Jackie’s ♥Love♥ Sugar Cookies

Jackie only started baking and decorating sugar cookies this past June and began to chronicle her endeavors in her blog, Baking Land .  Like most bakers and decorators, from the time she filled her first piping bag she knew that the idea of creating little works of edible art was something that she just had to do and it wasn’t long before people were calling her to fill orders for them.  This bride of almost two years lives in Michigan with her husband and her cats and when not working at her full time job, she loves to hone her baking and decorating skills with cookies, cupcakes and cakes.  Jackie has even enlisted her husband in her baking adventures to some degree.  When she had an idea for a specific cookie cutter that just couldn’t be found, she drew her design on a sheet a paper, gave it to her husband and he proceeded to fashion her exactly what she wanted… from duct clamps! Fantastic!  Intent on further developing her natural decorating skills, Jackie has enrolled in classes and I’m sure her readers will be witness to even more lovely treats being highlighted on the pages of Baking Land.  I’m delighted that she has volunteered to be a part of this project.  Jackie can be found on Twitter @BakingLand

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

When I think of cancer, I think of all the LOVE that families and friends give to those experiencing that awful disease. My grandmother was first diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago when I was 10 years old. She had a mastectomy performed on her right breast to remove the cancer completely. Our family constantly showed her love and support to help get her through this difficult time.
My grandma was in remission for 13 years when the cancer came back in 2009. This time she wasn’t as strong, and had also been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a few years earlier. We were very worried that she wouldn’t pull through, but we showered her with love and support. She went through intense chemo treatments week after week and fought off the second round of cancer.
In 2010, doctors found a few spots of cancer on her spine. She is continuing to battle the cancer and never gives up. She knows that God has a plan for her and that everyone around her loves her. I look up to her immensely and she is the strongest woman that I know.

I used Martha Stewart’s Sugar Cookie Recipe for these cookies. I drew out a template of the love cookie and cut it out in cardboard. Once I rolled out the cookie dough, I traced around it with a knife.

Cut out the outside of the love cookie, then place a small heart in the “O” and cut that out.

Move each cut out onto a baking sheet and smooth out the edges before baking.

Let your cookies cool before decorating. I use a glaze icing for decorating.

Glaze Icing Recipe:

1 bag 10X sifted powdered sugar
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Mix together the powdered sugar, milk, and corn syrup until the consistency is like honey. Add food coloring and place into pastry bags. Save leftover icing in airtight containers to “flood” the cookie. To make flood icing, add milk by the tablespoon until it is runny.

With tip #3 outline each letter of love and let the piping harden.

Flood the “L” with the pink icing and then flood the “O” with Red icing.

While the “O” is wet, use white flood icing to add dots.

Next, flood the “V” with white icing and use pink and red flood icing to make straight lines in the wet icing. (Sorry about the blurry photo!)

Use a toothpick to drag the lines into a design. (Again, sorry about the blurry photo!)

Finally, flood the “E” with red icing.
Let the cookie dry completely before adding the detail onto the “L” and the “E.” I added straight lines onto the “L” and pink hearts onto the “E.”

Let the cookies dry and package them for delivery.