Starfish Cookies with Nonpareiles & Sanding Sugar

I want to talk to you today about where I got the inspiration for making these starfish cookies. I recently went to Utah for a blog conference called SNAP. I met one of my best friends in the Dallas airport and as we were walking around looking for an open coffee shop, I saw an ad that stopped me in my tracks.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comIt was an ad for Travelocity and it had that annoying little gnome with a starfish stuck to his face. I grabbed my phone and took a picture.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comCan you see why? This starfish needed to become a starfish cookie. It just goes to show that you can find inspirations anywhere, even very early in a Dallas airport before the coffee shops open.

Supplies for Starfish Cookies:

Starfish Cookie Cutter
Lemon Yellow AmeriColor 15 Second Icing with a touch of AmeriColor Ivory added
Yellow and White Nonpareile Sprinkles
Yellow Sanding Sugar
Ivory AmeriColor Gel
Corn Starch
#2 Tip

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comI did a few experiments with nonpareils and sprinkles and this is the one that seemed to blend well together and was easy to reproduce.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comBegin by placing equal parts of the yellow and white nonpareils and the yellow sanding sugar into a bowl or Zip-lock bag. Add a small drop of Ivory AmeriColor Gel and mix well.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comAs you can see, the nonpareils and sanding sugar each maintain their original color but, have taking on the ivory tint. This is good. You don’t want them all to look the same but, you do want them to have the ivory color in common. But there is a little problem, see how the gel made everything clump together? That can be fixed with very little effort.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comAdd a little pinch of corn starch and mix. I learned this tip from Sweet Sugar Belle.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comWith a little mixing, the sprinkles are no longer stuck together and they are ready to be spread onto the starfish cookies.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comOutline and flood the starfish cookies with the yellow icing and a #2 tip. Since sprinkles are going to be added, you need to work fast and apply while the icing is wet.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comPlace the cookie into a coffee filter or bowl. I learned the coffee filter trick from Bake at 350 and I use it all the time. Since this sprinkle mixture has nonpareiles, it will bounce everywhere so be careful and pour slowly. Gently pick up the cookie and shake off the sprinkles that didn’t stick to the icing.

Starfish Cookies by www.thebearfootbaker.comYou can stop there or you can add a little brown airbrushing to the edges. Either way, I think the sprinkles are a simple way to make cute little starfish cookies with a lot of character.

These cookies are a perfect example of finding inspiration no matter where you are or what you are doing. Walking through an airport, looking at scrapbook stickers, or the kids clothes in Wal-Mart or Target could inspire something amazing.

For more beach themed cookies and transfers follow these links: 
Jellyfish Cookies
Lobster Cookies
Starfish Transfers with Template

Where do you find your cookie inspiration? I would love to know!

Happy Creating,

Lisa