Butter Cookies

These are storebought butter cookies that come in a round tin. They are inexpensive and taste quite good. I used to eat them all the time as a child and haven't had them for many years, so I thought I would purchase a tin to snack on. I must say that they don't taste exactly the same as they used to, but I'm not sure if it is my tastebuds that have changed or the butter cookie recipe itself. One thing that is different is that the rectangular and the pretzel shaped cookies used to have coarser sanding sugar on them and now they have a finer sugar on them.

{Divine.ca} Home Bakery Bundle Giveaway

This post brought to you by Dr. Oetker. All opinions are 100% mine.

As much as I love baking, when it comes to pizza, I often go with the store bought frozen variety. It doesn't cost nearly as much as take-out and is so convenient to enjoy as a snack, easy lunch or dinner. I have tried making my own pizza before, but have always had an issue with the crust. It would either stick to the pan, be too crispy or just too soggy.

Fortunately Dr. Oetker has a new type of pizza now available at all major grocery retailers across Canada. It's called Dr. Oetker Panebello Bakery Crust Pizza  an   and for a pizza that is made with such high quality ingredients, it is extremely well priced at only $5.99 to $6.49. The crust is exactly what I have been looking for. It is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like fresh artisan bread you would get from a bakery.

 If you aren't too fond of making your own pizza or would simply like a break, there is a fabulous giveaway for the chance to win 1 of 5 $500 Home Bakery Bundles. Feel free to visit Divine.ca Home Bakery Bundle Giveaway and enter online between May 4, 2011 to June 13, 2011.

Each Prize Pack is worth $500 and includes:

- 8 Coupons for 2 of each of the new Dr. Oetker Panebello Pizza Varieties including:

• Vegetables and GoatsCheese
• CountryPepperoni
• ClassicCanadian
• Bruschetta

- 1 Breville Toaster Oven

- 1 Pair of Dr. Oetker Oven Mitts

- 1 Dr. Oetker Pizza Cutter

- 1 Williams-Sonoma Pizza Peel

*The contest is open to Canadian Residents Only.

Good Luck! 

Sparkly Springtime Butterfly Cookies

I made these shimmery, sparkly springtime butterfly cookies since the weather is warming up and it's so wonderful that the butterflies will be out and about soon.

I simply cut mini butterfly shapes out of sugar cookie dough, piped pink, orange and yellow royal icing onto them and dipped them in matching sanding sugar. I love decorating cookies with different colored sanding sugars, because it is such an easy and inexpensive way to make them so shimmery and pretty. They were so delicious and the sanding sugar (or as some may call it, decorating sugar) added an extra crunch to them!

10 Tips on Successful Cookie Decorating

I was decorating sugar cookies this weekend and noticed that there were many things that would help me improve when it comes to sugar cookie decorating. There are so many ways to decorate sugar cookies, but I usually use royal icing and sometimes sugar sprinkles too.

Here are 10 simple tips that I think would have helped me decorate the cookies I made this past weekend:

1. Plan out the design that will be piped onto the cookie ahead of time

2. Make a list of all the icing colors and approximately how much of each color you will need before tinting the icing

3. Have all the supplies you need, ready and in one spot

4. Have a clean spacious area where you will be decorating the cookies. For instance a kitchen table, or countertop

5. Clean as you go

6. Decorate the cookies with friends or family so you have some good company

7. Listen to your favorite music while decorating the cookies

8. Have a few pictures of cookie designs on hand for inspiration

9. Practice piping the cookie design onto parchment paper first

10. Relax and have fun!

Do you have any tips on cookie decorating? Please feel free to share them in the comments section.

Happy decorating!

Gluten Free Cupcake

When I hosted a birthday party and was planning out the food to accomodate a few people who were on a gluten free diet, I had come across a small obstacle when it came to the birthday cake. Since most people attending the party were not on a gluten free diet, I figured it was okay to get a regular cake. What about those who could not eat the cake though? Fortunately, the bakery where I ordered the cake from also made cakes that are gluten free, because I wouldn't know where to begin if I had to make a gluten free cake. I opted for a giant gluten free cupcake (a cupcake cake) that would serve 4 to 6 people which was perfect. The guests were all happy and everyone got to have some cake!

I didn't get a chance to try a piece of the gluten free cupcake, but heard it was delicious.

Which Type of Cookie Cutters are the Best?

Although, most Cookie Cutterswork well and serve their purpose of cutting shapes out of cookie dough, I feel that each different type of cookie cutter has it's own specialy quality.

Since I am a cookie fanatic, my cookie cutter collection has become quite large. I love to have cookie cutters of all different shapes and sizes. I used to buy the tin cookie cutters since they are more widely available in stores and economical at the same time. I also have some plastic ones from my Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set. Then there are copper cookie cutters as well. My very first copper cookie cutter was in the shape of a star and was given to be by a friend. When I first saw it, I thought it was beautiful and shiny. I love using it because it is so sturdy, easy to wash, and will not rust at all. Of course, you can only make so many star shaped cookies. That's why I have added a few more copper Cookie Cuttersto my collection since then.

Here are some reasons why I like each type of cookie cutter and a few ways in which they differ from each other.

Plastic Cookie Cuttersare:

-Great for kids to use
-Good for cutting things other than cookies, such as cheese, sandwich shapes or cutting play dough shapes
-They are usually lower in cost and easy to find in stores
-Sometimes they don't cut as well and if you may end up with cookies with edges that are not really smooth
-Easy to care for, easy to wash and dry
-They can't rust!

Tin Cookie Cutters:

-Are easy to find in local stores
-They are affordable, so you can get lots of different shapes without spending too much
-They cut pretty well, but may sometimes rust if not cared for properly

Copper Cookie Cutters:

-Are really nice and easy to take care of
-They are sturdy
-They don't rust
-They cut really well
-Not as easy to find as plastic or tin cookie cutters, as they don't seem to be widely available in stores
-They cost more than the other types of Cookie Cutters

Overall, I can't say that any type of cookie cutter is better than another since they each have their good and not so good points. It just depends on what they are being used for and how often they will be used. Those are just some of my thoughts and opinions based on experience. Keep in mind that I only bake cookies as a hobby so if you have any advice, thoughts, or opinions, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Happy Baking!

Cute Kids and Mini Teddy Bear Cookies

I made these cute cookies, both gingerbread and sugar cookies just for fun. I decorated them to look like a dressed up little boy and girl. I also made mini teddy bears to match.