A cookie bouquet is such a welcome surprise. Every day is the right day to send a cookie bouquet. Send one for a graduation, birthday, get well, congratulations, anniversary, housewarming, baby’s arrival, or just because.
The finest cookie bouquets look like real flowers. Only they are decorated cookies. Usually they are sugar cookies cut out in flower shapes and decorated with brightly colored icing so amazingly done that you would swear they are real flowers. You can choose from sunflowers, tulips, roses, or more. Most companies offer standard cookie bouquets that are personalized to the occasion. So it’s not hard to find one you like. You’ll just have a hard time narrowing down your choices since they’re all so pretty.
You can order from many companies online or you can make your own cookie bouquet. It’s really simple. All you need is a good sugar cookie recipe, frosting like royal icing that will harden and is still edible, and long lollipop sticks from the craft store. Consider placing your cookie bouquet in a pretty vase that is also part of the gift. You can choose a vase that is clear with pretty stones at the bottom or fill it with colored faux gemstones from the craft store in bright colors. The weight of the added embellishments will help keep the cookies from tipping over.
When buying a cookie basket online, consider the price. You’ll want to shop around as cookies can be really expensive when done up in this elegant fashion. Be sure you know what you are getting. You may see a lush bouquet of flower cookies in the picture and come to find out that it’s only a placeholder photo and that the bouquet you ordered is really half the size. It’s happened to everyone. So be sure to ask when ordering online.
Find out what the cookies are made from so you really can keep a smile on your recipient’s face. You don’t want to gift them with a food they are allergic to. Ask how often the cookies are baked. You don’t want to send over stale cookies. If they’re not baked daily, consider going someplace else. Is each cookie wrapped individually for freshness? They should be so they’ll last longer.
Find out about personalization. Can you write a special message on your cookie? Usually the center cookie in the bouquet is reserved for that purpose. Be sure you give the correct spelling of the person’s name and write what you want to say. Best not to let the cookie company decide for you or you may get something you didn’t expect. There’s usually a space at the checkout where you can write a message that the company will use as is.
Enjoy choosing your cookie basket, but don’t get soaked by shipping. Once you find the ideal basket, you may find that to get it there will be another $20 or more. Check before you start browsing so you’re not disappointed. And also check to see that they deliver in your area. Ask for the delivery time. Is it guaranteed overnight? Do you have to pay extra to get it there by a certain date?

Calling all cookie lovers! The cookie has earned its place in America’s heart. There are hundreds of versions of cookie boxes lining the shelves of supermarkets and under the glass freshly baked in bakeries. It’s no wonder that cookies would have worked their way to the minds of those who create national holidays. You may not get a day off from school or work for these cookie-related holidays, but they sure are fun.

National Cookie Month

Did you know that October is National Cookie Month? That’s just one more reason to celebrate the fall! No one’s really sure where the holiday originated, but it has been declared a National Holiday designed to share a love of cookies and baking. The idea is that all month long people will bake and treat others to cookies. This is a great time to get creative and break out the sprinkles and food coloring. Try a new recipe or two. Learn to make Springerle or Spritz cookies or a cookie from a country you’ve never been to. Use your imagination and you can help spread the word about National Cookie Month every October.

National Cookie Cutter Week

Bet you didn’t know that National Cookie Cutter Week falls in the first week of December every year. It was made a holiday back in the 1990's by a woman named Paula Mullins. This Kentucky cookie baker thought it would be fun if she and her fellow members of the Cookie Cutter Collector’s Club had their own special edition cookie cutter each year to use for the holiday every December. The idea behind the holiday? To get people to slow down and think about baking a new form for the holiday cookies. It’s a great time for grandmothers to sit down with grandchildren and moms who are too busy most of the time to take a breather and bake with the kids. It’s a sweet idea. Don’t forget to check out the National Cookie Cutter Collector Club's Museum in Joplin, Missouri.

National Cookie Day

It makes sense that National Cookie Cutter Week falls in line with National Cookie Day which is celebrated on December 4^th every year. The origins of this holiday may be a mystery, but it gives people a good excuse to bake up a batch of cookies for their friends. Why not be the office champion this year and show up on December 4^th with a few dozen of your best?

National Sugar Cookie Day

Why National Sugar Cookie Day is set in the heat of summer is anyone’s guess. But this tasty holiday falls on July 9^th each year. It is a lesser known National Holiday to be sure, but it is the only cookie to have its own special day. So why not celebrate it to the max? If you’d rather be out by the pool than inside baking when July rolls around, why not buy a few rolls of prepared sugar cookie dough at the supermarket? You can find it in the refrigerated section. Roll out the dough and cut with your favorite beach-shaped cookie cutters for a fun pool side snack. There are so many ways to enjoy the humble sugar cookie without ever turning on the oven. You can even buy pre-made sugar cookies from a bakery and decorate them yourself with sprinkles, candies, pretty frosting colors, coconut, chocolate chips and more. Why not have a National Sugar Cookie Day party? Invite the neighborhood kids over to decorate pre-made cookie party favors outside in the sunshine and have a ball. Plus, clean up’s a breeze.

You may not find any cards in the store celebrating any of these whimsical and fun national holidays that focus on cookies. But there’s fun to be had when you take everyone’s favorite dessert and turn it into a whole day of celebration. Treat friends and family to a surprise batch or plan to hold a fundraising bake sale for a good cause on one of these holidays.

Cookie arrangements are a lovely and delicious idea. What they consist of are cookie pops. They can be sugar or other types of cookies made by you. You simply insert a lollipop stick in each one before you bake it and then you’ll be able to set up a gorgeous arrangement. Cookie arrangements make great gifts for everyone on your list.

First, think about the types of containers you want to give your bouquets in. Coffee mugs or a vase stuffed with oasis floral foam work well. But anything that will support the cookies and allow them to stand up straight is fine, too. You can also arrange your cookies in a flat box like roses. They will make a stunning entrance.

You’ll start by baking your sugar cookies. These are the type of cookies that work best as you can decorate them most beautifully. They are by no means the only cookies you can use and you may even want to include various cookie recipes in your arrangement.

The key is to insert the lollipop stick before baking. Try to do it after the cookies are baked and you risk having a crumbling cookie on your hands. Get the large lolly sticks at your craft store or online. Then you can make a long stemmed bouquet. Or, if you’re planning on using your bouquets for table top favors or displays at a dinner or party, get the smaller sticks and do shorter arrangements.

The whole idea is to make the cookies delicious and lovely. So you’re going to need to think about how you’ll decorate. Buy colorful sanding sugars, icing and a cookie cutter or two that matches the occasion. For Valentine’s Day, you might make heart pops and for Easter you might make egg-shaped cookie pops. It can be reindeer for Christmas or even clovers for St. Patrick’s Day. Get creative, send your dentist cookies shaped like teeth. Now make a list of the colors and shapes you’ll need before setting out to the baking supply or craft store.

Use any recipe you like and then insert the sticks. Simply place a stick in the bottom of each cookie while it is lying flat on the cookie sheet. Don’t try to insert the stick and then move the cookie to the sheet. It will fall apart. Insert the stick part way. You won’t want to have any stick showing out of the top, so just about half way is good.

After the cookies are baked and cooled, decorate them. Then you can start arranging them. Decide if you’ll want to house each individual cookie in a cellophane bag with a ribbon, or just leave it as is as part of the bouquet. If you have to transport or store the cookies, definitely wrap them. But if they’re for an indoor party at your home, there’s no need to wrap them unless they’ll be standing for a few days.

Start arranging the cookies by sticking them into floral foam or Styrofoam placed in the bottom of the container. You can add more or less depending on how full you want your arrangement to be. Then you can decorate the jar or mug any way you like. Paint it or tie ribbon on it. It’s up to you. The more decorative, the better.

Give the bouquet right away before the cookies turn hard and inedible.

It’s labor intensive, but fun to make a cookie stencil. Think of the stencils you used as a kid or stencils you see in art stores. You can, in fact, use any stencil that you find. You just need a clean stencil and a clean X-Acto knife to cut the cookie out.

Start with a sugar cookie dough. It’s best not to use a dough that is store bought. Those doughs are designed for slice and bake recipes. They tend to flatten out and burn in the oven if you try to do anything else with them.

Make your cookie dough batter from your favorite recipe. Then let it chill while you create your stencil.

You’re going to need sheets of acetate or vellum which you can find in office supply or discount stores. The acetate sheets are the ones that teachers use for overhead projectors. Vellum is just a clear sheet that artists use. It’s thicker than tissue paper so you can cut it, but you can see what’s underneath much like a tracing paper.

Find a design you like. It can be from a book or from online. Use a design that is not so intricate that you will be cutting until all hours of the night. You want to start with a simple stencil. Maybe a leaf or a bird.

Once you have found your design, print it out. Lay it down on your work surface. If it’s not the right size, you’ll want to reduce or enlarge it now on a copier. Place the acetate or vellum over the image. Trace it with marker. Remove the image and cut it out. Intricate parts of it will need to be cut with the tip of an X-Acto knife, so work on a rubber mat or a cutting board, never your table.

Once the design is cut out, you’ll be placing it on the cookie dough. Round up a ball of cookie dough and then press it flat. Or roll out a big piece so you have a whole sheet to stencil on. Place the stencil on top of the cookie area you want to cut out. Cut out the areas that make the design on stencil. Then cut around in a square or circular shape for the size of the cookie you want. Lift with a spatula carefully and transfer to a cookie sheet. Bake as per your recipe’s instructions.

If you want a less labor intensive way to use a cookie stencil, use food coloring powder and a stencil brush. You can tamp your brush into the powdery food coloring and stamp it onto the cookie directly. Cut the shape of the cookie out with a cookie cutter in a circle or other shape that fits your stencil’s design. Food coloring powders can be found at large craft stores or in cake supply stores.

It’s fun to make stenciled cookies. They’ll look like you spend a long time making them, but actually, once you cut the stamp they are very easy to do. Try cutting out flower shaped cookies and create a beautiful flower cookie arrangement. Have a stencil making party where you and friends get together and make a bunch of stencils. Then you can all trade stencils so everyone gets a chance to go home with a luscious batch of delicious and adorable cookies.

Another version you can do with a stencil is to make ornaments with it. Do the same thing you would with the cookie dough, but use home made salt dough or a baking clay. Of course, you can’t eat them, but they’ll look pretty on your tree or as package ties.

If you don’t want to buy your cookie stamp, try your hand at making your own. It’s not that hard, but it may take a little practice.

If you’re a natural artist, you’ll have no trouble drawing your design. But if, like most of us, you’ll need a little inspiration in the design department, go online or look through books and find a decorative motif that you like. Make sure it’s not so intricate that you will have trouble getting it into cookie form.

The material for making a cookie stamp? The humble potato! Yes, with a simple potato you can carve out a stamp that will work for your cookies. Cut a clean potato in half. If you’re going to cut freehand, carefully start carving your design on the end of the potato. Be sure to remember that any raised surfaces will be indented in the cookie, so carve in reverse. What you want to stick out of the cookie should be carved into the stamp.

If you’re going to use the help of a printed design, go ahead and tape the design to the top of the potato. It will be a bit moist and slimy, so you will want to leave some paper overlap around your design and then use masking tape which will stick better than clear tape.

Once your design is taped down, begin carving away any white that is not part of the design. Your design should remain after you are finished carving. You should only see the black of the design. Remove the paper and you’re ready to stamp cookies. Choose a heart stamp for a perfect valentine cookie.

Use a favorite cookie dough recipe. You can find them online or in any baking cook book. Using rolled cookie dough from a store may present some challenges as those cookies are not meant to be anything but slice and bake. They tend to flatten out in the oven and will not hold a design very well. But try them if you want. You may just want to add some more flour to them by rolling them on a floury surface.

All sugar cookie doughs will need to be refrigerated so the butter can set up. Don’t skip this step or your cookies will not turn out the way you want them to. Roll balls of cookie dough out on your work surface. Dust your stamp in flour before each stamping. Then stamp into the cookie with moderate pressure. It should flatten out the ball and create a stamped design. It should not be so flat that the cookie is nearly see-through. Thin cookies like that will burn.

Once ready, line your cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake them for the time that is listed in the recipe. Create a flower stamp for a beautiful cookie flower arrangement.  But check them often to see that they are not burning. Every oven is different and stamps can provide an uneven surface that may bake differently from a flat cookie. Enjoy your efforts with a glass of milk!

This recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake comes to us from Cooks.com. Judging from the reviews, we’re surprised the cake ever makes it out of the kitchen for guests. You’ll need:

• ½ cup butter

• ¼ brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 cup flour

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• Chocolate chips

• ½ chopped nuts (optional)

Prepare by preheating your oven to 375° and greasing an 8 or 9 inch round pizza pan or cookie sheet.

To make, cream the butter, brown and white sugars, vanilla, and egg together with a spoon. When this is creamy, add your dry ingredients. Blend this thoroughly to mix in the dry ingredients, and then add the chocolate chips and nuts, if you choose.

Spread the cookie dough onto your greased pan and bake for 10 minutes. Take it out, let it cool, and be prepared to receive compliments.

For an extra touch, place mini Hershey’s Kisses on top of the cookie cake (or chocolate chunks) and drizzle with chocolate or shape it like a heart for a Valentine's day cookie gift. At a bakery, this would cost over $40. You can make it at home for the same price as a batch of cookies.

When you are at a loss at what to prepare for a dinner party or gathering, you must ask yourself, “What would Martha do?” Martha would whip up a five layer cookie cake for 16 people, is what she would do. In fact, she has, and this recipe comes from Martha Stewart herself. It is a little more involved than the previous recipe, but it will not fail to impress.

You will need:

• 4 cups flour

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

• 1 ½ teaspoons salt

• 6 tablespoons of butter, softened

• 1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar

• ¾ cup granulated sugar

• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs, and 2 egg yolks

• ¾ cup heavy cream

• 3 cups chocolate chips (Martha says semi-sweet)

• 5 – yes 5 – packages of cream cheese, room temperature

• ½ confectioner’s sugar

Prepare by preheating your oven to 350°. Next, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, or a mixer, mix butter and brown and granulated sugars. When this is pale and “fluffy,” mix in the vanilla, eggs, and yolks. Continue mixing. Add half the flour, and then half the cream. Mix, and then add the other half of the flour and the other half of the cream. Stir in the chocolate chips.

You are making 5 layers for the cake. You want one level cup of dough for each layer. Drop it onto a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Put the other dough in the refrigerator while you’re working to keep it cool. Spread the dough into an 8 inch circle on the baking sheet (Martha actually traces an 8 inch circle onto the paper; you don’t have to, but you do want your layers to be as close to even as possible).

Bake this until the edges are pale golden, which takes about 12 minutes. Take it out and reshape your circle with a spatula. Put it back in the oven for another 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat this for the other layers. If you have oven space and cookie sheets, you can do more than one of these cookie layers at a time.

As they’re cooling, mix the cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar until fluffy. Spread this mixture onto four of the cookies. Stack them, with the unfrosted cookie on top. Put the cake in the refrigerator until the frosting sets. This takes at least 20 minutes.

It is more work, but the results are fantastic.

Whether you use a recipe that is simple or one that is more elaborate, you cannot go wrong with cookie cake made from your own cookie dough.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/3 cup crushed clear red hard candy (Life Savers or Jolly Ranchers)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 4-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter dipped in flour. Cut out centers with a 1-1/4-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter; set aside to re-roll. Place cookies 1 in. apart on lightly greased foil-lined baking sheets. Fill centers with crushed candy.

Bake at 375  for 7-9 minutes or until candy is melted and edges of cookies begin to brown. Cool completely on baking sheets. Carefully peel cookies off foil.

Want more Valentine's Day recipes? Try these Valentine Food Gift Ideas.

I like raspberry best for my filling, but you can try other preserves like strawberry, cherry, etc.

INGREDIENTS:
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 3/4 cup butter softened
* 1 cup seedless raspberry preserves
* 1/3 cup powdered sugar

*3 or 4 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter & 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter

DIRECTIONS:
1.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Next with a pastry blender or two knives used scissor-fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water ( 1 tablespoon at time) into the flour mixture, mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Shape dough into a ball then wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll one-third of the dough at a time 1/8 inch thick, keeping the remaining dough refrigerated. With a floured 3 or 4 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut dough into as many hearts as possible. Place the hearts 1/2 inches apart  on an ungreased large cookie sheet. Keep the trimmings. With a floured 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out centers from half of hearts. Remove cutout centers, and bake along with larger cookies, checking after 7 minutes for doneness.

3. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned. Move cookies to wire racks to cool. Combine remaining dough and trimmings together to make more cookies.

4. When cookies are cool, sprinkle cookies with cutout centers with powdered sugar. Spread each cookie without cutout center with 1 rounded teaspoon raspberry preserves; top each with a center cut-out cookie, gently pressing cookies together to form a sandwich. Store in tightly covered container.

Looking for more Valentine's Day cookie ideas? Try these new Valentine Cookie Bouquets.

Valentine's Day cookie bouquets

Our gourmet cookie bouquets are created from delicious butter creme cookies, baked fresh daily and professionally hand-decorated. Cookies are approximately 4-5" tall, depending on shape.  Each bouquet is artfully arranged and carefully packaged for shipment to insure it arrives safely.

Our first new design really packs a punch!  Let your Valentine know you think they're a real knockout!  We've decorated cookies shaped like boxing gloves, boxer shorts and heart for a unique and unforgettable gift!  Perfect for the hard-to-buy-for man in your life!

The next new bouquet is our "Sending My Love" cookie bouquet.  Sweetly decorated mailboxes, lips, hearts and an envelope sealed with a kiss make up this fun bouquet.  Whether your Valentine is near or far, go straight to their heart (or stomach!) with a delicious cookie bouquet!

Prices start at $29.95 and we ship them straight to their door!

Want to make more Valentine's Day cookies? Try this recipe for Stained Glass Heart Cookies.