Happy Tuesday, people! Not only is it Tuesday, it’s Tuesday of Super Bowl week!! I’m so happy the Saints are finally going to the Super Bowl. The boys in gold and black most certainly deserve their trip to South Florida. Why am I a Saint fan, you ask? Don’t you live in Florida, Duchess?? Why yes, I do. But I live in Northwest Florida. My sleepy little beach town is about an hour South and East of the Alabama line. Much different than my fellow Floridians in the Southern part of the state (they’re pretty much Yankees). We like to say that we’re from L.A.- Lower Alabama, that is. My part of the state may as well be adopted by Alabama, because we’re country, y’all!!
Anyhoo-how does that bring me to be a Saints fan? Well, the Saints just so happen to be the closest professional football team to me. New Orleans is only four hours away, while Atlanta is five, and Jacksonville is nearly six! I’ve grown up going to New Orleans my entire life (I went to my first true Mardi Gras in high school). Plus, my part of the state is now home to plenty of Katrina refugees. Destin, FL is pretty much New Orleans East. That being said, GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Well, I’d been wanting to try my hand at decorated sugar cookies. I’m certainly not an artist, but I figured I could make a decent cookie. I decided to make my first batch in honor of the Saints. I even went to the craft store and bought a fancy set of high quality food colors. 
The colors are great!! I felt like such a pro walking out with this box.
I followed this step-by-step tutorial from one of my favorite sites, Our Best Bites. It’s such a beautiful website, and I’ve begun making a lot of their recipes. I love the clean layout and beautiful pictures. Back to cookies, though. Sara makes the most beautiful cookie pops. She has easy instructions, including a recipe for the sugar cookies, glaze and piping icing. You’ve got to see how cute her Valentine’s Day cookies are! To die for.
So, after baking and cooling my cookies, I got to work on the glaze.
I used the “Golden Yellow” in hopes it would make a suitable Saints gold. You use a toothpick with the gel coloring and swirl it into the glaze…psychedelic, dudes!
Well, it ended up being more of a Steelers yellow than a Saints gold, but what can ya do?
See how shiny? I was quite impressed with myself. After the glaze dried, I was able to pipe the designs on.
Now-before you go any further, please excuse my utter lack of photography skills. I have a small Cannon digital camera (not an SLR…that’s too cool for me) and keep it on the digital macro setting. I can only make a decent picture if I take it up close. Well, you can’t see my entire cookie design unless I take it from further away. Long story short, these next two pictures look terrible, but I wanted you to see my cookies (Obviously, I’m in the market for an SLR…any recommendations?).
Who Dat! Hahaha, these fleur de lis cookies make me laugh. I told you I’m no artist! I meant it.
Geaux Saints! I didn’t even realize it when I took the picture, but it’s in the shape of a football. Cute.
I certainly learned a lot about decorated cookies from this experience. I think next time I’m going to use a packaged sugar cookie mix (gasp!). I just don’t think it’s worth the extra work. I’ll let you know if it turns out ok with the pre-mixed stuff. Second, I need a smaller tip for my piping bag. Once I piped the letters, the glaze expands, making the writing look a bit sloppy. Lastly, I’m a terrible food photographer. If anyone has any tips for me (styling, angles, etc.), please let me know! Or if you know of any classes in Northwest Florida, Birmingham or Atlanta, please let me know.
All in all, I had fun making the cookies. I plan on making a big batch of heart cookies next week for our Pre-K Valentine’s Party. Good thing four-year-olds can’t read very well. The Duchess
I think you should just take pictures normal too! I like to see a mix of both so you can see stuff from farther away and then take in the details.
Oh and… GO COLTS! (sorry!)
Oooh, be careful. The NFL owns “Who Dat” now, so some scary Secret Service guys might be a knockin’ on your door
LOL I’m SO going to put “WHO DAT?!?!” on something really soon…
Umm…you may be a Saints fan, but don’t forget about the Bucs! They told me they are counting on you to come to another game!!
BTW the cookies look devine!
Hahaha, Dorothy! Is that not the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard? Your Saints cookies from a few months ago were adorable. Maybe I’ll be at your level one day!
Janelle-don’t you remember the one Bucs game I went to they lost??! With the way they played this year, they don’t need me to come! Fresh start next year, though.
I can’t wait to try out those cookies! Just in time for some Valentines Day goodies!