Gilmore Girls Sugar Cookies

“In anticipation of the new mini series I decided to rewatch the series for the upteenth time and came up with unique sugar cookies that I believe embody the spirit of the Gilmore’s and the wonderful world of Stars Hollow. I hope you like them!”

Today is the day!!! I have been anxiously awaiting for the Gilmore Girls reboot since the rumours started.  To say that I am OBSESSED with Gilmore Girls is an understatement. It is the first show I ever binge watched (on DVD) and have since re-watched it over and over again (I think I've seen the entire series over 10 times). Gilmore Girls is comfort TV for me - when I am feeling sick or sad I immediately turn on one of my favourite episodes.   In high school my besties and I used to hang out in each others basements watching Gilmore Girls and eating copious amounts of junk food. From pizza to ice cream to candy to cookies we had it all! When we finished the series we started watching some of the movies mentioned throughout. We were (and maybe still are) serious die hard fans.

#TeamJess

One of the things I love most about Gilmore Girls is that no matter how many times I watch it I never seem to get sick of it. Each time I watch I relate to a different character is a new way. The first times I watched the series I was decidedly Team Jess. He challenged Rory, had an air of mystery about him and was your typical bad boy.  However, now I am leaning towards Team Logan. Don't get me wrong I would be happy if she ended up with Jess but there is something about Logan that I think makes him perfect for Rory - the ending of season 7 aside (it doesn't really count anyways - does it?). 

Watching the Gilmore Girl's Reunion 

While I'd like to space out the reunion episodes and not binge watch them. Letting the the excitement of a new episode live on just a little bit longer, I don't think I will have the will power. I can’t seem to sit down and watch just one Gilmore Girl's episode. I have the girls coming over tonight to watch Gilmore Girls the way we used in our pjs with lots of junk food and of course these sugar cookies!

Will you be watching the Gilmore Girl's Revival? Let me know in the comments below! 

Gilded Pumpkin & Leaf Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial

Simple, beautiful with a touch of sparkle these gilded pumpkin and leaf sugar cookies will bring sophistication and style to any autumn dessert table or gathering.

The ghost pumpkin trend combines my love of all things neutral and fall!  I have been seeing ghost pumpkin sugar cookies popping up all over my Instagram feed for the past couple of years now and I knew I wanted to to hop onto this bandwagon. I actually first made aversion of these decorated pumpkin sugar cookies last year but I updated them this year using a bronze luster dust instead of the lighter gold that I used last year.  I used my Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Maple Royal Icing recipe instead of a traditional sugar cookie recipe to really up the fall factor. These sugar cookies have a beautiful simplicity about them with just the perfect hint of sparkle. 

When it comes to decorating cookies using royal icing patience and practice are definitely key factors.  The more sugar cookies I make, generally the better they turn out (usually, as long as I am patient). I have learned that keeping it simple also helps! These cookies are relatively simple to decorate making them perfect for beginners!  Be sure to give yourself enough time to decorate these cookies, having patience and allowing the royal icing to dry or set up between steps will help you achieve a better result overall. I made and decorated these cookies over a three day period. I baked, outlined and flooded the cookies on the first day, added the royal icing details on the second and painted the luster dust on the third. 

The Cookies

I like to use one consistency icing when outlining and flooding my cookies. The icing consistency I use is in between a typical flooding and outlining consistency. It will hold its shape when I outline but it is still fluid enough that by lightly shaking the cookie it will settle and dry smoothly. I used a wilton tip 3 to outline the flood the cookies. When flooding the pumpkin cookies start by outlining and flooding the centre part, allowing it to dry for 15-20 minutes before I go back and flood the sides. By flooding the pumpkin cookie in stages you will be able to create the "sections" of the pumpkin achieving a more natural look.  

Once the main part of the cookie was completely dry (4 hours - overnight) I added the stem and vine details, using an ivory coloured royal icing. For the details I used a wilton sized tip 1.  For the pumpkin cookie, I wanted a textured stem. I left some space in between the lines of the stem and went back to fill them in later.  You can watch the video below to get a better idea of what I mean.

Using Luster Dust

Luster dust adds a beautiful colour and shine to your cookies. For these cookies, I mixed my luster dust with a small amount of vodka to achieve a paint consistency.  I usually use a clear alcohol when painting with luster dust but I know others use water, lemon juice or clear vanilla extract - use whatever works best for you or what you have on hand.

You Will Need:

• Pumpkin & Leaf Shaped Sugar Cookies

• White Royal Icing

• Piping Bags

• Couplers

• Wilton Tips 1 & 3

• Wilton Ivory Gel Colour

• Bronze Luster Dust

• Water, Lemon Juice or Clear Alcohol

• Small, food safe paintbrush

Directions:

Share your Gilded Pumpkin & Leaf Sugar Cookies with me in the comments below or on Instagram using #ByJaclyn

Autumn Leaves Sugar Cookie Tutorial

Fall is here! The leaves have started to change colour and the air is crisp. I love how beautiful the trees look with their red, yellow and orange leaves and I wanted to capture that beauty in the form of a sugar cookie. I knew I wanted a simple and easy to decorate cookie with lots of colour and texture that captured the essence of autumn. I definitely think I achieved that with these cookies.  I combined orange, red, yellow, green and white royal icing on the cookie using a spatula rather than flooding the cookie to give each cookie a different and unique texture and pattern. Adding sanding sugar, sprinkles and luster dust really helped to finish off these cookies and bring them to the next level. 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Leaf Shaped Sugar Cookies

Royal Icing (Flood Consistency)

Piping Bags

Icing Tips (I used Wilton Tips 1, 3 & 4)

Gel Colours (I used Wilton Christmas Red, Yellow, Leaf Green & Orange)

Angled Spatula

Luster Dust (Optional)

Paint Brush (Optional)

Course Sanding Sugar (Optional)

Sprinkles (Optional, I used Red Jimmies)

Directions:

1. Using your desired Royal Icing recipe, mix icing to a flood consistency. Divide icing between five bowls and colour with desired colours. I used orange, red, yellow, green & white as pictured above.

2. Pipe desired colours onto your sugar cookie where you would generally like them to end up. It doesn't have to be neat. You can see an example below.

Directions:

3. Use your angled spatula to spread icing onto your cookie. Larger cookies may need a couple of passes with the spatula. For a cleaner look, wipe your spatula clean with a damp cloth between each use.

4. While the cookies are still wet, apply sprinkles & corse sugar as desired.

5. Once cookies are dry. Mix luster dust with water, vodka or lemon juice to make a paint. Using a clean, food only paint brush, paint luster dust onto cookies.

I can't wait to see your unique leaf cookies! Please share with your creations with me by linking the in the comments below or by tagging me on social media @ByJaclyn!