paddle attachment

May 8, 2014 · 11:11 pm

Cherishing Cherish Sweets!

Hey there – if you’re looking for my recent treat obsessions, please find me at my new website and baker/blog identity: Cherish Sweets.

My new blog can be found on the link below – just click and you’ll be back in a little slice of baking utopia:

It’s the same format as paddle attachment always was…. I’m still hopelessly devoted to baking and the paddle attachment on my Kitchen Aid standing mixer(s). I have two – a big and a little – and they’re still red. But Cherish Sweets is all PINK and bit of chocolate brown.

I am looking to expand my baking hobby into something more. I’m not quite ready to license my home kitchen for commercial baking sales under Washington State law, but I’m getting close. So I decided to first choose a company name and build a brand that evoked the happy anticipation of those beautiful, yummy treats reserved for cherished occasions. Like weddings and birthday parties and babies (and weeknight wine nights, if you have at least one sweet tooth that resembles my whole set).

The name, “Cherish Sweets” came from the deep brainstorming wells of three girlfriends road tripping their way across the state to attend a Madonna concert. Talk of my baking dreams was on the agenda, as was surface analysis of Madonna’s classics, including – you guessed it – Cherish (sing along with me now, “cherish the love”). Right then and there on I-90, I landed on the perfect name for the butter dough and confection sugar dusted place where my heart happily wanders and experiments.

A few weeks later, but long before I found a fabulous local graphic artist and web designer, Karli Ingersoll, who makes everything pretty and perfect, I found this cupcake ornament, a discounted leftover from a vintage sweets Christmas display in an antiques shop. It’s single message spoke to me.

Please continue with me on this cherished (get it?) baking journey. There’s a lot more sugar to obsess about!

Take care,

Kristina

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March 2, 2014 · 5:07 pm

Big steps for baby elephant

This little peanut muncher marches forward with big elephant strides to celebrate the coming arrival of a baby girl! For this set, I was asked to make plated cookies, using pinks and grays for an evening baby shower.

I went with a modern theme, starting with the elephant and a collection of abstract flowers and leaves, including a dark gray polka dot accent leaf.

All in all, a fun set. It feels fresh and modern and full of spring. Something my little corner of the world needs right now, as the snow falls all day in a persistent flurry. Can’t wait to lighten the load and step out into spring!!!

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Tagged as baby elephant cookies, baby shower cookies, elephant cookies, flower cookies, pink elephant cookies

February 18, 2014 · 12:04 am

Black and white Valentine hugs

Par for the course this year, I’m a couple days late and at least ten bucks short. While there’s been some baking projects in 2014, I just can’t get them posted timely.

But I just couldn’t pass on these little guys, a tiny prints knockoff, piped onto simple egg shaped cookies. They’ve got their heart in their hands and they are ready for love.

Now that’s a message worth passing on, even if it’s a little postage delayed.

For these cookies, I drew the design on paper within the shape of the egg cutter. Then, using a Kopy Kake to project the lines on the cookie, I piped the white middles first and added the hearts and noses using the “wet on wet” technique. When dry (or mostly dry), I outlined in the black (overlapping the white with the wings to create dimension). Later, I came back to pipe in the eyes and the feet. All in all, a pretty simple cookie, because I only had to mix three colors!

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Tagged as penguin cookies, Valentine cookies

December 30, 2013 · 11:16 pm

A little late to the party…Christmas cookies!

I know, it’s almost New Year’s Eve, but these Christmas cookies are about to land in cookie purgatory if I don’t get pictures posted before the 2013 holiday season is officially over.

This set was made in a rush all while my sweet parents were visiting for Christmas. Amongst baking all of our Swedish Christmas favorites, like pepparkakor (a ginger snap perfect for coffee dipping) and cardamom rolls for Christmas morning, I made these cookies for friends’ parties along with some eclairs. Whew. I’m tired just thinking about all the work and the flour dust!

Here’s my cute mom baking with my big girls:

For this set, I was looking to do classic Christmas colors – deep red and green – on the hats, trees and Ruldophs. I also wanted to throw in some glam ornaments and flocked snowflakes. The ornaments were done by first flooding the bases with royal icing. When dry, I sprayed Wilton gold and silver Color Mist over 6 inch square stencils and later added disco dust to the tops.

Ruldolph was based on a little guy in the “That’s Not My Reindeer” Usborne Books board book (Christmas adorbs). I used a Wilton snowman with hat cookie cutter for the cookies, drew the reindeer to fit within the shape on paper and outlined it in black marker. Then, I used a Kopy Kake to outline the deer in black before flooding.

The trees and hats were a bit free form, although I did add a star and scalloped circle cut out to the tops of each respective cookie before baking, to get the exaggerated forms that cookies sometimes just need. (;