Cookies, Part II

So, some of you know that I went a little out of my comfort zone in December and attended a cookie decorating class.  I have always loved to decorate cookies, but (because I am a slacker) I never really kept learning new techniques.  Instead I relied on age-old methods that I am pretty sure originated with the pioneers and that I think I learned in childhood (?).  At my cookie class I learned about royal icing, dragees (French word for "small balls"), and frosting bags.  Some might say I was a *little* proud of myself after the class and some might even say I was smug. 

Then, I tried everything I learned at home a few weeks after that.  Note:  There was no blog post about that, no pictures were posted on Facebook, and I did not "pin" any of it.  Why?  Because it was a royal disaster.  All of my pride dissolved in a few seconds of runny icing that was some shade of black? 

But, because I believe in learning from my mistakes (I'll excuse you while you vomit), here's what I learned:  1.  It's easier when someone else makes the icing and puts it in the bag for you.  2.  It's easier when someone brings lots of gorgeous, perfect samples from which you can get ideas.  3.  It's easier when someone also brings all the proper equipment needed.  4.  It's easier to leave all the mess there and have someone else clean it up.  5.  It's easier when four small people are not asking you what the heck they are supposed to be doing (and you don't really know what to tell them).

Fast forward to today.  I got brave (or - we all know the synonym for brave) and decided we needed to give it a second go and make Valentine's Day cookies using all the techniques I had learned way back in December.  I was ready to abandon whatever pride I had left (for the kids).

Here's how they came out. 

Valentines Day Cookies 2012

 
So, I'm not a total idiot.  I realize the O's are lopsided and much of the royal icing is royally askew.  I know people (no matter how much they wanted to support me) would never pay money for these.  Subsequently, any dreams I might have had of owning a famous cookie shop are still dashed.  BUT, these look a hell of a lot better than the black Santas and dead Christmas trees we had last time.

You could say I am now a little smug.  Happy Superbowl Sunday!  Try to stay on your diets.  Just kidding!  Eat like there's no tomorrow!  I know I will be.  Then I'll be snacking on the delicious morsels above for dessert.