Valentine's Day Cookies

You are my Love bug

I loved the muah cookies so much that I went ahead and made a whole bunch of Valentine's Day Cookies that are on sale via my baking outfit - The Dessert Island. The response to my V-day cookies were so great that I thought why not share them here as well? As always, my designs are simple are something that anyone with an eye for cookie decorating can attempt. I always prefer cheeky and fun V'day cookies/msg's than the sappy ones, so my cookies reflect that, barring a few :) No tutorial this time on these, since this is a just drool post. But I do hope to get your feedback on them. 

So here goes, the one you see on the top is aptly titled you are my love bug and they remind me of the love bug/lady bird cupcakes I had made and shared on my blog a year ago. You can see that post here..

The next on the list is one that is my fav and I call him Mr Lova Lova. The Casanova of the pack, you can't resist falling in love with him... Perfect for those who want to take him home or to gift to your special someone... Side effects include swooning and Shaggy's song playing in your head on repeat. Say it with me, Mr lova lova ♪ ♫ ♩...

Mr Lova Lova

The next one was inspired by one of my favorite songs while growing up. "Though we gotta say goodbye for the summer, but darling I promise you this, I'll send you all my love, everyday in a letter, sealed with a kiss..." 

Baby shower cookies

Baby carriage cookies

Lately, I've begin to love making itty bitty cookies and more so, baby shower cookies. The lil onesies, the baby pram and the cute as a teacup baby bottles, they invoke an aww from just about anybody, guys included. So here are a few simple designs for baby shower cookies. 

Hand-cut baby bottle cookies

Inspirations are countless, from catalogues, to pictures of onesies, to the hundreds of pictures available online. I tend to keep it simple, so if you want to start off with baby shower cookie designs, these are perfect for you.

What you will need: 

Polka dotted onesies

• A sugar cookie in the shape of baby shower themes. Use any sugar cookie recipe and use baby shower cutters to cut out the desired shape and bake them.
• Royal icing. You can find the recipe from my previous posts here.
• Piping bags and tips or ziplock bags.

Method:

• Separate your icing into different bowls, according to the number of colours you need and mix in the colours accordingly. Keep a larger amount for the base colours and slightly lesser for the colours that you will outline the cookies with.
• Start off with a base coat of icing in the colour of your choice. Flood the entire cookie and let it dry. if you want to add polka dots that don't stand out, like in the polka dotted onesies pic, add the dots in another colour before this dries.
• Once it's dry, use a #1 tip with your piping bag or snip off the end of a zip lock into a tiny hole and pipe out outlines, following the edges of the cookie.
• Add a few dots and zig zags along the way to add to the design. Be creative here and try your hand at different patterns. Don't worry, if you don't like what you made, save it to gobble up later and try again.  
• That's it, that's how simple they can be. Leaving you with a few pictures of what I have done to inspire you to start cookie'n. 

Baby bottles

Baby onesies

Packed and ready to go to an expecting mommy

So what are you waiting for, Get, Set, Bake!! 

Flea market adventures

Our table at the flea market

As part of our launch, we participated in our first flea market - The Kitsch Mandi in the first week of February. It was a whirlwind of chaos, confusion, excitement, nervous fits and what not. What to make, how much to make, how to package, how will lil me handle it all? Aaargh.. I must have pulled out my hair umpteen number of times in all the craziness. 

Customers at the flea market

Thankfully, I had a great support team in the form of friends and family - Candice, Ambika, Arjun, Shubham and my ever loving hubby who was my driver, printer, cashier and what not. He was my rock and another solid rock - my mom who came down from my hometown just to help her little girl launch her business officially. Yes, I have the best mom in the world, period....

Our character bookmarks cum visiting cards

 Our menu was simple - red velvet/death by chocolate smash cakes in a jar, Stu the starfish, Bella the naughty nymph, Boo meringues with choice of lemon curd and chocolate ganache to dip and munch, (refer to the previous post for details on them), sticky chewy cocoa melts, Cinnamon lip 'stick' cookies, and hangover on a stick. 

Sticky chewy coco melts

We set up our table and then started the crazy crowds. The atmosphere was electric and we had a ball. People started trickling in in huge numbers and thus began our journey into our first flea market. 

With butterflies in our stomach, we waited to see who would buy what, would they like what we had to offer, and of course crazy fears like will anyone buy anything? What if they hate my stuff and what not :p

 My mind's a whirlwind on most days and this day, there were a dozen whirlwinds rushing through my brain. I kept my crazy fears aside and put on a big smile and waited for the day to unfold. It was truly magical, with the response that took my breath away. Happiness unlimited was my state of mind, whirlwinds clearly pushed away. 

Sticky chewy cocoa melts was the sleeper hit of the day. We saw people walk with it and send their friends to pick up a few as well. No points for guessing they got sold out first. 

The second favourite was the red velvet/ chocolate smash cakes. Proof was that we managed to sneak out one jar and gobbled it in seconds, licking our spoons, wishing we could grab a few more. But we resisted and kept them for our eager customers. Everyone oohed and aahed over our designer cookies and many took our cards for future orders. Happy days :)

The happy troopers sat and laughed with all our cheerful customers. Towards the end of the day, many came for seconds of our Hangover on a Stick (rum and raisin skewers) which were very potent (hic)!. 

Giggly girls loved the cinnamon lip sticks, in their vibrant red hues. 

Cinnamon Lip cookies

We gorged on all the yummy stuff on display on the other stalls and got a bit of shopping done as well. All in all, a great beginning. Our tired happy feet dragged us back home and we slept in contentment on a day well spent. For those wanting to tred on similar paths, here are a few tips on your first flea market, from someone who is only 3 markets old :p but has important flea market lessons to give - 

Me holding up my Boo Meringues

• Pack everything to go as much as possible and have suitable covers for everything. We were all covered in a thick layer of dust owing to the open area. A neighboring stall was selling cheesecakes by the slice and it was open all day. I can't stomach the fact of how much dust buyers got in each bite. Eww.
• Ensure a good display. Your creations might be the best but if they aren't displayed attractively, people won't notice in the manic rush.
• Smile, it makes a difference. You might be fighting world war 3 in your head owing to lack of sleep, aching feet and crankiness, but if you are approachable, people will linger on around your stall, leading to potential customers.
• Keep a lot of business cards handy. A lot of people don't remember your brand name as much as you'd like to think they would. A business card ensures they have a name and number to contact when they remember your yummy creations, days later.
• Stay hydrated, you don't want to faint and miss out on your first flea market.
• Get friends to help. No you aren't superwoman/superman. You need a dedicated cashier along with yourself handing out the goodies. 
• Keep visible price tags for everything along with names of dishes. People like to see information on display instead of playing 20 questions with the stall owners.
• Keep enough stocks handy and plan on how much to bring according to the crowd.
• Always check out previous flea markets of the organizers  This one time, we went to a new group's flea market and came back with boxes as the crowd turnout was pathetic. All the stall owners sat with woeful expressions and were swatting flies in boredom (just kidding about the flies bit :))
• Lastly, have fun, don't stress yourself out. It is tough, it is hard work, but at the end of the day, it's all worth it...

The Dessert Island

The new year whizzed past me and how. My first post for the year and it's 3 months overdue. A big apology to my readers. However, I have some fantastic news to share which I probably hope will make you'll less mad. I launched my home-based dessert outfit in February 2013 and I am officially a home baker who sells her yum bakes to customers. The Dessert Island is alive..  Yayyy :) 

Join us on Facebook by clicking here. Go click it NOW... You can find all sorts of pics and updates and much more..  Now a lil something about my venture for those who don't wanna head over to FB to find out more - 

The Dessert Island is a place where desserts come to life. We don't just make desserts, we create characters that you would love to take home. The population of this island grows ever so often, with new characters coming to life in this magical place. Drop in, take a tour, pick a character to take home with you. If you'd like a new character, give us a holler and we shall create one just for you. Who knows, he/she might be an inhabitant of the island one day. 

We have four characters as of now. First I'd like to introduce Fae:

Fae the fairy princess

Fae the fairy princess:

A magical island needs a magical fairy and that's where Fae comes in. 

She loved desserts so much that when she was asked what she would like to be marooned with on a deserted island, she chose a whole island with desserts. 

If that wasn't enough, she brought them all to life so that they could all live happily ever after. 

Fae can be seen on the winter solstice night, waving her wand and conjuring up new and yummy creations to join her family at The Dessert Island

Next on the list is the ever loving Stu - 

Stu the starfish

Stu the starfish: 

Stu was a humble starfish who lived in the ocean. The eternal bachelor boy that he was, he longed for some excitement. Sure, the corals were good for a few occasional laughs, but young Stu kept looking for a place where he could feel like home. That one day arrived when he heard sounds of laughter from an island as he was swimming along the sea. Always one for adventure, he hopped on to the nearest tortie (tortoise) and off he went to explore. Next thing he knew, he was on an island where the party never stopped. Fairies, owls and other magical creatures sang, danced and lived happily on this magical island. Each one of them were desserts that had come to life and partied all year round in their magical abode. They greeted him with open arms and next thing he knew, he was living in the island, which he now calls home. As is the custom, he got turned into a yummy dessert to be part of the island. He got to become a buttery vanilla bean cookie with his goofy smile making everyone smile around him. If you wanna meet Stu and his friends, head over to The DessertIsland, take a bite or two.. We promise, you wouldn't wanna leave...

Bella the naughty nymph

Next up, Bella - 

Bella the naughty nymph: 

Bella was the average teenage drama queen who got shipwrecked and was washed ashore The Dessert Island. The magical island took her in and the creatures looked after her like she were their own. At first she couldn't believe her eyes. Talking starfish, blue candy owls, a friendly ghost who was perfect for her as she could eat him and still fit into her gorgeous bikinis as he was a diet friendly dessert. Soon, she was up on her feet, matching steps with Stu and Boo, the friendly ghost who soon became her best buddy. As tradition states, she had to be immortalised into a dessert to be part of The Dessert Island and she was done so in her favourite avatar - an itsy bitsy vanilla bean bikini cookie, soaking up the sun. If you come to the island, you can probably spot her surfing, with a Appletini in one hand. She is most sought after at bachelor parties at nearby islands to add her naughty charm to the do.

Last but not the least, the cutie pie Boo

Gossipy Boo

Gossipy Boo:

Boo is a friendly ghost who loves to chat, so much that his nickname is gossipy boo. He floats around the island gathering all the gossip. He is a favourite with the ladies, not just because he is irresistibly charming, but because he is a dieter's delight. He is truly light as a feather and women chomp him up with no guilt thereafter. One can spot him by the shore of the island, taking long gossipy walks with his best friend Bella, the naughty cookie. Want to know what the island folk are up to? Boo’s the guy to meet.

So there you have it, my baby venture. Do like us on Facebook and join us at the island. Your support means the world to me and will help me take my baby steps with more confidence...