Wall of Pictures

At the graduation party, decorate one wall with sentimental pictures of yours with friends, classmates, or professors. Get inspired by all memorable moments lived during your time at college. Guests will have a lot of fun discovering your greatest moments as a college student.

Sweeten you party with Cookies

Graduation Gift Baskets

To add a special touch to your celebration, a hand-decorated cookie bouquet is the best choice. Customize your cookie bouquet in your school colors, and personalize it by picking from the amazing graduation cookie baskets offered by Cookies by Design.

Bring the spring colors to the table

To decorate a colorful table, divide the table into two sections. First, cut some in-season fruits like strawberries, watermelons, or kiwis and place them onto a colorful tray. Then, cut some vegetables like celery, carrots and cherry tomatoes and put them on the other section of the table. The contrast between these two vibrant set of colors will catch the attention of your guests.

Create a refreshing drink station

Days are warming up, so a refreshing drink station at your party will be much appreciated. Get glass drink dispensers and fill them with lemonade, iced tea, or ice water to quench your guests’ thirst. To add a twist to the beverages, put some slices of lemon, strawberry, or orange into the drink dispensers.

Celebrate with a Piñata

Celebration is about enjoying with your guests. A piñata in the shape of a cap, a textbook, or a diploma is the perfect excuse to get your guests to participate in an unforgettable activity that everyone can enjoy. Fill it up with some of your favorite sweet treats and be ready to have a great time.

Graduation is one of the most meaningful events in life for the graduates, their whole families, and friends. Here at Cookies by Design we wish you a happy sweet graduation. Enjoy your special day!

Say I love you in style.  Say it with cookies!

Cookies by Design offers one of a kind cookie arrangements for Mother’s Day.  Express all your feelings. From “Queen of Hearts” to let her know that she is the queen of the castle, or “Mom Rocks BouTray” to say that she rocks! You can say in style; say it with cookies!

Make an exceptional cake in her honor.

What is the cake that makes your mom’s mouth water? Maybe it’s a chocolate-raspberry tart, a lemony angel food cake, or a coconut layer cake. Whatever you choose for dear old mom, make sure to decorate your fresh baked creation with a nice mother’s day message.

Heart shaped chocolate cookies

Melt your mom’s heart with some other hearts – make some heart-shaped chocolate cookies to celebrate this Sunday! Chocolate cookies are irresistible and even more if they are heart shaped. You can make and decorate them yourself or buy them yourself. If your mom doesn’t like chocolate, Cookies by Design also has cookie decorating kits which include our scrumptious cinnamon brown sugar cookies for you to decorate and enjoy – you and your mom will have so much fun decorating them together!

Chocolates

 We know very few mothers who can resist some good chocolate. Tell mom to forget her diet for the day and indulge in a box of chocolates from her favorite candy maker. As a bonus, she’ll probably share the box with you – it’s a win-win situation!

 Fruit Salad

 Okay, so maybe mom won’t ditch her diet or she just doesn’t like sweets too much. Why not surprise her with a fresh made fruit salad. Even if you don’t know how to cook, it’s super easy to make. Just grab some bananas and apples along with some seasonal fruits and dice them up together. It will taste delicious and your mom will really appreciate all of your hard work.

These are just a few ideas to sweeten Mother’s Day and tell her how much you love her! Cookies by Design also allows you to create your own custom cookie bouquet with any decorated or gourmet cookies you desire.

These ideas to surprise her may work differently for every mom, but at the end of the day, the goal is to make her feel loved. Here are the top 5 ideas to surprise the mom in your life that will make her smile!

Give her an occasion to dress up

There are lots of activities that the mom of your life may love to do. Take her to a theater to a delightful comedy or musical to enjoy a good laugh! Or if she prefers, take her to a nice, fancy restaurant. Remember, the goal is to give her a special reason to feel elegant and glamorous. Women like to feel gorgeous and cared for!

Prepare a special bath for her

Show your creativity and imagination by making a relaxing bath for your mom! To create a cozy bath, use elements that you may have already at home. You will need:  bubble bath soap, bath oil, bath pillow, a warm robe and slippers (you can put them in the drier to keep them warm),  nature sounds, candles, aromatherapy infusers, flower petals and last but not least, a glass of her favorite wine!

Dance with her!

This tip is for her spouse. What was that meaningful song that you two fell in love to?  At the end of the day with the light dimmed and with the right atmosphere, you can ask her to dance with you. This will be your special way to say “I love you” to the mother of your kids!

Take her on a bike ride

Spring weather is beautiful. Make this outdoor activity special by enjoying with the whole family. If mom likes the colorful spring flowers, riding a bike will allow her to take a closer look at the beautiful flowers blooming!

Surprise her with a floral cookie gift

This is a blooming unique way to express your personal sentiments for Mother’s Day. Cookies by Design offers a variety of fresh floral cookie gifts that can be customized with your special message. Brighten her day with a beautiful cookie bouquet!

You know the mom of your life better than anyone else and you will find a way to make her feel special on Mother’s Day. These are just a few surprise ideas to let her know how special and important she is. Make her day unforgettable!

Present cookies in a Jar

This is one of the easiest ways to add a twist on cookie presentation.

Fill a jar with colorful spring cookies. Make sure that the jar is big enough to fit about 15 or 20 cookies. Once the jar is filled, you can decorate a spring-themed covering for the lid of the jar. To do the covering, make a circle on a paper using a round plate. Then, glue the circle onto a piece of colorful fabric. Green, yellow and red are great colors for spring. Cut out the circle with sewing scissors. Lastly, wrap the piece of fabric on the jar rim with
twine.

Use a Glass Vase to Display Cookies

Glass vases can be used to graciously decorate a tray of cookies.

For the vase filling, cut three lemons into small and thick slices. Set whole lemons in the glass vase. Now, assemble lemon slices between the glass vase and the whole lemons. Repeat this step until the glass vase is completed. Fill the glass vase with water. Now, lay a plate on the top of the glass with waxed paper and fill with eye-catching spring cookies.

Set-up a Spring Table

The months of April and May are perfect for bright colors to display the beauty of spring to an ordinary table.

Start by placing a flowered table cloth or colorful place-mats on the table.  Place a plate on each place-mat  Put together spirited napkin rings by adding flowers to them.  To make flower napkin rings, pick real flowers (silk flowers work great too) and glue them to bracelets. Set up a spring cookie bouquet in the middle of the table as a unique touch.

These are just a few ideas to get stunning results and reactions when presenting cookies at a special garden party. Cookies by Design offers an assortment of flower-shaped cookies that will fit any themed garden party!

Image: www.browneyedbaker.com

Did you know that in just 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, there are 8 grams of protein? But, as we know, it is hard to just eat 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Peanut Butter cookies are perfect for settling a sweet tooth craving, but they can get addicting. This list holds healthy ingredient substitutions so your craving doesn’t leave you feeling guilty:

Whole-Wheat Flour

By replacing just half of the flour in the recipe with whole-wheat flour, you can make your cookies much healthier. Whole-wheat flour has more fiber than all-purpose flour, keeping you fuller longer.

Egg Substitutes

Eggs are filled with fat and cholesterol, and egg substitutes have a little to no fat or cholesterol.  These substitutes generally offer the same taste and texture of real eggs.

Applesauce

Image: www.simplyrecipes.com

Applesauce is often used to replace oil in recipes, but it can also be used to replace butter.  Replace half the amount of butter in the recipe with applesauce, which greatly reduces the calories and fat in your cookies.  For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use ½ cup of butter and ½ cup of applesauce.

Soy Butter

For those who have peanut allergies, soy butter and sesame butter are a nutritious replacement for peanut butter.  Pecan butter can also be used as a substitution, even though it is not as strong as peanut butter but delicious in cookies. These substitutions allow for people with allergies to enjoy a peanut butter cookie.

Honey

Honey is a great substitute for sugar in baking.  Honey is sweeter than sugar, so you should use less honey in your recipe.  For 1 cup of sugar, use only ¾ cup of honey.  Since honey is a liquid, you need to decrease the amount of liquid in the recipe by ¼ cup when substituting with honey.

Stevia

Stevia is an herb that is much sweeter than white granulated sugar. 1 teaspoon of powdered or liquid stevia is equal to 1 cup of sugar. This measurement refers to the stevia herb, not stevia-based sweeteners (i.e. Truvia or PureVia).

Along with these substitutions, you can fortify your cookies with whole peanuts (except for those who have an allergy) or dark chocolate chips.  The simplicity of peanut butter cookies can be spiced up with any peanut or berry of your choice. Peanut Butter cookies are delicious, and substitutes allow people to enjoy them without worrying about their waistline.

Prepare Frosting Bags with Different Colors

Divide the frosting into as many bowls as you want unique colors. Add food coloring to each
of the bowls:  pink, white, yellow, green and purple are beautiful colors for this holiday. Make sure to stir well so until the frosting is the desired color.

Get a frosting bag for each color you have prepared. Pour the  frosting into the bags. Use different frosting tips on the bags for fun designs!

Get Creative

To decorate an Easter egg cookie, make a line with your favorite frosting color. Then, add a small amount of milk to the frosting color you chose to make it thinner, and mix well. With this thinner frosting, you can make an awesome background for your cookie. Start spreading the thinner frosting out toward the top of your cookie with a small spatula.

Repeat this technique with different colors making up to five colors per cookie. The fun is all yours!

Let the Kids Decorate

Let your kids decorate all kinds of cookie shapes and sizes. You can even make a cookie for every member of the family with their name on them. The kids will love getting creative with their cookies this Easter!

These are a few tips to get you started for cookie decorating this Easter.  Cookies by Design also has a decorating kit with the frosting bags and cookies ready to be decorated!

Problem: The cookie dough is too sticky.

Solution: Place your cookie dough into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit in the refrigerator for up to one hour.  Take out the dough and roll out on a floured surface.  Dust the rolling pin with flour if it’s still sticky.

Problem: The dough is too soft and keeps spreading.

Solution: Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it chill for up to one hour.  Remove the dough and add 1 tbsp of flour at a time, if the dough is still too soft to handle. Knead the flour into the dough until it’s the right consistency.

Problem: The dough is too dry and crumbly.

Image: www.bettycrocker.com

Solution: Place a dampened cloth (of lukewarm water) over the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes.  If the dough is still too dry, add 1 tbsp of milk.  Knead the added milk into the dough with your hands.  Add more milk, 1 tbsp at a time, if the dough is still at the wrong consistency and until it is no longer crumbly.

Problem: The cookie dough has too much sugar in it.

Solution: This depends on how much extra sugar you added.  If it was a small amount, if won’t matter as much as if you added 2 cups instead of 1 cup.  If you added much more than the amount the recipe called for, then add equal proportions of the other ingredients to the dough.  You may end up with more cookie dough, but you can always freeze the extra dough to pull out later on to make fresh cookies.

Problem: You don’t have baking soda to add to the cookie dough.

Solution: Baking soda makes the cookies rise, and they will come out flat if you bake them.  If you don’t have baking soda, use twice as much baking powder as the recipe calls for baking soda.  If it calls for 1 tsp of baking soda, use 2 tsp of baking powder.

These are just a few problems that can come with baking cookies.  As long as you follow the recipe and use the correct measurements, you will have tasty cookies.

Be a Softie

Softening butter in the microwave can be difficult. It’s either not soft enough, or it’s entirely melted. When you know you’re going to be baking cookies, set the butter out for an hour and let it warm up to room temperature. If you’re short on time, you can also grate refrigerated butter into a bowl, and it will soften in just a few minutes.

Take the Touch Test

When you’re shaping your cookies, you should feel the dough to make sure your flour content is correct. If it’s sticky and comes off on your hands, you don’t have enough flour. If you have to force the crumbly dough into a ball, there’s too much flour. The perfect dough should just barely stick to your hands, and form a smooth ball.

Measure Twice, Bake Once

Measuring your flour is important. Spoon your flour into a measuring cup and scrape the top off with a knife or spatula. Don’t use the measuring cup as a spoon or the flour will get packed too tightly, and you’ll end up with too much flour in your cookies.

Find Your Balance

Most cookie recipes call for a blend of white and brown sugars. If you want crunchy and crisp cookies, add more white sugar. For chewy cookies with a hint of butterscotch flavor, add more brown sugar. You may have to play with the ratios a bit with each subsequent batch in order to find the cookie you like best.

Take a Chill Pill

Once you’ve gotten all your ingredients mixed together, it’s time to pop those babies in the oven, right? Wrong. If you chill the dough for a little while before you bake it, your batter will have more body and your cookies will rise better. 20 minutes in the freezer is enough, or you can let the cookies chill out in the refrigerator overnight.

Finding the perfect cookie takes some trial and error, so experiment with different ingredients. Add more brown sugar, try a bit of almond extract, or switch out dark chocolate for white chocolate. The possibilities are endless, so try and find the cookie you think is perfect!

Spring training has long been a regular practice of baseball teams around the country. As early as 1870, teams were gearing up for a new season by adding in extra practice games. The first known spring training session was when the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings held baseball camps in New Orleans in 1870. This allowed the teams and coaches to decide which veterans were nonessential and which rookies were more valuable. By 1900, spring training was a well-established baseball tradition. Since then, the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues have formed in Arizona and Florida as spring training sites. Long known as the American pastime, baseball continues to bring family and friends together every spring.

So how do you get the baseball fans in your life together for the beginning of the season? With personalized baseball themed cookie baskets or bouquets! These bouquets feature yummy sugar cookies shaped and decorated like baseballs, mitts, and of course a personalized message for the baseball lover in your life. If you decide to have more than a few guests over after a game, send them home with some baseball cookie favors! These creative and delicious party favors are sure to be a homerun hit with everyone.

Baseball has a long history of bringing Americans together throughout the years, so take the opportunity to get your family and friends together to experience another season of America’s favorite pastime.

Cookies by Design offers many different ways to support your favorite teams this baseball season, including baseball themed baskets and bouquets, party favors even sheet cookies and cookie cakes with your favorite team’s name and logo! Contact us today for your perfect game day treats. Play ball!

Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day? There are many stories; since the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend says that Valentine defied Emperor Claudius II and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret, because they had been banned. Valentine greetings have been seen as far back as the Middle Ages, and the oldest known valentine was a poem written in 1514 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife. The poem is now in the British Library in London.

If you’re looking to carry on the tradition and impress your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day, why not say it with cookies? Get cozy together and decorate some cookies with our Valentine’s Day Decorating Kit. Or, appeal to a more sophisticated palette with a Lots of Love BouTray, featuring sweet heart shaped and hand-decorated cookies, as well as an assortment of gourmet cookies. You could show your love with the Love Bug Cookie Bouquet!

Can’t decide between flowers or cookies? Luckily, you don’t have to! Our Sweetheart Roses Bouquet features one dozen rose shaped cookies and one heart shaped cookie. There are many different options to choose from. If you’re not totally satisfied with your bouquet, you can also add a few little extras to your order, ranging from a mixed nut set or jelly beans to 2 dozen gourmet cookies. Valentine’s Day is one of the sweetest holidays, after all!

Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to show that special someone in your life how much you love and appreciate them. Do it in a unique (and tasty!) way this year with one of our many Valentine’s Day selections. Choose from a tray, BouTray, Bouquet, or basket to help satisfy your sweetheart’s sweet tooth! Show your love this holiday with a sweet treat from Cookies by Design.