Debut Post: Get Inspired with Sugar Pearls - Heart Cookie Tower

[EDITOR'S NOTE: While I'm terribly sad that Kari Arroyo, aka Dear Yankee Girl, has retired from our amazing team of contributors, I'm thrilled to introduce our newest tutorial writer through this debut post! 

You probably know her as Sugar Pearls Cakes & Bakes, the maker of those magnificent multi-technique cookies (say that three times fast!) that have wowed us all on this site. (Remember that stenciled honeycomb set? And the crazy quilt-style gingerbread house in our last Practice Bakes Perfect challenge? Yeah . . . those are her swoon-worthy designs!) But in real non-cookie life, she's none other than Pamoda Vanderwert!

Today, Pamoda launches the first post in her monthly Get Inspired with Sugar Pearls series. Going from the spark of an idea to a gorgeous cookie can be a mystical thing - and sometimes downright frustrating, to be completely frank. But you're in luck! In this column, Pamoda will focus on where she seeks cookie inspiration and how she translates that inspiration into workable and beautiful cookie designs, showing you her step-by-step decorating process and demystifying her design-think along the way! 

Below, she shares how she came up with the idea for this first post. But going forward, she hopes you'll share your design sparks with her to serve as inspiration for future tutorials.

Please give a hearty hello to Pamoda and the newly minted Get Inspired with Sugar Pearls! And prepare to enjoy! ~JMU]

 

There's a first time for everything, and this is one of those times for me. My very first cookie tutorial and my first blog post on Cookie Connection. I'm super excited and also a bit nervous, but mostly excited.    

I spent quite a bit of time brainstorming, trying to come up with an idea for a first tutorial. I had ideas, too many ideas, but nothing seemed right. I needed some inspiration, something to spark my creativity. Then one day while browsing through Pinterest, I came across these pretty macaron towers,* and I had a light bulb moment, "Hey, I could make a cookie tower!" A heart cookie tower to be exact - you know, Valentine's Day is coming up, y'all! Sounds fun, right? And that is how I came about the inspiration for this tutorial. 

*Always remember to give credit to the original source of your inspiration.

And from that spark of an idea, here's how I ended up with the tower, above . . .

What you will need:

• Styrofoam cone (I used a 9-inch tall cone with 3 3/4-inch diameter base)
• About 1 cup royal icing, spreading consistency
• Small spatula
• About 50 mini (1 1/2-inch) heart cookies, iced (number needed will vary with size of cone, of course)
• 1 medium (2-inch) heart cookie on stick, iced
• Wafer paper butterflies or any other embellishments of your choice (optional)
• Edible glue (i.e., piping gel or thinned royal icing) to stick butterflies
• Small paint brush
• Pretty platter, pedestal, or base for presentation

Let's get to work!

Cover the entire Styrofoam cone with an even layer of the royal icing. The icing keeps the cookies from coming into direct contact with the Styrofoam. I used the lightest shade of icing (left over from frosting the mini heart cookies) mixed with more stiff white royal icing. You'll need about 1/2 to 3/4 cup icing for this process. Set aside to dry.         

*Do not attempt to proceed before the icing is completely dry, or you risk the weight of the cookies pulling the icing off the cone and the cookies sliding. I would say, let the icing dry overnight. Besides, don’t you have a pile of laundry that needs some attention? I know I do. It's my favorite chore around the house

Transfer the cookie tower to the serving platter. Use some of the leftover royal icing to adhere the foam base to the platter.

Glue the mini heart cookies onto the prepared cone with a dab of royal icing. Start at the bottom and work your way up and around the cone. Guesstimate (is that even a word?) the number of cookies that will fit around the base; this will help you space the cookies evenly around the cone. Don't forget to do this for the height of the cone as well, so you know roughly how many rows of cookies you will need to evenly cover the cone. (I forgot to do this, and was therefore left with about a half-inch of bare space at the top, not enough room for another row of cookies.)

When you start the second row, place the cookies between those in the first row. Continue this process until you reach the top!

*I iced my cookies in three shades of teal. The colors and designs on the cookies are totally up to you. I kept them plain and simple, but you don’t have to.

Top with the medium heart cookie by inserting the stick through the top of cone. Alternatively, you can top the tower with a pretty ribbon bow or a fabric butterfly. A fondant rose would be nice too!

I decided to embellish my heart cookie tower with small wafer paper butterflies. Use a small paint brush dipped in a tiny bit of edible glue to adhere the butterflies to the cookies.

There you have it, a cookie tower made with mini heart cookies. Wouldn't this be a great addition to a dessert table for a Valentine's Day celebration? You can adapt this idea to suit almost any theme.

Be creative. Let your inspiration guide you, and let your imagination run wild!

And don't forget, please send me your sparks of ideas (photos, notes, doodles, or whatever) to help fuel my future posts! Thanks!

Photo credit: Pamoda Vanderwert

Note: Get Inspired with Sugar Pearls is a monthly Cookie Connection blog feature written by Pamoda Vanderwert, which explores how to go from source inspiration to artful cookie design through creative cookie tutorials. Its content expresses the views of the author and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To catch up on all of Pamoda's past posts, click here.