Awareness Ribbon Cookies

The past several years, Memorial Day weekend has been a big event for my family. We have always been involved in the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk, and about four years ago, my mom started organizing a walk in my hometown. It has turned out to be a big, very successful event. This year we are adding another event to our busy weekend...a 5k! The 5k is going to benefit The Sweet Melissa Fund, which is the awesome organization that paid for my brother's living expenses while he had his lung transplant last June. For the 5k, I was asked to make cookies to for the runners (me included...excited to run, but not excited about the 1/2 mile mountain that is in the course!) so I decided to make sugar cookie cutouts of the awareness ribbon and decorate them green, which is the color for organ donation. The cookies will be bagged and bowed along with a giant oatmeal raisin cookie. I am so anxious to be spending an amazing weekend surrounded by family and friends, raising money for two great causes!!

Spritz!

I love these cookies. Plain and simple. Piped spritz are so beautiful, in my opinion. Dainty and light, so pretty. I've tried many spritz recipes, but think I hit gold with this one.

Butter Spritz Cookies (Adapted from The International Cookie Cookbook by Nancy Baggett)

8 oz butter, softened
2/3 c. confectioners sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour

Beat butter until very light, add sugar and egg yolk. Continue beating until very light and fluffy (DO NOT underbeat!!! It will make dough stiff and impossible to pipe!) Add vanilla, and then flour.

Pipe dough using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (or whatever you would like, really!)

Using baking sheets with parchment paper, bake in a 350 degree oven until cookies are slightly browned at the edges. When cooled, decorate or fill as desired.

I filled some cookies with orange marmalade before baking, sprinkled some with colored sugar, dipped some in milk chocolate, filled some with chocolate-peanut butter, and filled the rest with blackberry jam. Yummm!

Rose Cupcakes!

I had to post these cupcakes....I've made these many, many times and every time I love them even more. This time was for Cammy's spring festival at preschool...I also made them a few days later for Em to take to her Girl Scout leader for Leader Appreciation Week. I have to say I feel like a pretty cool mom for being able to make things like this for my girls!