I’ve been struggling with getting my posts out! I’ve been bogged down with work…orders and loads and loads of good quality family time! The last 2 months I’ve been able to host my husbands sister and her kids (not 2 months at a stretch but spread out over 2 months). It’s been wonderful since I was meeting them after 5 years, the girls had grown up and my girls were having an amazing time with their older girl cousins who they worship! One of the nieces is the same one who years ago I had mentioned in my blog is a coffee cake fan – I managed to whip up a batch quickly for her, freeze it and carry it back with her to Vegas (yes, they actually live there), and use it as her comfort food.
I’ve also been planning and multiple vacations for people who are planning to visit South East Asia and ready for our own break in a few weeks with friends to Bali. We have the house to ourselves for exactly 3 weeks before our next house guests come – so we’re enjoying the me time but have really loved the family being around since we don’t get much of that.
On the baking front, I have to say I haven’t tried anything grand that is new, but I have been doing lots of parties for kids and the next few posts are going to all about the Peppa Pigs, My Little Pony and Paw Patrol. I haven’t ever made so many Paw Patrol cakes in my life as I have in the last 6 months, the craze is not dying, but to give myself a break, let me just start with Peppa Pig.
These cute little cookies are such a great party addition to the themes, and they finish super-fast. I love how fresh they look because of the light pink colours and they really balance out the colours of any table with a bright peppa cake around 😊
I made the mistake of ordering a 3D cutter thinking it would make my life super simple and super easy, and that was the biggest mistake I made. I wasted a good few hours trying to get the dough out of the cutter and hoping all the facial features would be in tact and it turned out to be a waste. So I ended up ordering a whole new cutter, just a regular non fancy, non 3D cutter which made the process more enjoyable.
For the cookies, I use my go to Sugar Cookie recipe and go to Royal Icing Recipe (a recent discovery as well)
For the cookies you will need
- Peppa Pig Cookie Cutter
- Light pink royal icing
- Slightly darker share of royal icing
- Edible Black Marker (unless you’re okay with making some black icing)
- White icing
- Red Shimmer dust and a brush to dust it with for the cheeks
- Let the cookies cool after baking, I usually like to bake them a day in advance at least and freeze them in resealable bags or air tight boxes. I bake in advance because sugar cookie decorating as many of you would know is a taxing process and if you do it all at one go – you’ll be beat by the end of it and not want to look at another cookie!
- Once the cookies are cool and the frosting is made, start with making 2 round dots for the eyes for peppa., you want to start with this first as it will set first and make it easier to ice around. Repeat on all the cookies
- Next take the light pink icing and flood the whole cookie, going carefully around the eyes
- Outline the cookie with the slightly darker pink, make the snout and the smile and let the cookie fully dry, this should take 4-5 hours
- Finally, gently add black dots to the eyes with the edible marker and dip the brush into red shimmer to add the cheeks. Use the brush in a circular motion to create the round blush
- Let the cookie rest for another 2-3 hours until completely dry to touch. It’s ready to be consumed!