Cookies & Cocktails Are Back!

It's that time of year again! Cookies & Cocktails parties are back!

Anyone can host a party- I will come to you! I am planning possible parties in Indianapolis, Michiana, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, and anywhere in between!

I will supply the cookies and all of the decorating supplies. All that the host has to provide is beverages. If they prefer, the parties could even be BYOB.

For $25.00, each guest will be able to decorate two dozen themed sugar cookies. They will also have the opportunity to decorate additional cookies for $10.00 a dozen.

Please contact me with any questions or comments!

Cookies For the Veronica Mars Movie

I am so excited for this movie to come out! I didn't watch the show when it was originally on TV, but I discovered it on Neltflix and binge watched it over a few weeks. I have re-watched it several times, and am currently half way through again in order to prep for the movie.

I had to make some cookies to commemorate the movie release! 

Veronica Mars Logo Decorated Sugar Cookie

Veronica Mars Theme Song Decorated Sugar Cookie

Veronica Mars "Team" T-shirt Decorated Sugar Cookies

Veronica Mars Team Logan Decorated Sugar Cookies

Veronica Mars Decorated Sugar Cookies

Veronica Mars Decorated Sugar Cookies

Camera Decorated Sugar Cookies

Veronica Mars Decorated Sugar Cookies

Veronica Mars Decorated Sugar Cookies

Veronica Mars Decorated Sugar Cookies

Order yours today!

Team Cookies

Want to support your team?

Order team cookies today!

Personalized cookies start at

$11 a dozen plus shipping.*

*I ship via the Post Office. Shipping fees depend on the size of the order, but typically fall between $13.00 and  $18.00.

Super Bowl Cookies

I wasn't sure who to root for during the Super Bowl this year. Indy is still the city that Peyton built, but I have to show support for a fellow alum. I decided to split the difference and cheer for them both!

 

"Cookies & Cocktails" and "Milk & Cookie" Parties!

Each year around this time, I have people ask me to teach them how I decorate my sugar cookies. Finally, it occurred to me that those lessons would make a great party!

Anyone can host the party- I will come to you! I am planning possible parties in Indianapolis, Michiana, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, and anywhere in between!

There isn't really a minimum or maximum number of attendees, and I will supply the cookies and all of the decorating supplies. All that the host has to provide is beverages. If they prefer, the parties could even be BYOB.

For $25.00, each guest will be able to decorate two dozen Fall or Christmas themed sugar cookies. They will also have the opportunity to decorate additional cookies for $10.00 a dozen.

I have flyers for each of the parties, as well as samples of the invitations that can be sent to the guests.

Flyer for the Cookies and Cocktails Party

Flyer for the Milk and Cookies Party

Sample Invitation

Sample Invitation

These are some examples of the cookies that guests could learn how to decorate.
 


Please contact me with any questions or comments!

We Now Accept Credit Cards!

For a small fee, we can now swipe credit cards in person or take payment over the phone. Just another way to more easily enjoy treats from The Pie Hole!

A Wedding Sampler

A young woman that works with my aunt is getting married this summer. She is thinking of having cookies at the wedding, and ordered some "tasting" cookies from me. She said that they could be any design, but I couldn't resist playing around with some wedding designs. The heart brides and grooms are a new design for me, and I really like how they turned out. I think that the little pocket square is my favorite!

Relay for Life

A high school friend of my brother's had seen my ovarian cancer awareness ribbons on Facebook, and he liked them enough to order some for his sister, who is currently battling breast cancer. Her team used them as a fundraiser for Relay for Life.

The sister has an amazing personal motto that I just had to commemorate on a cookie!

I wanted to match the font as close as possible, so I used my new toy- a Kopykake projector. This allowed me to easily get the correct sizing and spacing, as well as a guide for the writing. I am definitely looking forward to using the projector much more in the future.

Baby Shower For Jessica

Tim's cousin is expecting a baby girl this summer. For her baby shower, she wanted elephant cookies with hearts for ears and raspberry cupcakes.

For the cupcakes, I didn't want to go too overboard with the raspberry. I started with a vanilla cake base. I wanted to do something different for the filling, so I adapted my go-to lemon curd recipe and made raspberry curd. They are topped with raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream.

To tie together the cookies and cupcakes, I made royal icing hearts for the cupcakes that match the hears ears on the cookies. 

Are You a Fan of Delicious Flavor?

A hockey teammate of Tim’s asked if I had ever made pineapple pie. I had never even heard of such a thing, which is amazing since we are such huge pineapple fans! I immediately tracked down a recipe and made one that night. It was awesome. The pineapple becomes sweet and caramelized, but not cloyingly sweet. It would be perfect for a summer barbecue.

Pineapple Pie

Pie Crust:

2 ½ C. All-Purpose Flour

2 Tbsp. Sugar

½ tsp. Salt

1 C. Cold, Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces

6 Tbsp. Very Cold Water

Pineapple Filling:

1 – 20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple with juice (or 20 oz. fresh, roughly pureed)

½ C. White Granulated Sugar

3 Tbsp. Corn Starch

Pinch of salt

Milk

Sugar

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix briefly to blend.  Add in the butter pieces and mix on medium-low speed to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand and the largest butter pieces are not much bigger than peas.  Mix in the cold water on low speed just until the dough comes together. Shape the dough into two balls, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.   

While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Add the crushed pineapple. Place over medium heat. Bring mixture to a slow boil and cook, stirring often, until mixture has thickened and is no longer cloudy, but clear (about 3 to 5 minutes). Once thickened, remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 375F. When the dough has chilled, remove one disk from the fridge and on a floured surface, quickly roll it out into a circle, 12 inches in diameter. Fit dough into a 9 inch pie plate and let edges hang over. Pour filling into pie shell.

Remove second dough disk from fridge and on a floured surface, roll it out into a circle, about 10 inches in diameter. Place over the filling as desired (I did a lattice). Trim off extra and crimp edges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Place in preheated oven and bake for 40 – 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Filling slightly adapted from Fork vs. Spoon

April (Snow) Showers Bring May Flowers

My aunt KK requested some "May Flowers" cookies to take to work for her birthday. With all of the weird weather this year, I was more than happy to see some flowers! I went to Pinterest and found some really cute designs that I could build off of. I ended up with six different designs.

Inspired by Sweet Sugarbelle, I got very creative with my cookie cutters to get the shapes that I wanted. The bouquet was made using a diamond ring cutter. A wedding cake cutter made the potted assortment. The potted daisy was made on a snowman.

Ovar'coming Together Bingo Benefit

 Like so many other people, my life has been affected by cancer. So, when a friend asked me if I would like to donate to an event that benefits ovarian cancer awareness, I happily agreed. I suggested sugar cookies decorated like the awareness ribbon. The committee loved the idea, and wanted one for every place setting!

 I chose three different designs: detail in sanding sugar, Sugarbelle's 20-second icing method to add some depth, and a piped detail.

I need to find a better home for my ice cream maker- it's taking up valuable cookie space!

My bar is not large enough for 400 cookies!

My wonderful sister-in-law helped me to package all of the cookies, and only one broke!

We are ND

"The Shirt" was released today. In anticipation of another great season, I'm sharing the National Championship cookies that I made a few months ago...

 

Ivy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

We made these cookies in my Intro to Baking class, and they quickly became my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. The bread flour gives them nice height and a wonderful texture.

I was asked to make cookie favors for my brother’s wedding. They originally wanted white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but the inflated price of macadamia nuts made this choice infeasible. I tried several different nut combinations, and we chose pistachios. They were a big hit at the reception!

Ivy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

6 ¼ C. (30 oz) Bread Flour

2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 ¼  tsp. Salt

2 ¼ C. (20 oz) Butter, Soft

2 C. (15 oz) Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed

2 ¾ C. (13 ¼  oz) Sugar

2 ¼  tsp. Vanilla

5 (8 ¼  oz) Eggs

5 C. (27 ½ oz) White Chocolate Chips*

2 ½ C. (10 oz) Pistachios, Chopped*

 Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-15 minutes. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

*Any chocolate or nut can be used. Have fun with new combinations!

Chicken Parmesan

This is a go-to dinner for us. It is very easy and comes together rather quickly.

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken:

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 ½ C. Italian Bread Crumbs

¼ C. Grated Parmesan

1 Tbsp. Oregano

1 Tbsp. Basil

1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 C. Flour

2 Eggs

Marinara:

2 (15 oz) Cans Hunts Tomato Sauce

1 tsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

¼ C. Grated Parmesan

Finishing:

1 ½ C. Shredded Mozzarella

1 lb. Pasta

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet (or the bottom of a heavy saucepan), until they are about 1/2-inch thick.

Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan, oregano, basil, and garlic powder in a third bowl.

Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs.


Heat olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. When the oil is hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.

Meanwhile, combine the marinara ingredients.

Fill the bottom of a baking dish with one half of the tomato sauce. Place the cutlets on top of the sauce. Ladle the remaining tomato sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F for 15 seconds.

Serve over pasta.

Cinnamon Rolls

I generally detest cinnamon, with only one exception – cinnamon rolls. I think that it may have something to do with the copious amounts of icing that typically drowns out most of the cinnamon taste.

When I saw this recipe, the maple icing intrigued me, and was a big factor in why I chose to make it with my standard cinnamon rolls. If you wanted to stick with the more traditional vanilla icing, simply omit the coffee and replace the maple flavoring with vanilla extract.

This makes a lot of cinnamon rolls, so unless you are going to a large event or plan on giving them away, you may want to halve (or even quarter) the recipe. A full recipe results in forty rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

4 C. (32 oz) Cold Water

2 ½ Tbsp. (1.65 oz) Instant Yeast

22 ¾ C. (5 lbs) Bread Flour

6 ¼ C. (20 oz) Cake Flour

1 C. (4 oz) Powdered Milk

5 ½ tsp. (1 oz) Salt

1 ¾ C. (12 oz) Sugar

2 C. (16 oz) Butter, Well Softened

10 Eggs

2 tsp. Cardamom

Filling:

2 C. Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Maple Frosting:

2 lb. Powdered Sugar

2 tsp. Maple Flavoring

½ C. Milk

¼ C. Melted Butter

¼ C. Brewed Coffee

⅛ tsp. Salt

Mix the dough ingredients together on low speed for approximately 6 minutes until a smooth dough is formed. Allow the dough to rise for 1 ½ hours, covered in a lightly oiled bowl.

When the dough has risen, punch it down. Cut the dough in half, and set one half aside. Roll the dough out into a 24x32 rectangle, or smaller if needed.

Brush the surface with melted butter. Sprinkle half of the filling mixture evenly on top of the dough. Roll-up tightly to form a 32" long jelly roll.

Crimp the edges when finished rolling. Cut into 1 1/2" pieces. Repeat this procedure with the remaining dough.

For individual rolls: Grease a high-sided baking pan. Place the cut rolls 2" apart on to the greased pan. Making sure each roll is evenly spaced. Press down on each roll to slightly flatten. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

For pan rolls: Grease several high-sided cake pans. Place the cut rolls evenly spaced, but not touching, into the greased pans. Press down on each roll to slightly flatten. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

Bake at 350F degrees for 25 minutes, until golden brown.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.



Source: Icing adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (Ree Drummond)