♪♪♪Take Me Out To The Ball Game♪♪♪

 I have probably shared on the blog before that before moving to Michigan, I grew up in Illinois...close to the St. Louis, MO border.  Being that close to St. Louis, all of our family are big Cardinal fans!

 My mom and dad recently went back to the St. Louis area to visit and for a family reunion so they took some cookies to my aunt that she had requested I make.

 Their beloved Cardinals!

 Having moved to Michigan, spending more of my adult life here, and marrying a HUGE Detroit Tiger fan...I have to be a Tiger fan with him. ;)

But...if the Tigers aren't playing...the Cardinals will always have a piece of my heart!

Lions vs Packers...Football Cookies!

 Today we went to our friends' home for our annual (post) Christmas get-together.

As it happened...the Lions and Packers were playing today.

My hubby...HUGE Lions fan.

Most of our friends are Lions fans...with a sprinkling of Packer fans in the mix.

 To say my hubby dislikes the Packers...is a HUGE understatement, LOL!

You know how when you're a sports fan, and there's usually ONE team you REALLY dislike?

That would be the Packers for my hubby, ha!

We usually all bring a dish to pass at this particular get-together.

And since it turned out to be more of a "football bash" than a (post) Christmas party...

I decided these cookies would be an appropriate dessert!

Unfortunately the Lions lost...so we won't talk about that anymore.

Hubby is quietly dealing with his emotions, LOL!

But the cookies were yummy!

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!

Lions and Tigers and...COOKIES...oh my!

Lions and Tigers and...COOKIES...oh my!

What a fun-filled sports themed cookie week it's been!

My hubby should be thrilled with the cookies that have been created this week!

His beloved Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers!

Although...none of them were for him, LOL!

The first order...the Detroit Lions football cookies were for a birthday order placed by a friend of mine for her son.

I have attempted the Lion on cakes before and even now that I have a KopyKake...it still creates challenges for me.

I told my hubby, "I think we in Michigan have THE most difficult mascot in the NFL!"

That dang Lion is a stinker to pipe!

I managed and I am by no means a pro, but I think he turned out ok.

I really hope my friend and her son are happy with them.

I always worry to death each time I make cookies for someone.

"Will they be happy with them?"
"Do they think they're pretty?"

"Are they what they expected?"

"Did I disapoint them?"
"Do they taste ok?"

Well...I suppose all one can do is their best...right?

My motto here at Sweet Ivy Confections is:

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10

If one is doing their best...God will do the rest.

That's what Pastor Dalaba always told us!

They were a fun cookie to make!

Go Lions!

And...

HOW 'BOUT THOSE TIGERS?!?!

Can I get a holla???

World Series bound, eh?

Oh yeah!

What say you my fellow Michiganders?

Pretty awesome, huh?

These were even MORE fun to make due to the recent win!

We have friends coming up this weekend and they are Tiger fans as well, so I decided to make a platter for them.

I was pretty pleased with these.

Good luck Tigers!

You can do it!

Make us proud!

Botched Baseballs...

 My son is playing his second year of baseball this year through our local recreation department. 

It was "funny"/ironic...

On the registration form it asked, "Would you be willing to help out?"

My husband checked the box "yes"...assuming that it meant what it said...

"HELP OUT".

He gets a letter in the mail a couple weeks later telling him he's the coach, LOL!

Well...he kept his comittment and has coached the team this season.

The boys have had a great season, only losing one game!

(even though they "technically" don't keep score, hehe!)

 Well, tomorrow is the last game of the season...and it's our "snack week".

So we are in charge of snacks and drinks.

Last year, I did baseball cookies for the boys.

But this year, I thought it would be fun to add bats and team jerseys with their names and numbers as well!

 Well, who knew it would be so hard to find a baseball bat and shirt cookie cutter!

Yes, they ARE available to order online...but this girl didn't have time.

So I improvised and once again "hand-cut" my cookies with patterns I found off the internet.

 The strangest thing has been happening with my royal icing.

I've been using the same recipe for a year and a half.

I "thought" I was getting it down and "learning" the ins and outs.

Of course I still have issues and grow my skills each time.

BUT...

 This time (and last week as well) my royal icing had a mind of its own.

It mixed up just fine.

But when it dried on the cookies, it got all..."crystaly" and "dry"...almost wanting to "crackle" in certain areas.

 I posted close-up pictures in several of my cookie groups and the only thing they could think of was possibly "over-mixing" (yet I followed the directions just as I always do)...

And also...

The COLOR.

 I ran out of a couple of my Wilton/AmeriColor food color gels...and I substituted with regular food coloring drops (liquid).  I am wondering if this is a big "no-no" in royal icing.

Someone said they thought that regular food color may have oils in it, which is ALWAYS a big no-no with royal icing.  So that could have been it.

I know weather affects royal icing but I had my a/c on, so I don't think that was it.

 It's happened twice now.

And that is the only thing that I can think of that may have affected it.

The food coloring.

So, off I go to stock up on more colors of my Wilton or AmeriColor gels!

Thankfully, it wasn't a paid order.

It's just a treat/snack for my son's baseball team.

(Of course I always put pressure on myself for perfection no matter what.)

But...

I think the boys will enjoy them for a snack regardless.

Hey...at least it's not another granola bar or bag of pretzels, eh?

LOL!

Black Icing Woes...Hockey Pucks...And A Few Cake Pops For Good Measure...

Oh the woes of making black icing...

Any newbie baker will tell you the hardships of making black icing.

I did learn the best kept secret is to start with a chocolate base.

Lots of good cocoa powder makes for a nice deep rich chocolatey base to start your black off right!

And...lots...

And I mean...lots...

LOTS...

Of black food coloring.

I also learned from the "seasoned" bakers...

That AmeriColor is the color gel of choice.

Unfortunately, all I had was Wilton.

So I worked with what I had.

Thankfully...we achieved black!

No one wants an "off-black" hockey puck, LOL!

Oh, by the way...

That IS what these are...

Hockey pucks.

Can you tell?

I've never done hockey pucks.

So when this order came in...I was a little worried.

No formal cookie cutter.

These came from an "oval" and then I cut the ends off.

This was one order that had me really worried.

As I'm so used to making things in "bright", "cheery" colors.

I mostly make "cutesy" things.

But hockey pucks?

I'd never done them.

They're round...and black.

There wasn't a lot I could do to make them "cute".

Except...package them nicely.

And so I did the best I could.

I added ribbons in team colors and attached little tags with the team emblem on them.

I really hope they liked them!

I think this was one of my most worrisome orders.

I was very fearful, as I'd never done hockey pucks!

Along with the hockey puck cookies, there was an order for cake pops in the team colors as well.

Can't screw that up!  LOL!

With the yellow coating...

And black sugar sprinkles...

They almost reminded me of lemon poppy-seed flavor!

But they weren't!

I did a simple white cake.

The yellow coating is just vanilla flavored.

And then did black sugar sprinkles.

I sure hope they liked them!

This was only my second sports themed order!

Good luck Chiefs!