It’s a new day, it’s a new year, it’s a new batch of cookie goodness here at McGoo U!  If your New Year’s resolution is to learn some new cookie decorating skills and experiment with new tools and techniques then this month’s episodes are right up your alley.  The January McGoo U class was full of creative and lovely ladies once again.  We were lucky to decorate again with:  Bobbi Barton of Bobbi’s Cookies & Cutters, Laura Ewing of Cadillac Cookies, and it was so fun to meet the wonderful Leigh McClellan of Pastry Case.  I had too much fun decorating with these ladies!  We decided since Valentine’s Day sneaks up on us, we would decorate some cookies for those special people in our lives.  These designs would be great for everybody from kids and teachers to your main squeeze.  

At the end of class Pam Sneed of CookieCrazie came in to check on our progress.  She experimented with me in the Expert Lab and showed me how she achieves texture on her gorgeous glaze cookies.  She is so innovative and creative!  Pam also shared with us her special edible molding clay and how easy it is to make beautiful embellishments for her designs.  These are awesome techniques and cutting edge glaze technology… and that is why I mess up royally while attempting to work with glaze! but I redeemed myself and got the hang of it with Pam’s guidance.  Then we all gathered around the kitchen table and chatted about everything from family and teaching cookies in the Ukraine, cookie cruises, to blood and urine samples.  That’s right folks, we try to touch on every subject in Mixing It Up.  

After School Pam and I explore the wild and wonderful interwebs.  We read some interesting tweets, comments, and emails heard around the cookiesphere.  Whether it’s blaming us for ruining someone’s birthday because we are not equipped to make gluten-free cookies or being offended by the very holiday of Valentine’s Day (and our cookies), we read some real and ridiculous “Cookie Comments”.  
A special thank you to the following for sharing their comments for this episode:

• Anne Yorks – Flour Box Bakery
• Callye Alvarado – SugarBelle’s
• Elizabeth Walsh – SweetArt Sweets
• Georganne Bell – LilaLoa
• Hillary Ramos – The Cookie Countess
• Nancy Reynolds – Sharp Cookie
• Pam Sneed – CookieCrazie
• Samantha Ngy – Flour-De-Lis

Remember… no matter what anyone says, you are awesome.  

{If you have received interesting or ridiculous cookie comments I would love to hear them!  Send them my way at contact@artymcgoo.com  subject Cookie Comments so I don’t think you’re actually telling me I suck, unless you want to.}

Filming January’s segments with Pam was so fun!  She is such a sweetheart and it is so inspiring to hear about her work in the Ukraine and how cookies can seriously make a difference in people’s lives.  Her daughter Allison came as well and it was so fun getting to know her.  Such wonderful ladies!  Thank you for sharing your time and awesomeness and for being patient with my cluelessness with glaze.  You are amazing!

So, come cookie along with the January episodes.  Thank you so much to my fabulous fellow decorators Laura, Leigh, and Bobbi for joining me this month!  

All of the segments can be viewed as a show, but the McGoo U in particular is meant to be a class experience that you can cookie right along with.  So, if you’d like to cookie with me, here is what you will need for this month’s McGoo U:

McGoo U January Supply List

1. 3 Cookies (2, 2″x 3″ rectangles, heart with wings) If you don’t have the heart cutter, check out this genius post from Sweet SugarBelle
2. Royal Icing:  black, white, teal, and red
3. 4 Piping bags (optional closure of your choice)
4. couplers & rings (optional)
5. 2: #2 tips,
6. 3: #1 or #1.5 tips
7. 1″ square white royal icing transfers (typewriter paper)
8. small lidded cup, tupperware or tipless bag (for black flood) 
9. fine-tip food coloring markers (red, blue, & black)
10. Paint palette with black and white food coloring
11. red disco dust
12. cardstock, ruler, or lined stencil
13. Parchment or wax paper
14. Filbert paintbrush
15. Liner detail paintbrush
16. toothpicks
17. cup of water
18. paper towel

 Prepare:

• Fill one piping bag with white royal icing of piping consistency, coupler, and a #1 tip 
• Fill one piping bag with flood-consistency white royal icing, coupler, and #2 tip (I use about a 12 count thickness)
• Fill one piping bag with flood-consistency red royal icing, coupler, and #2 tip (this tip will be switched out to a #1 later
• Fill one piping bag with flood-consistency teal royal icing, coupler, and a #1 tip.  
• Mix a small amount of flood-consistency black royal icing and put in a lidded cup to keep from drying out.  
• Make 1″ square white royal icing transfers on wax paper for typewriter paper 

A lot of these supplies can be modified to your preferences.  If you use tipless bags, you can forgo the tips entirely or you can choose to use different food colorings.  (Click here for a detailed guide to setting up your palette)  I always appreciate when people make things their own and let their own creativity be their guide.  I’d love to see your creations!  This is all about having fun and not stressing.  Happy cookie-ying!