how much I love you and your support.  I swear.

  So as it turns out this class was going to take place when my mom was on the other side of the world, which just figures.  So Hubby it was, and he was all, "no way!" and I was all, "yes way!"  And he did it and was great, and that is all.

This little girl was so cute, and see how she is holding the bag?  Well we did not tie the bag so there was a near icing disaster.

  So we decided that we were going to make cupcakes and I was going to teach them how to decorate with butter cream and fondant.  But since it was only a two hour class we had some work to do.  Firstly the cupcakes were made for the class before hand, and I was just going to demo how to make them. I was also going to show how to make butter cream and level and frost a cake.

Mom to the rescue of course.

We ran out of room and had to have people working on the front counter. The school we were in was great, this was a full teaching kitchen. I just imagine what I could do with a kitchen this big!

  For the class Pork Chop wanted to be in charge, and kept getting mad at me that I did not have jobs for him to do, so that was fun.  But during the lesson he got to show how to crack an egg properly and he decorated his own cupcakes.  There were even some deaf people and an interpreter, which was cool.  But it threw me off as she stood beside me to sign and I kept thinking "Oh my gosh, I am rambling and making no sense and this poor girl is trying to figure out how to sign the word fondant and I am going to pass out"  It was different I tells ya.

This was the grandma, and she got in trouble for not listening and just doing her own thing.  Not from me, I was laughing. 

  So I think it went really well, after the cupcakes were in the oven we got to decorating with some fondant and it was so fun to see how excited everyone was getting making their own little things, using all my tools and what not.  I then demonstrated how to decorate and fill a cake.  And my stupid butter cream was all airy so it was not a nice smooth finish, but you know, it could have been worse.

And here I am talking like I know what I am talking about.  I felt so dorky.

Everyone seemed to be having fun, especially that guy yelling at the back. Or is he yawning, that would be the opposite of having fun right?

More sprinkles!

This was one of the cupcake toppers I made.

Not sure why I wanted all these sprinkle pictures, but it may have something to do with Hubby not allowing me to add to my wall o' sprinkles.  

He can be so selfish some times.

  I think the best part was when I showed them all the edible image I made for the cake, and the toppers I made for the cupcakes.  They didn't seem to grasp that is was icing paper, so Pork Chop actually ate some to show them, they were still shocked I think.  So funny!

You can see me and hubby in the back ground.  Pork Chop was busy decorating his own cupcakes.

  So then I walked around and helped the kids and they did a great job, and I liked sharing something new with them.  Growing up my mom taught my sister and I so much.  Like how to bake, cook, sew, knit and clean.  The cleaning obviously never stuck with me, but the rest, I embraced. And I love when kids are excited about learning and I can help.

And these are some of the finished products.  You can obviously see my butt on the left, but it is partially blocked, so it doesn't look too big. Sort of.

I hope she said yes.  Or at least ate one of them.

  So the charity I was helping out was called Free The Children.  And this event helped to raise money so that the young girl setting it up would be able to travel to help children in other parts of the world.  I think she is even going to be helping in building a school, so wow!  Making cupcakes is nothing compared to that, but I felt good knowing I could help out in some way.

 I would like to do something like this again, but maybe with some good calming drugs, or lots of booze.  I'm not picky.

I found a link to the news paper article that was written Here and if you are interested in learning more about Nicole and what this is all about you can check out her blog Here.