Tidbits

New York State of Mind Cookies

Posted by Anne Yorks on Sunday, August 19, 2012

I love to 'cookie' cities. Yes, cookie is a verb in my vocabulary. It means to turn something or someone into a cookie. So far, I have cookied Paris, San Francisco, and London, and now I have officially cookied New York Cty. What a total blast!

This New York City project was done in collaboration with Copper Gifts (www.coppergifts.com). They make gorgeous, heirloom-quality, copper cookie cutters. They provided the cookie cutters for this project, but they did not direct me what to write about them. These are my own words and opinions. I have been a customer for several years. I really love the designs of their cutters. They are a perfect size for a favor and they are well thought-out shapes, too. My first copper cutter was a gift from my mom - a cake and present. I use them ALL the time. They never bend or rust and I know one day my girls will be using them too. They are amazing. So that's my spiel on copper cookie cutters. They can't be beat! 

Are you ready for New York City??

Every cookie in this New York City collection is made by using a Copper Gifts cookie cutter! AND, I have several 'deleted scene' cookies at the bottom of this post. I had several ideas of how to make the same cutter and so I baked extras and make two designs of most of the shapes. You cannot even believe how I felt when that big box of cutters arrived. I'm not joking, it was like Christmas morning!

I took my time working on cookie design ideas. I got out my favorite colored pencils, the ones with erasers, and my prized sketch book. I warmed up a cup of coffee. Added a splash of that amazing coffee creamer...you know the kind from Cold Stone Creamery? And got right to work planning out my ideas.

I knew I wanted my predominant colors to be black, red and white. But, I definitely wanted splashes of bright bold colors, too. Then there were also a few shades of gray in the mix. 


Here is a close up the Big Apple cookie. This cutter is just the right shape to make a plump, juicy apple and I love it! I think I might also have to use this apple for some tasty back to school treats!

i liked that small skyline cookie too. That was an afterthought since I had baked a few extia cookies...that came from just using up the dough. I'm glad I did it, because it was a nice touch to the entire set. 


Pops of color came from the round Subway letters. I rode the subway once with a friend. She told me stop smiling or else I was going to get mugged. Can't take us country girls anywhere! 


I love this marquee cutter! I made a set of Hollywood cookies several months ago and could not find a marquee cutter anywhere. I ended up cutting each cookie by hand. That is my least favorite thing to do. So, I'm super psyched to have this cutter to make New York City cookies AND Hollywood cookies!

I have a great idea for future marquee cookies...hoping to make a set of my favorite Broadway shows: Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Cats, Grease, Annie, Tommy, Phantom, Cabaret, and the newest addition to the list - Once! They were all fantastic!!


I did several street signs...a Wall Street cookie, a Fifth Avenue cookie, and a One Way cookie. They were fun and easy. The little rectangle cutter used to make these will come in very handy in the future.


Designing the Taxi Car Cookie was a blast. I used several different clipart images for inspiration. I love that this taxi car is bubbly. The cookie cutter is perfect for a taxi car...or the little taxi sign at the top could be trimmed and it could be used to make some love bugs...VW Beetle cookies. Wouldn't that be fun? I can see a whole set in every color of the rainbow! Before kids, I drove a Beetle! Gotta love a car that comes with a built-in flower vase! 


The buildings proved to be my biggest challenges. And as a result I procrastinated and waited until every other cookie was done before I tackled them. You'll see below in the 'deleted scenes' that I did an extra design of the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. I made the top of the Empire State Building red, white, and blue because that is how it was lite the last time I visited NYC (over Memorial Day weekend).

Do you recognize that tall, skinny, futuristic-looking building? That's One World Trade Center, or the Freedom Tower...the new building that was erected in place of the Twin Towers. It's quite a beautiful monument and I hope to see it in person some day soon.

And now for some of the 'deleted scene' cookies...


I did both the front and rear of the taxi car. Looks like this photo was taken in England because the cars are driving on the opposite sides of the street!!


When selecting the cookies for the main group photo above, Topher originally wanted to include the yellow/red marque cookie. But I liked the black and white better. I thought it went with the font better.


The Statue of Liberty cookies were fun to make too. I liked the two-tone cookie on the left, and Topher preferred the one on the right. The cookie on the left was certainly more time-consuming to make, but they were both done freehand. Since it's just a representation of the statue, I did not think it needed to be exact. 


I didn't count how many photos of Chrysler Building I looked at, but it was a lot. What an awesome design for a building and a cookie!


The Empire State Building on the right (in brown) was the design I was originally hoping to use in the group shot. I actually like this design better because it has a more literal interpretation of the building's elevation. But the colors of the red, white and blue Empire State went better with the group...so that made the cut. But, I really liked both designs!


Are you now in a New York state of mind and want to make some Big Apple cookies? Head over to www.coppergifts.com to check out these amazing cookie cutters and so many more. You will be amazed at what they have to offer!!

Thanks for reading and have a sweet weekend!

Anne