Happy Anniversary: Rainbow Flower Cookies

Today, the Hubster and I are celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary! I fell in love with my husband the first time I saw him. I know…cliche, right? I don’t even care. Tis truth.

Wanna know about the proposal? It’s a short story.

We had been hanging out with several friends at a local bar earlier in the evening, when I became very, very ill. No, I wasn’t drunk…I hadn’t even had any alcohol yet. I was just suddenly sick. A co-worker of his drove me home, while hubs closed out our tab and walked (we only lived a couple of blocks away).

That night he cared for and comforted me, and kept me company while I was in pain. Suddenly, he knelt beside the bed and told me he couldn’t imagine his life without me in it. He said that he needed me there, wherever he was, for the rest of his life. Then, he popped the question.

And I asked him if he was drunk.

I’m so romantic.

He said, “Thank you. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”

We laughed, we cried, I said yes, and we were married the following Monday.

We don’t like to dilly dally.

Now, here we are, 11 too-short years, 6 states, 1 dog, 9 homes, a teenager in high school, and countless moments of laughter later, and just as much in love as ever. Lucky us.

I’d say he deserves some sugar cookies.

These are one of his favorites, and since St. Patrick’s Day is this weekend, covering the cookies in bright, cheerful rainbows of flowers just made sense.

I used my usual, favorite rolled sugar cookie recipe, which both the Hubster and I absolutely love, then topped them with sweet and cheery marshmallow fondant flowers in every shade of the rainbow.

They’re happy cookies. For happy people.

The cookies are quite simple to make; it’s just a matter of laying on a base of plain fondant, then “glueing” tiny flowers onto it in a desired pattern.

I always like to use my cupcake cookie cutters whenever I can, so besides plain squares and pretty hearts, I broke out the cuppie cutter for my anniversary cookies.

To do the bottom half of the cupcake cookies, I used an extruder to create triangle shaped strips of fondant. Next, I cut them down to more manageable lengths, then I “glued” them together (using a small amount of water) on a thin piece of fondant.

Once I had enough strips laid out, I used my cutter to cut them to the right shape. For the top, zigzagged edge, I just used the pointed bottom of a heart cutter to create the pinked edge.

I’m smitten over how these cookies turned out. They’re perfect for a special day, like a birthday or anniversary, and with St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, the rainbows are just right.

I surprised the Hubster with the cookies this morning, all wrapped up in sweet bags with pretty hearts and twine (see below). He loved them, and they were the perfect special-day breakfast in bed.

Happy anniversary to the best man I know-my best friend.

*These were easy to make, but there’s no point in pretending that it wasn’t still tedious and time consuming. The flowers took all day to cut and place, so if you decide to make these, don’t plan on doing anything else that day. They’re definitely a special occasion cookie, but they’re beautiful and make a huge impact, so they’re well worth the time.

Enjoy!

Rolled Sugar Cookies
Makes 2 to 5 dozen, depending on size and thickness

Ingredients

5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or Silpat Mats; set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture a little at a time until it is all mixed in thoroughly. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours or overnight.

Once chilled, roll the dough out on a floured surface, and cut to desired shapes with cookie cutters (if the dough is very cold and hard, allow to warm up at room temperature for about 20 minutes). I like to roll my cookies on the thicker side, usually around 3/8 of an inch thick.Place the cut cookies on the prepared baking sheet(s), about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool before decorating.

Decorate cookies as desired.

Faux Royal Icing
Marshmallow Fondant

Recipe by Darla