I love Pinterest, I pin lots of projects and even make some. BUT it’s very misleading. That whole perfect pinterest thing is a bit much, even for a devout maker like me. Most of my projects look decent, but that is often after many tries, 20 years of crafting experience, and photography skills. I have been hooked on watching the Sweet Ambs Cookie baker on Facebook, and her videos make cookie decorating look so calming. Just a little wiggle here, and a jiggle there and the cookie masterpiece is complete.
I tried to make spider web cookies for my youngest son’s Halloween party. The icing made a mad dash over the edge of the cookie, a day later the black icing is still wet on the first batch, and my kitchen was a complete and utter disaster. Some how I managed to get black icing on a chair, the floor, myself and the wall.
In the interest of my sanity I bought the icing pre-made, because mixing black icing is difficult, it always looks grey. Knowing this ahead of time I didn’t even bother trying. The consistency of the store-bought icing was such that the black icing gushed out of the bottle and turned the first few cookies into the equivalent of a black Niagara Falls. Thus, the kitchen disaster. Thinking that the freezer would help (it didn’t and I even knew this at the time but seemed to forget) I put the first batch into the freezer which only made the black bleed into the white. This is another way to get grey icing! Those few are still not dry, and not particularly appetizing.
One thing that I have learned in the quest for pinterest perfection is that it’s probably not going to work exactly as pictured the first time (or maybe ever). So, I made many dozen cookies, but not as many as the recipe called for because as life would have it (or my lack of planning) I didn’t have enough sugar for the SUGAR cookie recipe. By the third dozen, I mastered the technique to my level of satisfaction (and that of my discerning preschool audience). The kids don’t care what they look like and I often wonder why I put myself through the hassle. I should just give them a bag of sugar and a spoon.
If you are looking for an easier treat for Halloween because you want to make something but don’t think that a bag of sugar and a spoon qualifies as DIY try these.
Making A Life 