St. Louis Cardinals...

 Here they are!

It was hard to keep these a secret because I shared with several people that I was planning to make them...

And each day I was met with, "Are they done yet?", "Have you posted them yet?"

Everyone wanted to see them.

 I have mixed emotions about these cookies.

While I feel the logos themselves turned out decent...

The icing consistency was not at its best which I believe may have been attributed to the weather.

(We'll blame it on that and not my skill-level, hehe!)

 I love flooding with glaze (the white background).

Glaze never gives me lumps, bumps, bubbles, separates, or cracks.

Weather doesn't affect glaze.

 But the logos themselves, is where I wasn't so happy.

I pipe intricate details with royal icing (glaze doesn't behave so well for intricate piping).

I like to use "a bit" thicker icing for piping detail work so that it doesn't run/spread.

However, with my Cardinals, it turned out a bit "too thick"...thus resulting in a bumpy/lumpy texture.

 I'm not sure if weather played a role in this or not.

But it did rain off and on this past week, and even on the days it didn't, there was a lot of humidity in the air.

 Royal icing and humidity are enemies.

 But I think my aunt and uncle (the recipients) were happy with them.

I suppose we bakers are our own worst critic.

I have a hard time accepting compliments...I tend to judge my work very harshly.

 I was however VERY happy with the quatrefoil!

The first time I ever saw this technique I was amazed.

I just knew it had to be difficult.

But honestly, it wasn't!

I enjoyed doing it and can't wait to do it again!

My uncle said, "I can't believe your husband allowed you to make these."
My husband is a die-hard Detroit Tiger fan.

I said, "He only allowed it because they were LEAVING the house.  Any cookie STAYING in the house has to be Tiger themed!"  LOL!

And I have to say, I'm glad my hubby IS a Tiger fan...the logo is MUCH easier to pipe than the Cardinals, LOL!