Modern baby monograms

Last week, I received an email from a new mom wanting to give cookies to the doctors and nurses who helped bring her son into the world. ♥

She wanted cookies to coordinate with her sweet baby's birth announcement:

{The original isn't blurry like this.} :)

Cute right? Well, since I don't have one of those handy-dandy KopyKake projectors, nothing makes me more nervous that trying to match a cookie to an image.

{OK...going up a really steep and tall escalator makes me more nervous, but you get the point.}

Here's what we came up with....and new mommy was happy! Yay!


I love these colors and the simple designs...very hip and modern looking, I think.
{But what do I know?}


Making monograms is really pretty easy....

1. Find a font on your computer,
2. Type several letters into a Word document,
3. Size the font to fit your cookie cutter (I view the document at 100% and hold my cookie cutter to the screen...this keeps from printing out lots of test pages),
4. Print,
5. Place the printed sheet under a sheet of wax paper on the back of a cookie sheet (I put this on a stack of books, so I don't have to stoop when piping),



6. With royal icing, pipe the monograms,



7. Let dry several hours,
   
8. Peel off the wax paper,
9. Place onto wet flood icing.

Monograms made with a larger tip are less likely to break. (I used a #3 round tip for these.) If you want a skinny monogram, try using candy melts. They seem to be less fragile.

These monograms can be made ahead and stored at room temperature.

For more monogramming posts, click here.

Related posts:

• A new way to monogram
  
• It's a...baby shower cookies
• Pickles & Ice Cream pregnancy cookies

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No Works for Me Wednesday this week or next as our lovely hostess (and my real-life next-door neighbor), Kristen is in Africa as a part of a trip with Compassion International. You can follow her amazing journey at We are THAT Family.

Little Boy Blue...and a question for YOU...

{Please scroll down a little, I'd love to ask you all a question...}

I've made monogram cookies for baby girls before, but never for a baby boy. These were so fun! I like that the shower hosts chose the scalloped square for the boy cookies...so much more masculine than a circle. :)


The instructions for making the monograms are here. They can be made ahead of time and stored in a container at room temperature. One other note, when choosing a font, it can't be anything too "swirly", the nonpareils will obscure the design and it will just look like a blob. How do I know? I had to throw out my first batch. :)

Now to the question (poll on left sidebar)...would you be interested in a once-a-month, FLAVOR-OF-THE-MONTH, blog carnival/event, hosted here? It's an idea I've had floating around in my brain for a while and after reading all of your coffeecake favorites here, I really wanted to see each and every one of them.

Each month would be a different theme, such as chocolate or yellow or coffeecake. From there, you could make whatever you wanted.

Let's say, the theme was "turtle" (go with me here), you could make Turtle Cheesecake, or cookies decorated like turtles, or Turtle Ice Cream Pie, or a Turtle-shaped cake...whatever.

At the end of the month, you'd post your creation on your blog and link here. On the last day of the month, I'll post mine with a way for you to link in to my post. (Have you seen a Mr. Linky before?). I'll explain more about the details later.

That way, we'd all be able to see each others' creations...and maybe find some new, fabulous blogs, to boot!

I think it would be fun and a great way for all of us to get to know each other a little better. BUT, I know there are lots of other carnivals and blog events, so if you're already overbooked, let me know.

Anyone interested? I'm adding a poll to my sidebar. Please take a moment to let me know. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Thanks! And, Happy July!!!

A is for....

I was so excited to get to make these dotty monogram cookies again...this time with an A monogram.


They are going to be for a baby shower. I hope the mommy-to-be likes them!!!


For instructions on how to make the dotty monograms, click here.

For more on making flat dots in icing, click here.

G is for Gabriella . . . and GIRL!

A little background on these cookies....while my mom was living, she was lucky enough to make some of the best girlfriends ever; my sister & I call them the ya-ya's. In the 25 years or so they've known each other, their families have become part of our family. Now, the 5 ya-ya's have 10 kids total, 8 daughters (I'm one of them). Of all of us girls, we have 9 boys...NO GIRLS! Until now! Erin, mother to 2 adorable boys already, is having a girl and these cookies are for her shower.

I think the stores in the area may be out of pink at this point! We have been waiting a long time to shop in the little girls' section!!! Don't get me wrong, I'll choose playing Legos over My Pretty Pony any day of the week, but there is something so sweet about tiny smocked dresses and little ruffled diaper covers! Thank you, Erin!!! It was fun going to the "other" side of the kids' section for once! To make these cookies:

• Using a #3 tip, outline a scalloped border in white icing.
• Thin pink and white icing with water to the consistency of syrup and cover with a damp dishcloth. Let sit for a few minutes. (Spectrum Deep Pink)
• Run a rubber spatula gently through the icing to pop any bubbles that have formed on the top. Pour the flood icings into squeeze bottles.
• Fill in cookies with the pink icing, using a toothpick to guide into the edges.
• Once about 6 or so have been filled, add dots of thinned white icing on top.
• Gently place the pre-made monograms onto the wet icing. (See previous post for monogram instructions.)
• Let sit overnight to dry.
  
  

A new way to monogram

I've already posted about using royal icing to make cookie monograms, but take a look at a twist on that technique. Recently, I took a cupcake decorating class taught by Karen Tack of Hello Cupcake and I've been reading a wonderful blog, Bakerella. Both Karen and Bakerella use candy melts to do some beautiful decorating, so I thought I would give them a try for monogramming cookies.

Candy melts are easy to find. WalMart even has a limited supply in their craft section. They are simply melted (on the stovetop or microwave) and they are ready to use. Food coloring and/or flavoring (they taste like chocolate on their own) can be added to them. Pour the melted melts into a disposable decorating bag fitted with a plain tip...I used a #2 tip.I needed "g's" for some baby shower cookies I am making for this weekend...more on those later. I printed out G's and traced the letters on wax paper, just like using royal icing. While they were still wet, I sprinkled white non-pareils on top. Once a tray was filled, I popped in the fridge for a few minutes. Once set, the letters can be removed from the paper and stored in a container at room temperature.Here's the big difference between candy melts and royal icing monograms, the candy melts peeled off the wax paper like a dream! No breakage, whatsoever! The only drawback I see is that the "white" candy melts are not white, but more of a white chocolate color...creamy. This might pose a problem trying to match a monogram color to a royal icing color on the cookie. At the cake decorating store, I think I have seen white food coloring. Has anyone used it? If the store wasn't a hour from my house, I'd run down and pick up a bottle right now!

I just couldn't bear to throw out all of the extra melted goodness :) last night, so I made a little something for my son's breakfast this morning.

More monograms...

A few more monogrammed cookies to go along with the last post...

These monogrammed wedding cakes are probably my favorite. I made them for a bridal shower with the couple's first initials.

Monogramming

Monogramming a cookie is an easy way to make a plain design look special. Here's a way to make all of your monograms look the same, which is really helpful if you don't love your handwriting or are a little shaky with an icing bag.

First, go to the computer and find a font that you like. (This can be done in Word or Publisher and I'm sure other programs as well.) View the letter at 100% (this option should be in the top toolbar on your screen). Now, what I do...and it seems a little silly....is hold my cookie cutter up to the screen and see what the letter size will look like on the cookies. If it's not right, go into the font settings and change the letter size.

When the letter is the right size, copy and paste the letter to put several on one sheet and print.

Now time to head to the kitchen. On an upside-down cookie sheet, place your monogram template and top it with a sheet of waxed paper.

Using a plain icing tip (I use a #2 or #3, a #1 tip will give a very fragile letter), trace the letters in icing on the wax paper. Continue this process until you have at least double the amount that you will need (you'll see why in a minute). Let these harden on the cookie sheets for at least 24 hours.

Very carefully, use a thin, flexible cookie spatula to slide underneath the letter to loosen and remove onto a plate. Expect to break a fair amount....or at least, I do.

After icing the cookies, gently place a letter on the wet flood icing. If it looks off-center, guide it along with a toothpick. Sometimes, you may have to use a broken letter; just piece it together on the cookie and it will probably only be noticeable to you. :)