Birthdays, Cookies

First Squeeze + Soft Sugar Cookies

September 11, 2018

A couple weeks ago we celebrated Evie’s First Birthday!! I can’t believe we already have a one-year-old – where did the year go?!

It’s crazy how quickly it truly goes. Everyone tells you, but you don’t realize it until you have a one-year-old and wonder where your baby went. Evie took her first steps a week before her birthday, and now walks around everywhere, doing whatever she wants haha.

I started planning for this party months in advance – and of course, the theme had to be lemon. The lemon theme came from her baby shower, and continued with her after she was born. We didn’t know if we were having a boy or girl, so the citrus theme of the shower was neutral. Truth be told, the lemon decor was actually purchased for our wedding! but we didn’t end up using it (although now, I wish we had!) We ended up using the lemons again for her newborn photos, and she just became my little lemon baby (or, lemon loaf). 

Every time I saw something with lemon print on it, it reminded me of her (and I had to have it! haha) The lemonade stand theme idea came from pinterest, of course. And the first thing I did was ask Adam if he could build me a little lemonade stand. I was inspired by this post – and had to laugh because the little girl’s name was also Evelyn.

I really wanted to make the ‘quintessential’ number “1” cookies, and had honestly never made any sugar cookies before. They always intimidated me, and mine never turned out. This time, my friend had made dozens of sugar cookies at christmas and I remember her saying this recipe for soft sugar cookies was super simple. I thought I’d give it a try, and do a trial run before the party just in case. 

They turned out SO good. Like, I didn’t even have to throw any away good (ha). The recipe could not be easier, even for a novice cookie maker like myself. The dough requires NO chilling time, and is so simple to cut out. The royal icing recipe was from Butter Baked Goods cookbook. I don’t have a lot of experience with it, but I created different consistencies (thick and thin, or flood and outline) depending on what I wanted. After a few “I’ll eat them if they look bad” cookies, they started to look really good – at least, good enough for a one-year-olds birthday party. 

The party was a hit – and she definitely loved eating her cake! The best thing I did was ask a friend to take photos for us, so we could enjoy it and not worry about it! I’m so glad we did! Thanks to Jalen Laine Photography for capturing these goofy pics!

Find the Soft Sugar Cookie recipe here

Royal Icing – Recipe from Butter Baked Goods Cookbook

Ingredients:

4 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup meringue powder

6-8 tablespoons water

Directions:

  1. In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, combine the icing sugar and meringue powder. Mix on medium speed until the meringue powder is evenly distributed throughout the icing sugar. 
  2. Turn mixer to low and slowly add the water, little by little, until the icing reaches the desired thickness and consistency. 
  3. once the water is incorporated, beat the mixture on high to create some volume and lightness in the icing. 

You want two consistencies, the outline thickness to create the shape, and the flood icing to fill in the centre without being so thin it runs over. Royal icing can be any shade, just use gel food colouring, start with a little at first and more until you get the colour you desire. 

I found a lot of helpful blogs on Pinterest about cookie decorating, and royal icing. I suggest reading a few of them before beginning so you’re ready. One tip I liked was using a spray water bottle to add water to change the thickness (not just spewing water in) and using a toothpick to pop bubbles on the tops of cookies before they’re set so they are smoother. 

I made these a week or two in advance, baked and decorated / set, and froze in single layers using parchment in tupperware. Take out the night before event to defrost, in single layers on counter. 

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2 Comments

  • Reply Andrea Conti September 11, 2018 at 9:34 PM

    Perfect !

  • Reply Scarlet | Family Focus Blog February 6, 2020 at 11:49 AM

    What a fun theme for a first birthday party. SO cute!! Those soft sugar cookies look amazing too. Yum.

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