Baking Bonanza #1: A Bridal Shower

I think today was the first time I asked God to protect strawberries, and hallelujah, it was also the last time. My story: I was invited to a bridal shower this weekend and I promised the bride I would bake her anything she wanted. She said, "Surprise me!" Since she has been an important part of my life, I tried my hardest to make her happy. My only problem was transporting her baked goods, which was probably the most torturous 30 minute drive of my life.

I started my adventure early on Friday night, attempting to make my own bride-groom cookie cutters.

I first made my template.

Then, for sturdiness, I cut up an aluminum pan.

After a few hours of bending and shaping, I had one bride and half a groom.
I really didn't like the bride cutter, so I ended up cutting out each individual dress.

What about the groom cookies? you ask. I didn't have enough dough, so I made mini hearts instead. Lacking a mini-heart cookie cutter, I again resorted to cutting out each individual shape.

But I had a hard time getting the edges smooth, so I made a cookie cutter. The shape was simpler so the cutter-making process was easier.

Here are all the cookies, cut and baked.

In the morning, I prepared my royal icing with different consistencies for outlining and flooding.

Then I proceeded to decorate. Honestly, though, my piping skills need more work.

But I somehow saved the cookie :-)

Not this one though. It made me sad.

The completed monogram cookies.

For these hearts, I outlined only.
Outlined bride cookies.

Bride cookies after flooding.

Completed cookie.

Then my little brother discovered my pastry bags and drew a chair. Can you find it?

So while the icing dried, I proceeded to decorate red velvet and strawberry filled cupcakes that I prepared earlier in the day. (You can click on the link to see another adventure I had with these.)

The cupcakes.

And the cupcake toppers.
Yes, these were the strawberries that I prayed for.

And here are the completed baked goods for the party.
The cookies were easy to transport, but the cupcakes made me anxious. The strawberries wanted to slide off the cupcakes, and one actually succeeded! It ruined the icing swirl and convinced me that if those strawberries had hands, they would have thrown them up in my face and yelled "Rollercoaster!" as I hit all the speed bumps. Torture, I tell you. Pure torture. From now on, cupcakes and strawberries travel separately.

So other than that nerve wracking drive, I had a lot of fun on this adventure. Everyone enjoyed the cookies and cupcakes, and the bride was delighted. Mission accomplished :-)