3000 Facebook Fans Celebration Blog Give-Away! (Giveaway Officially Closed)

Dec 1 Update: International Entries are Allowed. The sponsors have graciously agreed to ship internationally. :)

This is it.....the biggest blog give-away Cookie Crazie has ever had.

You're gonna love it.

I'm kinda wishin' I could enter it. lol

Knowing that CookieCrazie and Cookies With A Mission FB page was about to hit the 3000 fan mark....I started lining up a very special set of give-away prizes from some really awesome sponsors.

The FB page went over 3000 fans yesterday.....so we are. Yippee!

OK......are you ready?

Hold onto your hats because these prizes are going to blow you away.....and combining them all together makes it ultra special.

(Can you tell I"m excited?!)

DIYPhotography.net is offering a set of three camera cookie cutters. 

You can head over to The Decorated Cookie blog and see the awesome cookies she made with these cutters. :)

Next.....a $50 gift certificate to Spices, Etc to buy natural flavorings (like I mentioned in this recent post) or any other item they offer......and trust me, they have some AMAZING products.

You're going to LOVE their selection. I have tons on my "want to buy from Spices, Etc" list. :)

(OH.....and EVERYONE can benefit now..... using the discount code CCL with Spices, Etc to get 15% off their purchase. No minimum order. Time to go shopping. ha ha)

 For those that just can't get enough cookie cutters.......Sweet Art Factory is offering 30 (yes, you read that right.....THIRTY) cookie cutters of your choice. I can't think of a better Christmas present for a cookie decorator than to let them browse SAF's selection of over 500 cutters and select THIRTY of them!!

Sweet Art Factory is a special friend and long time partner with Cookies With A Mission. I'm so glad that their generosity is spilling over to my amazing blog fans. :)

And last.....but certainly not least......and really, I'd call it the icing on the......errr  COOKIE......

Karen's Cookies is offering a complete airbrush system along with a box of twelve Americolor Airbrush colors! Wow......I'm in awe of this generous gift from Karen & Mike. 

I just got an airbrush from Karen two months ago. 's my blog post about my first try at it. I am still learning to use it......but just the little I've done says it will be a huge time saver.....plus add awesome effects to cookie designs.

I'll definitely be bringing you more posts on airbrushing as I continue to play with and get it figured out.

(Oh.....another bonus for everyone.....Karen's Cookies is offering a 15% discount if you use the code "crazie15" on your order. More shopping.......)

Can you believe this line up of prizes?! 

And one of YOU is going to receive all of these incredible gifts right before Christmas. Yeah!

OK.....so 's TWO ways to enter the giveaway.

·         1) Become a Facebook fan of Spices Etc, Sweet Art Factory, Karen's Cookies, and Cookie Crazie. 

If you are already a Facebook fan, please encourage your friends on FB to become fans. Then return leaving me a separate comment (on THIS post) telling me you did it.
P.S. If you're not on FB, tell someone about this blog and ask them to take a look.

Then return leaving me a separate comment on how you shared Cookie Crazie blog with others as your first entry.


2) Send a link about this give-away through your Facebook or Twitter wall.
Return leaving me a comment (on THIS post) on how you shared the news of the give-away with others.

·         P.S.S. If you're not on FB, send out an email message telling others about this blog giveaway for your second entry.

  I'll need some form of contact information in order to connect with you if you win.

·         Make sure each entry is a separate comment in order to count as two entries.

·        
Entries will only be accepted as comments on this particular blog post "3000 Facebook Fans Celebration Blog Give-Away!". Comments on any other blog post, FB page, or email will not enter you into the give-away.

Each person is only allowed TWO entries into the give-away as outlined above.

The acceptance of entries ends at midnight (CST), Monday, December 5, 2011.

·          

·         I will use random.org to choose the winner.

Ready....Set....Go!

________________________________


The winner of the "3000 FB Fan Celebration Blog Give-Away is:

This blog give-away is officially closed.

The Best Ginger Cookie by Christmas

If you've been following my blog for awhile, then you probably remember the summer madness that was "The Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest of 2011." After going through thirteen recipes, dozens of cookies, and hundreds of chocolate chips, I finally discovered the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever. So, it was totally worth it in the end. That said, I wasn't sure if I'd want to go through such an experience again anytime soon.

But, that was then and this is now. Six months have passed and I've regained my cookie mojo. This time, I'm on the search to find the perfect recipe for one of my favorite cookies of all time - the ginger cookie. Somehow, the ones I've tried up till now, while being good, just weren't great. That's gotta change.

Thus begins my new quest - "The Best Ginger Cookie by Christmas (for short, the BGCBC)." That's right, starting tomorrow and every Monday-Thursday thereafter for the next three weeks of December, I will be posting a new ginger cookie recipe and hope to announce the ultimate ginger cookie before Christmas arrives. That should give plenty of time so you can make it for your own holiday platters, if you so desire.

So, the question is, what makes the ultimate ginger cookie? Is it a combo of dry spices only or does fresh ginger add more of a zing? Speaking of spices, just which spices should you use? There's the traditional combo of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves/allspice. But, what about cardamom, nutmeg, or a dash of black/white/cayenne pepper? And would the cookie be better off with some crystallized ginger?

I've been scouring food blogs for weeks and finally compiled a master list of 12 ginger cookie recipes, each one different in some way. By the end of this quest, I hope to have all the answers and be able to choose one recipe and say that THIS IS IT. It's gonna be one sweet and spicy ride and I hope you'll follow along.

Let the cookie madness begin!!!

Random Cookies....No Christmas Cookies Yet....sigh

's a bunch of random cookies for you.....I've been saving them up over the last few months since the seasonal cookies won out for time reasons. 

o now we go back to September/October for some cookies I've not shown you.

's a plaid coneflower made for a very special friend.....

's some cookies I made for Cookie Camp using the "Cookie Queens" theme.....

A honey cookie from Haniela that I decorated for her to see. 

 A letter "A" that I did for a special project.....

I've got the house decorated for Christmas.....so hopefully I can start working on some Christmas cookies this week. Can't wait!!!!!

Thanksgiving Football.....Roll Tide

I thought it would be appropriate to show football cookies two days after Thanksgiving. I'm not a sports lovin' person....but made these for a good friend. I know football enthusiasts are watching football for four days over the Thanksgiving weekend. :)

These were probably the toughest cookies I've ever decorated. I saw Sugar Envy's incredible take on Alabama football cookies a couple of months ago. I showed them to a good friend who is a HUGE Bama fan, and he immediately asked me to make some for him and his BIL for the big game over Thanksgiving weekend.

It's a good thing he's a good friend.....because even though Sugar Envy made them look relatively easy, they were NOT. Oh my.....nearly in tears at one point. But some how they all came together and I was OK with them. I told my friend I had a love/hate relationship with the cookies. ha ha

 I hope you're having a lovely holiday weekend. Our house is bustling with all the kids home.....and today we'll put up a bunch of Christmas decorations....including our 12 foot tree. Yippee!

Can't wait to start Christmas cookie decorating next week. :))))))))))

Sweets for a Saturday #45

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm sure it was filled with plenty of good food and, knowing all of you, I also have no doubt that your guests were treated to some fantastic desserts that they'll rave about till next Thanksgiving.

And now, here are your Top 5 from last week:

1. Coconut and Lemon Mini Bundts - Catalina Bakes

They're like a bite of sunshine.

2. Pumpkin Spice Syrup - Piece Love & Cooking

On ice cream, on cake, on pancakes . . .

3. Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread - Nancy Creative

This banana bread is tops!

4. Whopper Cookies - Shugary Sweets

What a whopper of a cookie!

5. Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake - Cupcakes with Sprinkles

Triple the layers = three times the yum

The Rules:

1. Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your treat.
   
2. Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
   
3. Share your delicious sweets from this week. If you've made more than one during the week, feel free to link them all up.
   
4. Leave me a comment telling me that you've linked up.
   
5. Please visit at least two others and comment on their wonderful additions to this party.

<center><a href="http://holidaysugarcookierecipe.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jXieTNnKR0GyCuqY4n3a0l9BxQTsaqTaef4UYvI_Z6RoM5x4xEmBfQQE4ws8Py0vNh4SBaHSlOxBvJEyMla_vhycYURyI1xK9d8A9vtTq8bbHYpG6igdv45dWxBhwZyRvgfJq1qPck0/s1600/Plumpy+%25282%2529+button.jpg" /></a></center>

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this day w we seek to acknowledge all we are grateful for......I wanted you to know that I think you all are extra special. Thanks for comin' around on a regular basis and allowing me to share something I'm so passionate about. :) I count it a privilege to share with all of you.

's my final Thanksgiving cookies for 2011. I know I've probably over done it a bit....but then I keep telling you, I AM Cookie CRAZIE. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

Lebkuchen

It's Week 9 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and we're moving right along. I decided to go a little international with my cookie choice this week and picked Lebkuchen for this week's spicy treat. Lebkuchen are a type of German Christmas cookie very similar to gingerbread since it contains molasses and spices. However, it differs in that there's also some honey added in which gives these cookies a little something extra in flavor.


I'm so glad I finally got to try these cookies. They may not look like anything special, but they pack a spicy punch. They're typically made with a powdered sugar glaze, but I was planning to take my cookies traveling so I left the glaze off. I'm sure they'd also be good drizzled with some melted chocolate too.

I'm sure you'll enjoy these cookies too. Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)!


Lebkuchen (French for Foodies)

1 cup honey
1 cup molasses/treacle
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tbsps candied orange finely chopped (optional)
5 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 teaspoon ground ginger

In a medium saucepan, stir together the honey and molasses. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from heat for 10 mins and stir in the brown sugar, egg, lemon juice and candied citron. In a large bowl, sift and stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.

Add the molasses mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. You may need to gradually add extra flour until it makes a moist cookie dough as the consistency will depend on the flour, humidity etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or baking trays.

Once combined, put bowl of cookie mix in the refrigerator until it has cooled to room temperature or lower.

Knead a few handfuls of dough at a time on a floured flat surface/bench and roll out the dough ready for the cookie cutters. Alternatively, Using a small amount of dough at a time, roll into small balls and press down to about 4cm diameter, OR roll out dough and place the mix into a rectangular baking tray with dough at approx 1 cm depth.

Cut out cookies using desired shapes and moulds and place onto greased trays.

Bake for 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown and fragrant. Be careful not to overcook the lebkuchen as the sugars will go too hard when they cool and the biscuits will lose the desired soft center.

Allow to cool completely before icing and decorating.

Thanksgiving Pie, Anyone?

Another fun project.......Thanksgiving pie. Yum!

Probably the best part of the Thanksgiving meal.....

So they are in cookies.

One last Thanksgiving post comin' up in a few days.

In case I don't say it enough....I'm thankful for all of you!

Thanksgiving Cornucopia

I've been wanting to do a cornucopia grouping for Thanksgiving for quite some time. I had a wonderful time designing all the different elements and then arranging them together for  my 2011 Thanksgiving collection.

I made three cornucopia sets. One was sold at our Ukraine fundraiser auction last weekend. The second is to take to work on Thanksgiving Day (I have to work at the hospital for the holiday) to cheer everyone up when they have to work on such a special holiday. And the last group I've got on my own dining room table to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. Every time I see it, I smile. :)

's the grouping at the auction.

And 's the "official" photo of my cornucopia collection. :)

Believe it or not.....I still have bunch of Thanksgiving cookies to share. I've been busy busy busy.

Sweets for a Saturday #44

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving and then Christmas. Time's really flying by. If you're like me, you're already planning all the delicious desserts and treats for the holidays. If so, then you've come to the right place because you'll certainly find some great ideas here. Like these Top 5 from last week:

1. Butterfingers - The Royal Cook

These are on my must-make list.

2. Oreo Turkeys - The Sweet Swiper

I could "gobble" these right up.

3. Pumpkin Pie Delight - Let's Get Cookin'

Oh how I love pumpkin!

4. Oreo Cake - Goddess of Baking

This cake is a cookies n' cream delight.

5. Red Velvet Cookies - Eat Cake for Dinner

Red velvet + cream cheese = dream come true

The Rules:

1. Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your treat.
   
2. Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
   
3. Share your delicious sweets from this week. If you've made more than one during the week, feel free to link them all up.
   
4. Leave me a comment telling me that you've linked up.
   
5. Please visit at least two others and comment on their wonderful additions to this party.

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Airbushed Autumn Cookies

they are.....my very first airbrushed cookies. Expect to see many more using this technique. :)

I've got a bunch of Thanksgiving cookies to show you now. Only ONE WEEK until the holiday. Woah....how does this happen? A month seems like a few days, anymore. sigh.....