I was honored to have my snowflake cookie cutter set featured on Utah’s KSL TV television program Studio 5. The snowflake set was shown in Alisa Bangerter segment, Alisa’s Top Ten: Decorations and Tools for Holiday Cookies. Check out some of Alisa’s other articles, recipes and ideas. They are very interesting and look so yummy! Click on the picture below to watch the video.
My daughter, Sydney, decided on a Movie theme birthday party this year. She wanted cupcakes, and I needed some inspiration! I did a search for movie theme cupcakes on google and saw some adorable cupcakes made with marshmallows to look like popcorn. The popcorn was then sprayed with yellow edible food color spray. I decided to coordinate these with some soda cupcakes. The soda lid is fondant. The soda straw is a mini pretzel stick wrapped with fruit leather. I created the cupcake wraps with Photoshop. They were super easy cupcakes to create!
This week we’ve been busy working on Country Kitchen’s annual open house. I am teaching a brief cookie decorating demo where I’ll be dressing gingerbread boys and girls with chocolate, decorating cut-outs with chocolate and transfer sheets, and decorating cookies with fondant. Below are some cookies decorated with fondant.
Country Kitchen SweetArt was started 45 years ago by my Grandma and Grandpa, Mildred and Wilbur Brand. My parents took over ownership in 1986. Both my mom and dad (Vi and Ed Whittington) are retired, though they both can be found here doing projects every so often. In fact, my mom just finished her Cooked Sugar Art book this summer! I feel so thankful to have been “born-into” such an awesome business. We are celebrating the week of October 19-23 with various events, special pricing and doorprizes. We are also having a local Celebrity Challenge Thursday evening with participants: Mayor Tom Henry, FW Derby Girls, Melissa Montana (CEO of Star 88.3) and Cathy Brand-Beere (Owner of DeBrand Chocolates).
My mom, niece Kayla and I decorated a five tier cake for the week long event. We had so much fun creating an assortment of the treats that surround the cake. Everything on the cake is edible. My mom made the awesome little cake stands from Isomalt. We used an assortment of media to create the treats including fondant, royal icing, gelatin, and more.
The August/September 09′ issue of American Cake Decorating magazine featured Christine Schnee’s beautiful floral cake on the cover. Christine used my Flower Fun mat with a very cool, unique fondant technique. She created cane flowers (like the clay beads) and had amazing results!
Christine is known for innovative tools and techniques, such as the Cake Wheel and an instructional DVD using chocolate transfer sheets on fondant. Visit Christine’s site.
Also featured in the Aug/Sept issue were two of my cookie cutter texture sets with the most fabulous gown cookies I think I’ve seen! April Farnum created Elizabethan Fashion Gown cookies in deep, jewel tones using several techniques and textures, including the swirl mat from the wedding cookie cutter set and the flower mat from the heart cookie cutter set.
Photo by Nathan Hoskins
A friend of mine had a surprise 40th for her husband and I volunteered to make the cake. I’m working on a book on hand-molding, so this cake happened to fit in perfectly with this project. The luau themed cake had a 14″ bottom tier with waves at the bottom accented with scuba gear, signs, surfboards and a crab. The top of the cake featured a tiki hut made from Wilton’s 3-D cupcake pan and hand molded characters and details.
Country Kitchen’s Spring Open House is this Friday, April 17. I am giving four demonstrations on cookie bouquets. The demos include buttercream iced cookies, chocolate iced cookies and fondant covered cookies. The fondant cookie bouquets will be wedding and baby shower themed bouquets. I will be demonstrating my new mini cookie cutter texture sets. Below are samples of the cookie bouquets I am showing in one of the demonstrations.
Baby Cookie Bouquet with Mini Baby Cookies
Mini Brown and Pink Wedding Cookie Bouquet
Mini Wedding Cookie Bouquets
I’ve launched my new website, www.autumncarpenter.com. It is a start and I hope (with much of my wonderful husband’s help), that we will have ideas, recipes and instructional videos up and running by July.
My mom and I have developed several products throughout the last few years. We have been promoting these products with the brand name Country Kitchen. We have changed product branding to now be Autumn Carpenter Designs. Country Kitchen’s retail price will be the same as the suggested retail on www.AutumnCarpenter.com. Retail shops who carry Autumn Carpenter Designs will have the option of being listed under “Where to Buy”. Currently, several of our products still have the Country Kitchen site promoted on the packaging or the product. We hope to have all products with new tooling and packaging with the new brand by July 2009.
I typically teach two cookie decorating classes a year at Country Kitchen. This spring, I am teaching again. Here is the description: Using fun and simple techniques, create spectacular looking and delicious tasting cookies. You’ll learn how to decorate cookies with run sugar, candy coating, chocolate transfer sheets and more. Take home a half dozen decorated cookies plus a mini cookie bouquet. Class includes supplies used in class and Autumn’s book, “Cookie Decorating”. Find out more information at www.shopcountrykitchen.com
Spring Cookie Bouquet
Teaching my students how to make truffles is so much fun. Most are surprised at how easy it is to create truffles in a variety of techniques including molding and dipping. In this hands-on class the students make several different truffles including: raspberry, caramel, mocha, deluxe nut and many more flavored truffles. The students divide the truffles made in class, and everyone takes home a heart-shaped box filled with truffles. It is probably the messiest class for students as well as the dishwasher, but the students are thrilled with the generous box of delectable truffles to share with their loved ones!
