I thought you might find it fun to see how one of my painted cookies comes to life.  I made these particular cookies for a  Share Our Strength fundraiser to be held in (you gussed it)  ”Sweet Home  Chicago!”

As with almost all of my painted cookies, they start with a completely dry, white royal icing “canvas”.

Here’s where he starts to come to life.

They’re a little out of order, but you’ll get the idea.

He looks a little naked right now, don’t you think?  Funny what a difference eyebrows can make!

Ta Da!  The completed cookie!  The Chicago Blackhawks: “One Goal!”   You might find it funny to know that this cookie looks very much like my husband (minus the war paint and head dress, of course).

I’d love to answer any questions you may have regarding my work and my cookies.  Feel free to ask away and I’ll get back to you with an answer.

Thanks for stopping by!

Believe it or not, as a very tiny independent cookie company, as much as I wanted to acquire a large and prestigious cookie order, the thought of  it actually happening had me crazy scared and mildly hoping that I’d never have to be too concerned, because it will never happen, right?  Wrong!   450 cookies later, Kudos Kookies goes on to prove we’ve got what it takes to complete and compete with the big dogs, one cookie at a time! 

This particular cookie was designed for a contracting company in Chicago for an employee appreciation day.  They found Kudos Kookies doing an internet search for custom cookies in the Chicago area.  After a few phone calls, sample cookie pictures sent via email and cookie tasting samples mailed to the company for their tasting consideration, the order was placed.  After a short bit of celebrating, a long bit of serious amazement at  how I’d get this all done in the 2 weeks allotted, I got right down to the business of baking, icing and painting cookies.  Baking, icing and painting cookies. And if I forgot to mention, baking, icing and painting cookies

Right here is where I had planned on putting a really cool video of me showing the process of hand painting this particular logo on a cookie.  Take my word for it, it was awesome.  The only problem is, the file was too big (over 3 minutes) from start to finish to paint  this particular logo, on this particular cookie. 450 times worth of this particular logo on this particular cookie.  If by chance you’re interested in viewing this awesome video, you can do so by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLNa0pnxqJY    Trust me, it is must see TV   Well, on to more pictures then…

 Okay, okay already.  What’s the big deal you ask?  Why such hoopla over one very large cookie order?  Well, to me it’s proof positive that they can be done (with additional orders being filled during the process) and done extremely well.  Now I know I don’t need to fear anymore or question our ability to fill very large orders.  I know our small Kudos Kookies is a quality cookie company that goes above and beyond to make our customers happy.  I couldn’t be more proud and excited for the future.   Bring it!!!

Yep, it’s that time again (and I may be jumping the gun just a little bit here) for me to start thinking about fall! Fall is by far my favorite time of year! I love everything about it. The colors, the temperatures, the nesting feeling that comes with the cooler weather and especially the pumpkins!! Pumpkins make me smile.

To me Fall also is the time I truly look forward to doing more cooking and baking (and by baking, I don’t just mean cookies!). The smells and aromas inside the house gives me that warm fuzzy feeling all over. Did I mention how much I love the fall?

To my husband, Fall is all about Da’Bears! Like so many others, he is a die hard Bears fan and always has been. Lucky for him, his dad has been a season ticket holder from the very beginning when the Bears played at Rrigley Field. Because of this, he is able to go to many games during the season. No matter what the weather, he won’t pass up the opportunity to go to a game. I find this fact fascinating. I enjoy watching the Bear’s too, but I’d much rather do it from the comfort and warmth of my sofa at home, with the smells of dinner wafting in the air. Call me crazy!

When you’re a fan, you’re a fan! Mike and Jen are getting married in early November and have asked me to design cookies for their momentous event with the theme being the Chicago Bears. I am thrilled to oblige! Congratulations to Mike and Jen on their upcoming nuptials and… Go Bears!!

I feel as though I’m quite a lucky girl. Not all that many people can make money doing what they love. I am one of the fortunate ones. Don’t misunderstand, I don’t make huge amounts of money or ever expect to) but I do okay and I am happy.

With all that being said, my favorite part of being a cookie artisan is when all the decorating is done. I love seeing all my cookies neatly tucked away into their little bags with their ribbons tied waiting to go to their events or parties.

This particular order is for 50 cookies being taken to the Chicago Air and Water Show this coming Sunday. The party is being held at the McGrath’s penthouse in the Palmolive building downtown. The customer is the same woman who placed my very first order a few years back. Needless to say, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to design these cookies for such a prestigious group. Who knows, maybe additional orders may come from this. Time will tell. What I do know for sure is that they will be happy with these! Me too!

Fondly yours,
Renee of Kudos Kookies

Ok, here goes nothing (and I mean that most literally). I am starting this blog at the encouragement of some of my twitter friends. Apparently they think I have something more to say than my 140 characters on twitter allows. This remains to be seen.

I am however excited at the prospect of joining the TWD cooking group because of my newly acquired blog. But, I must wonder where in the world I will find the time to bake something other than cookies. I must admit, I do indeed love to bake and maybe this will force me to make the time to follow that passion in a capacity other than work.

Thank you twitter friends for making me, once again, step out of my comfort zone and try something completely different. I tend to be the ultimate creature of habit so the friendly shove was much appreciated.

Be patient with me though. I am a slow learner and =’m sure I’ll have questions galore to pummel you all with. Just remember, you asked for it

Fondly yours,
Renee aka Kudos Kookies