I can tell it is almost Fall because the spiders are moving in! Every time I walk into my living room or kitchen, they scurry across the floor. Some of them are not small either. They are as big as a watermelon! OK, maybe not that big but they might as well be! Let me just say I love nature! Seriously, love it!  I love it as long as it stays OUTSIDE!! I don’t like creepy-legged crawly things in my kitchen, but there is a lesson to be learned here. You can get inspiration from creepy, crawly, ugly things that freak you out, then make a creepy 3-D spider cookie!

Do you know how to make Royal Icing Transfers? If not, click here and you will have the know-how to make these creepy dudes! I will be totally honest with you and tell you that before you make them and try to ship them to your BFF, they will not ship. Like all spiders, they will break if you squash them. Did you know spiders will die if you drop them because they don’t have bones? But seriously, who is going to hold one? NOT ME! If you make these and take them to a party, you will definitely be asked, “How did you do that?” And you can smile and say, “It was so hard and took me weeks, but I was happy to do it for you!” You will be an instant Halloween Hero, and only you will know how easy they were to make.

Supplies for Creepy 3-D Spider Cookies:

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Large Royal Icing Transfers
Smaller Royal Icing Transfers
Royal Icing Legs
White Icing
Black Icing
Orange Non-Pareils for the Eyes
Boo Boo Stick or Toothpick

The fun part of this spider cookie is making the Royal Icing Transfers. See how to make them here.

For each spider, you will need:
1. 2 Bodies (I used the black leftover owl eyes from these cookies. Glue them together with some icing to make a nice fat body.)
2. 2 Heads (Glue them together with some icing to make a nice round head.)
3. 8 Legs (I piped V’s with a dot on the point of the V. It will make a cute spider leg.) Make extra. They will break and that’s ok!

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I am going to let these speak for themselves, but I will share one piece of advice. When you make the rings, start with the big one first. When I started with the small one, my big one was lopsided.

While the web is still wet, add the spider body.

Then, cover with dots. Pipe them with space in between each one and let it dry for a few minutes, then add the rest until the entire body is covered.

Next, add a drop of icing to the end of the leg that is going to be placed on the spider. Then, carefully place it on the leg and sink the foot into the icing. Mine stayed in place once I stuck it into the cookie. I think it was because the icing on the cookie had dried just enough to hold it.

Next, add dots for the feet. Doesn’t this look cool? It will look better once you add the head! Hold me!! Headless spiders scare me!!!

Once you have the head in place, add 2 small drops of royal icing for the eyes and add the orange non-pareils. I used the candy tweezers I got here. Let him dry overnight. It looks like he is smiling at me! He can smile all he wants, and I still won’t like spiders! lol

I do, however,  like Creepy 3D Spider Cookie Halloween Post Cards! What about you? The postcard…

Or the original picture?

Just remember, when you see something creepy, crawly, and just plain old ugly, use it for inspiration. If you have Arachnophobia, don’t worry, here are some other fun Fall favorites: Candy Corn Cookies, Monster Cookies, 3-D Cat, Dracula Cupcakes, Frankenstein & The Bride of Frankenstein Cupcakes, Owl Cookies, or Owl Cookies with a Pumpkin Cutter, Popcorn Ball Pumpkin Patch, and Pumpkin Patch Popcorn Poppers.

Bear hugs,

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Summer is almost over and I can’t believe how “Time Flies!” Seriously! It is AUGUST! Summer Camp was amazing but, my kitchen missed me and I missed it!! I have so many ideas “flying” around in my head and I am so energized about baking that I am going CRAZY MAD with excitement!! Now, I am not “Tom Cruze jump on Oprah’s couch Crazy Mad” but, I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen and turn all that sugar, butter and flour into fun delicious things! Time does fly and fly cookies can be sorta cute if you don’t realize one of your worst nightmares about eating a fly is about to come true!

Can you guess what cutter I used to make them? I know you can see it! A cute little ladybug became a pretty cool fly!I plan on making these for my Halloween dessert table and may even add some cake pop sticks next time. You all are way more creative than I am and I know you will come up with something awesome! I know someone somewhere will make these for a “Bug Birthday Party” for a budding Entomologist. They are super easy and time will “fly” because you are only using 3 colors.

Fly Supplies:
Black Outline Icing
White Flood Icing
Red Outline Icing
I used an Edible Marker to outline the design

First things first, you need a pattern. I cut an exclamation point out of paper. I used an edible food marker to trace it as the eyes and wings.Can you see the exclamation point now that it is upside down? Super EASY!!!

Then, add the head, legs and, body.
Next, outline and flood the head and body with your black icing. Let this dry for several hours so when you add the white, it won’t bleed.

Next, flood the wings with the white. While it is wet, add the black vein. To help prevent bleeding, I placed the cookie in front of a fan like Sweet Sugar Belle says in this post. I set all the flies but one in front of the fan and it was the only one that bled. Amazing! It totally workes!! And it will give your cookies a nice shine when they are dry.

Next, with your red icing, add the eyes. I accidentally let the red and white touch in this photo but, there is less chance of bleeding if they don’t touch. You can do this by following the o black outlines closer than I did.

With the black icing, make the lines in the eyes. You can let the red dry a little or do the wet on wet technique. Your choice!

See! Wouldn’t these be cute for a bug theme birthday party? Or on the dessert table at a Halloween party? I might even make them for our Labor Day Cookout. They will be super cute on a picnic table with these ants! These bugs won’t “bug” me like the reay ones do! LOL

Summer is fling by so go do something summery before it is too late!!

Happy Baking,

The post Time “Flies” appeared first on The Bearfoot Baker.

I think the person who designed the swimsuit should start making cookies. I think they would make some awesome cookies!

Supplies for Ruffled Butterfly Cookies:

Orange Thick Icing (AmeriColor Orange Gel)
Pink Thick Icing (AmeriColor Gels-One tiny part Burgundy and equal pats of Deep Pink and Red)
2 – 102 Tips

Let’s talk about icing first. You want your icing to be thick enough to hold the ruffle. I use this Royal Icing Recipe and added a about a tablespoon less water than the recipe called for. When I took it out of the mixing bowl to make my colors, I didn’t water it down much at all. It is stiff enough to hold it’s shape and that is what you need to make a good ruffle.

Now, begin by making the center of the butterfly cookies with the color you want. I did some with the orange and some with the pink. Hold the bag so the skinny end of the 102 tip is up and the fat side is close to your cookie.

As you squeeze, the pressure you apply and the speed you move your piping bag will determine how the ruffles look. You might want to practice on parchment paper until you get the look you want. Pipe the butterfly body and let it dry for about 20  minutes.

Next, outline one wing with the opposite color icing.

Then, fill the wing with more ruffles.

Repeat the ruffles on the other wing.

How simple is that? I made a platter full of these in 15 minutes. I will make these again as soon as I possibly can. They were fun and I didn’t stress over perfect lines and smooth icing. Also, I have a new place for inspiration, the kids clothing department is full of cookie ideas!

If you want to see more butterfly cookies, check these out:
Ali Bee’s Bake Shop Beautiful Bridal Shower
Ali Bee’s Bake Shop Blue Butterflies Tutorial
Sweetopia Cookie Decorating Tutorial- General Tips & Butterfly Cookies
CookieCrazy Gone Buggy: Butterfly Cookie (Tutorial)
Haniela’s Butterfly Wedding Cookies

Happy Creating,

The post Ruffled Butterfly Cookies appeared first on The Bearfoot Baker.

I love ants! They are small but super strong! I want to be like an ant! Small and powerful! I want to have the power to make cute little ant cookies that stand up all by themselves! Hey! Wait a minute!!! We Do have the power to make ant cookies that stand up all by themselves! Don’t you just love making cookies? You can make frogs, simple pretty flowers, snowmen or even ants that stand up all by themselves!!! It is great to live in my cookie world!

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