Have you ever seen over 50 brides in the same room?
Me neither, (until now). 😉
I was asked to make 50 bride cookies and 50 apple cookies for a bridal shower. There are actually more than 50 here though; I always make extra in case some break or don’t turn out the way I like them to.
The general bridal shower decorating theme was green apples, if you’re wondering what Granny Smith decorated cookies are doing on these cake tiers. I mixed Ateco Avocado Gel Color and Ateco Electric Green Gel Color together to try and get the right shade of green.
They are sugar cookies decorated with royal icing. As usual, I used Peggy Porschen’s sugar cookie recipe as well as her recipe for royal icing.
Thanks to Susan, flickr user Andovercookiemama for the idea of the white line to indicate light reflection on the cookie. It added a bit more to just a green apple (I think!)
The bride-to-be has brown hair and some jewelled details around the empire waist of her wedding dress, so I tried to replicate some of the details using Non-Toxic Disco Dust. Thank you to Wedding DNA for inspiration with the bride design.
Here they are packaged up and ready to go.
I hope the bride-to-be is happy with them!!
Michelle says
Oh, how could the bride be anything but thrilled with those beautiful cookies. You did a wonderful job with them.
Melanie says
These are simply awe-inspiring!!!!
Tooo gorgeous. I need to get married so I have an excuseto order seriously awesome cookies 🙂
Beth says
Wow! These are amazing, what a great use for the gingerbread girl cookie cutter(I’m assuming thats what you used) So creative.
Landa says
Oh these are so cute. I love your whole setup.
Glory says
These are so beautiful!! I’m sure the bride will love them!
Glory- (Flickr- Glorious Treats)
Jessica says
So cute! I love it. Have you ever thought of making pregnant lady cookies? Not like the belly cakes because… well honestly I think those are awful but like a cute pregnant lady – full body that is. I think it would be uber cute and these are amazing. I love the apples as I’m studying to be a teacher.
My sister-in-law is getting married and I just might have to order these for the wedding!
Marian says
Thank you for the nice comments!!
Beth, I did use a gingerbread girl cutter, and Jessica, thanks for the pregnant-lady-cookies idea… I’ll have to try those some time! I wonder how I’d do the belly… hmmmm… maybe a blob of icing where the belly is and then ice over that? I’ll post the results (if they turn out -ha ha).
Amy Miller says
Marian, I so look forward to seeing your work. You are an wonderful decorator. Each and every time you actually top yourself. I think you are SUPER!!!
dina says
Marian,
You are so creative. I am interested in how you come up with your designs without a template. Still waiting for a tutorial. Just one please!!! Pretty please???? I must know how you do these, or any, of your cookies. I am not great at icing them. They never turn out this perfect. I get holes, air in my royal icing and the outline is never straight and you can see the seams. There must be a secret. Hope you’ll share.
Marian says
Dina, you’re so sweet; I’m absolutely flattered!
I’ll be happy to share what I know with you, I’m actually half way through writing the tutorial and will be posting it for sure by the end of June. That’s a promise! :blush:
For now, do you massage the royal icing in the piping bag a bit before you twist the top end closed? If you don’t already, try just pressing the icing in the bag, starting from the tip and working your way up. That may help with air bubbles a bit.
Also, let your icing sit a bit after you’ve colored it, let the air bubbles rise to the top, pop them and fill your piping bag.
As for ideas, I find inspiration everywhere! I didn’t use a template for these, and found the inspiration for the brides at Wedding DNA (link above).
Hope that helps and thanks again for your kind comments!
xo,
Marian
Jackie @ PhamFatale.com says
The cookies are so pretty that I wouldn’t dare eating them. I love the setting
Tammy says
Perfection. You must be an artist. Those are absolutely stunning.
seda says
wonderfull
Shelly says
These are beautiful!!! The hair is awesome!
Monique says
These are exquisite! Perfect!
celia says
these cookies look great. you did a nice job on them!
Zahra says
aww those are sooo cute! I love the detail yet simplicity of it! Ive only made one batch of cookies decorated with royal icing in my LIFE….but after I saw this….I felt a sudden urge to make them again! lol
kim says
WOW!! Thanks so much for the royal icing tips -I’ve never heard those before. I love both designs -Especially the bride’s dress, hair and makeup details! The color on the apples are great (my favorite kind of apple)-what gel color did you use? Thanks again for all your inspiration!!
Susan says
Marian, these turned out gorgeous. The brides are perfect. 🙂
Elissa says
As always your cookies are the most perfect I’ve EVER seen. You are simply amazing!
(I’m still hoping for a tutorial someday! 🙂 )
sara says
So cute! These are totally adorable. 🙂
Zoe says
I stumbled across your beautiful website with my friends. I would just like to say that your cookies, and all your other creations are gorgeous, (I love the apples!),
Keep up the good work,
:blush:
pigpigscorner says
They look so beautiful! I wish I had some for mine too!
[email protected] says
Those cookies are outstanding! I bet they would be a conversation topic at any wedding! Thank you.
Nilda says
The minute you publish your book I will purchase it inmediately! :love: Love your work!
Christy says
I cannot get over how talented you are!! Love them!!
Marian says
Kim, I added the gel paste information in the post to show you what colors I used.
Elissa, the tutorial is half way finished! I’ll be posting it by the end of June for sure.
Thank you for all the sweet comments!!!
Maria says
wow…. Marian,that is amazing work you are a great Artist….
ML ^_^
unconfidentialcook says
Thanks so much for stopping by, and please do come again. As you can well imagine, sweetopia is right up my alley!
Megan says
These are some of the cutest cookies ever – you did an excellent job! I love the combination of the two together – so cute!
åsa - hello sugar says
they are gorgeous and perfect! i’m sure the bride was thrilled! you always impress me with your amazing talent! 🙂
Isadora says
Those cookies are gorgeous!!!!!! I love the little brides-to-be, they’re perfect! Congrats!
Katie (aka the BTB :) ) says
I can attest that not only do these cookies look AMAZING but they also taste(d) sooooooo good! When I first saw them, my jaw dropped! I was so happy with your creation. And they really do capture the image of my hair and dress!!! Nice job, Marian. Bryan (my fiance) joked that he now knows what my dress looks like… haha… I lied when I told him that you didn’t design them based on MY actual dress… he believed me – Phew! It really does look like my dress! 🙂
Thank you so much for creating these delectable treats for my guests. They all loved them and were blown away (me included) by your marvelous artistry 🙂 Everyone kept asking me for your card… do you have business cards?? My Aunt Donna said you have a “special talent”, and I agree!!!
Katie
Katie (aka the BTB :) ) says
I can attest that not only do these cookies look AMAZING but they also taste(d) sooooooo good! When I first saw them, my jaw dropped! I was so happy with your creation. And they really do capture the image of my hair and dress!!! Nice job, Marian. Bryan (my fiance) joked that he now knows what my dress looks like… haha… I lied when I told him that you didn’t design them based on MY actual dress… he believed me – Phew! It really does look like my dress! 🙂
Thank you so much for creating these delectable treats for my guests. They all loved them and were blown away (me included) by your marvelous artistry 🙂 Everyone kept asking me for your card… do you have business cards?? My Aunt Donna said you have a “special talent”, and I agree!!!
Katie
Katie (aka the BTB :) ) says
I can attest that not only do these cookies look AMAZING but they also taste(d) sooooooo good! When I first saw them, my jaw dropped! I was so happy with your creation. And they really do capture the image of my hair and dress!!! Nice job, Marian. Bryan (my fiance) joked that he now knows what my dress looks like… haha… I lied when I told him that you didn’t design them based on MY actual dress… he believed me – Phew! It really does look like my dress! 🙂
Thank you so much for creating these delectable treats for my guests. They all loved them and were blown away (me included) by your marvelous artistry 🙂 Everyone kept asking me for your card… do you have business cards?? My Aunt Donna said you have a “special talent”, and I agree!!!
Katie
Corynn says
Nice! That’s a lot of cookies! I just got the book ‘Cookie Craft.’ Still ‘studying’ it. 😀
Lauri says
My Goodness, I have never seen such amazing cookies! Those brides are the most creative and realistic cookies I have ever seen. PLEASE, PLEASE show us with a tutorial your secret to these!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Tammy says
wow, these look just amazing! You are very talented!!
Kerri-Ann says
So, I made the apples tonight with the Brownie Sugar cookie recipe from SmittenKitchen.com. They look greatand taste even better…Mmmmm, chocolate!… but I don’t like the vanilla flavoured royal icing on top, it hides the yummy, decadent chocolate flavour underneath… any thoughts? Can I make the icing chocolate flavoured without making it brown? Is there such a thing…? Help! 😛
Kerri-Ann says
Me again, had a moment of (I think) brilliance … could I use a white chocolate liquer?…. Does that exist…Hmmmmm…
Marian says
Thank you so much for all the lovely, lovely comments everyone! :love: I appreciate them!!
Kerri-Ann, your cookies yummy! There IS a white chocolate Godiva liqueur… Great idea!
I’ve heard of cake decorators using Torani syrups as well, like this one, although most of those syrups are not clear or white in color.
You can also buy specfic food flavorings (more of which are clear), such as apricot, caramel or apple. There are SO many different flavours! Chocolate hazelnut is my favorite right now!
Kerri-Ann says
Yummy ideas Marian – thanks for responding so promptly! You’re the best… now to find those flavours
^_^
taya burke says
i would totally love the damask stencil set or the airbrush or the gem moulds hehe
Bronte.cakes says
I would love loads of stuff…silicone molds…cake tins…but most of all I would like some impression mats!!!
Nancy says
You’re doing a great job on the blog, Marian! I have bought stuff from flour confections a couple of times and they are great! My wishlist would contain some silicone moulds, impression mats and some cutters.
Sandy says
Wow!! Your work is amazing! Such an inspiration!
I was wondering about how many hours does it take for you to do about 75 cookies. I did some bridal shower cookies for a friend; 80 cookies total. When I added up my work hours it was about 16 to 18 hours. I spent one day just baking the cookies(about 5 hours) then spent the next two days decorating them (about 6 hours each day). Is that normal or can I expect to get faster each time I do them? I’m a little discouraged!
Marian says
Thanks so much Sandy!
It takes me about the same amount of time – That’s including everything from getting my tools and equipment out, making and baking the cookies, making and coloring the icing, filling the bags to decorating. It is definitely a labour of love!
I think you can expect to get a bit faster with baking and decorating, however, unless you’re doing some sort of assembly line/mass production, the entire process will always take a good chunk of time.
If you can set up your work area so that you don’t always have to put everything away (i.e. have all the equipment on hand instead of digging it out), and perhaps work out a system where you spend one day making large batches of dough and freezing it for when you need it etc., that will help.
I’m not sure where you’re making your cookies, but a commercial kitchen also always helps of course. For example, if you use a hobart mixer (large kitchen aide mixer), you can make MANY batches of dough at once. Same goes for your icing.
If you’re not working with industrial tools, you could consider renting out a local facility, although cost-wise, that would only be effective if you’re making a certain amount of cookies.
Hope this helps! Please email me if you have any more questions!
smile says
What beautiful cookies! I kept coming back to this webpage throughout the day! : ) I aspire to become as talented as you are!
Anyways, I was wondering how you got the 3-D effect in the chest area? Did you pipe a blob of royal icing, let it dry completely and flood over it? Or did you flood over it before it dried? Also, did you ever so lightly airbrush the cheeks for the bride? : )
Marian says
Thank you Smile!
That’s exactly what I did! I piped two blobs of royal icing, let them dry and piped over them.
For the cheeks, I dusted them lightly with pink lustre dust.
Dani1101 says
These cookies are just beautiful. May I ask what colour or mix of colours you used for the bride’s skin tone?