This cozy yet fresh set of cookies was inspired by Arty’s Coastal California Christmases. The eucalyptus and pine are a breath of fresh air and pair beautifully with the neutral palette, creating a clean and soothing visual.
‘Tis the season for the happiest produce on the planet: sunflowers and pumpkins! The cookies this month create a charming customizable scene that would make a perfect gift for the Thanksgiving host or hostess.
October 2020
It’s tricks and treats this month at McGoo U with vintage inspired cookies loaded with so many techniques, its’ scary! BOO!
September 2020
Tis the season for homegrown tomatoes! And what better way to enjoy them than with crispy bacon, fresh lettuce, and toasty bread? If you’re not a BLT enthusiast there is also a deliciously cute cucumber slice and every kid’s favorite: broccoli. We hope you enjoy this month’s bounty of cookies inspired by a summer garden.
August 2020
Ahoy me hearties! Get ready to set sail on the high seas in search of adventure and treasure. Whether ye make these for “Talk Like a Pirate Day” on the 19th or for that special birthday, landlubbers and seadogs alike will be sure to love these swashbuckling bites!
I love to create and capture amazing summertime memories. Let’s celebrate the season by making new sweet summer memories wherever we are. Pictures or it didn’t happen!
This month we’re making beautiful spring florals that would be perfect for new brides, new babies, or a not so new friend’s birthday with a fun way to customize your cookie trio for the lucky recipient.
April 2020
Thank goodness for the interwebs! As we are feeling isolated and uncertain I am so grateful for the ability to continue to learn and socialize virtually. I hope you have the ingredients and tools on hand to be able to create this month’s lesson but also have been so impressed with the improvisation I saw in the March homework! The April McGoo U is full of frills, flowers, and some feathered friends who are nesting in place making the designs perfect for this gorgeous spring season, Mother’s Day, or a bridal set. Stay healthy and happy friends!
March 2020
Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hopping down the bunny trail!
That’s right, it’s all about the bunny this month at McGoo U! We’ll cookie his adorable hat and then grab your tool belts ’cause we’re gonna do some pretty fancy 3-D egg construction.
Arty’s Easter Cookie Decorating Party
Welcome to another amazing themed Cookie Party! Easter is coming, let’s hop to it and make the best bunnies on the block!
February 2020
It’s February, so naturally we’re making St. Patrick’s Day cookies! When I asked what you’d like to see at McGoo U, of you said you’d like to see holiday sets a month early. And as Westley would say….”as you wish”! So this month we’re using a soft pastel palette to make this March-inspired set. Are you feeling lucky?
January 2020
It’s the season of giving so we want to help you provide others with the things they REALLY need: food, shelter, and transportation. Hope your season is full of warmth, love and cookies!
December 2019
It’s the season of giving so we want to help you provide others with the things they REALLY need: food, shelter, and transportation. Hope your season is full of warmth, love and cookies!
Arty’s Holiday Cookie Party 2019
Time to create some Yuletide sweets that ring in the holidays with style!
November 2019
Fall is my favorite time of the year, so for this month’s McGoo U lesson I thought we’d cuddle up with a warm palette and get back to nature a little bit.
October 2019
Halloween is my favorite holiday to cookie for, and I can’t wait to show you how to make this BOO-tiful set. So grab your costume, stamps, and piping bags, and let’s boo this!
September 2019
McGoo U is celebrating September in the Southwest! We’re fixin’ to make a belt buckle, a cow skull and a desert cactus. So rustle up some royal and some “lazy glazey” and join me as we pipe, scrape, and paint our way through this set.
August 2019
Just in time to go back to school, Arty decorates cookies that look just like the patches that you can earn at McGoo U!
July 2019
I have a sinking feeling you’re going to love this month’s sparkly lesson!
June 2019
This month, we’re focusing on Pantone’s color of the year: Living Coral! creating 3 different cookies: an Ikat design with a monogram, a wet on wet floral, and an architectural tile
May 2019
It’s a “May Menagerie”! These cookies are a lesson in textures…from feathers to fur to wrinkly elephant skin, we’re covering it all!
April 2019
This cute and colorful set includes easier-than-it-looks embroidery, a Folklorico dancer and a hand-painted serape.
March 2019
This month’s McGoo U lesson is a study in feathers and florals. We’ll use wafer paper, royal, and edible lace to flood, frill and fringe our way to these Boho inspired beauties.
February 2019
This month at McGoo U we’re giving you all of the romantical feels with this Valentine’s set. It includes soft eyelet lace, a “home is where your heart is” map, and what I like to call a “jar of junk”.
January 2019
Dude! We’re flashing back to the 80’s with a cassette tape cookie, Dymo embossed letters, and a totally rad neon splattered star. The only thing that’s missing from this set is a Pee-Chee covered with doodles!
December 2018
Lights…candle…action! It’s December at McGoo U and we’re ready to make your days merry and bright! So grab your piping bags, paintbrush, and palette and let’s make this holiday lit!
November 2018
Taking a cue from autumn and home decor trends we create beautiful floral vignettes in a muted color palette. A coffee filter wreath, roses and a cotton stem take center stage.
October 2018
This month “Wednesday Addams” teaches us how make three creepy creations. We’ll create a spooky wrought iron gate (there’s nothing scarier than micropiping!), a haunted house on a hill, and a gaping fanged monster mouth; talk about sharpening your skills!
September 2018
I love the combination of turquoise and coral in Native American jewelry and art. The natural stones are meant to represent the sky and the earth, which I think is lovely. So this month at McGoo U we’ll make our own edible jewelry with these mosaic, embedded, and wire-wrapped versions.
August 2018
Did you know that Mr. John’s birthday is this month? Well, it is; and to celebrate, we’re making our very first Birthday set on McGoo U! While we’re at it, we’ll celebrate the amazing versatility of cookie cutters! Most of you own a cupcake cutter, and this month we’ll put that one simple cutter to excellent use making three simple yet adorable designs that can be used in any color palette. Functionality at its finest!
July 2018
Ah, the simple joys of summer. There’s nothing like a tall glass of lemonade on a warm summer day…unless it’s accompanied by a tall glass of lemonade cookie! We’re keeping it cool this month with a fresh, bright color palette and beautiful, simple citrus and floral designs.
June 2018
You may be wondering, “Arty, water you teaching us this month?” As you can sea, this month’s lesson is all about the beach! This set was inspired by my recent trip to a local tide pool. Have you ever tide to make an anemone or edible sea glass? Well, this month you will! We’re gonna paint, pipe, pour, and crack our way to all of this textured goodness. I’m urchin you to try it!
May 2018
It’s May, which I thought would be a perfect time for a set of “Mayke Up” cookies! Get it? I love to look at cosmetic ads in magazines. I think all of those smeared and smashed up colors are beautiful. Doing all of that damage to real makeup is just wasteful, but using royal icing instead is pretty AND delicious. So get out your piping bag and paintbrush, ’cause you’re gonna crush this set!
April 2018
Spring is springing and the cookies this month celebrate the beauty of the season. This is a great set to strengthen your artistic skills without laying an egg.
March 2018
Do you feel lucky? Well, you should, because this month at McGoo U we’re making a St. Patrick’s Day set for the very first time. I’m not sure why I didn’t make these sooner…after all, I love green, rainbows, clovers, Irish step dancing, leprechauns, and GOLD! And you won’t need the luck o’the Irish to make them; just break out your airbrush, paint palette and, of course, a pot of gold…sprinkles.
February 2018
This month we’re making a Valentine’s set that is great for anyone, but is especially for those terrors in tennis shoes…the Twitterpated ‘Tweens! So break out your star tips & your stud molds ’cause you’re gonna rock these!
January 2018
This month we set several magical cookie scenes for some fun-loving penguins to enjoy the wonder of winter.
December 2017
This Christmas we’re juxtaposing rusticity with elegance. A cozy moose covered in a chunky buffalo plaid features a delicate snowflake on his back. Next, we create a realistic rough-edged wood slice and “wood burn” a majestic pine on it. Our third cookie features a rustic bouquet of some of winter’s treasures.
November 2017
This month we celebrate the beautiful colors and bountiful harvest of Autumn! Gently falling leaves, colorful Indian corn, and an unexpected cornucopia get translated to cookie in November McGoo U.
October 2017
This month at McGoo U we create an eerie haunted house by the light of a luminous full moon. The textures, layers, and details will enchant any little ghost or goblin who will see it! Also joining the bewitching scene is a curious, sparkly bat.
September 2017
Gears and rust and steam, oh my! This month we explore the wonders of steampunk and add a dash of feminine flair with lace, florals, and feathers. Whether you are a fan of steampunk or not, you will be a fan of these fun and fabulous techniques and designs.
August 2017
Summer School continues as we explore different techniques with textures!
July 2017
Everything you ever wanted to know about painting on cookies. All in one spot. This covers paintbrushes, palettes, and lots of techniques for painting on royal icing.
June 2017
This month, Arty introduces her exciting Customizable Dress Cutter Set by showing you 3 different styles you can create using her 6 cutter set. With 3 bodices and 3 skirts that are interchangeable the options and combinations are endless! You can create wedding, prom, formal, princess, quinceanera, or bridesmaid dresses. The pieces are designed to give the most flexibility to further customize by trimming the skirt lengths, the sleeves, or the necklines.
May 2017
Ahoy there matey! Things get a little salty this month at McGoo U as we create a trio of nautical delights using lots of different techniques. Wet-on-wet, painting, dimensional flood, brush embroidery: it’s a real treasure trove of discovery on the high seas.
April 2017
Of quartz you rock! My sediments exactly. Any of the cookie designs this month from McGoo U would tell your mom she’s a real gem, but could also work wonderfully for any number of events like birthday, Valentine’s Day, wedding, they are solid as a rock.
March 2017
Signs of spring are starting to show up, and here at McGoo U we are challenging ourselves to make a set of cookies that celebrate the changing season using one cookie cutter. The shape is the same one we used back in December for our “Joy” cookie and now we’re bringing it to a new season with butterflies, flowers, and bees.
February 2017
The key to the heart is cookies. CooKEYS? Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating love and relationships (or the lack of) and there are so many ways to do that through cookies. Valentine cookies can be punny and funny, snarky and sarcastic, admiring or studious, and lets not forget romantic and flirty! This month at McGoo U we are creating a romantic and antiqued esthetic in a simply gorgeous teal and gold palette. You hold the cooKEY to my heart!
January 2017
It’s a brand new year full of discoveries and this month at McGoo U we are discovering faces and specifically eyes. There are lots of ways to create facial features: with dimensional piping, painting, wet on wet, and we will experiment with all of those this month, creating very different looks from cartoon to realistic. We will also decorate 3 different scales, small, medium, and extreme close up… and speaking of scales, I decided to give the small face a mermaid body just because!
December 2016
Celebrate all the things! Tis the season that brings joy to so many people. This month we’ll decorate 3 symbols of the season from a rustic baby Jesus in a manger, to a clean and simple joy design, and a dreidel that is showing the Hebrew letter gimel (the best side to land on because you win everything). It’s also the season for cookies and these would be perfect additions to your holiday sets. Although it’s been said, many times, many ways: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice, whatever you celebrate I wish you a wonderful one full of joy and love and a Happy New Year!
November 2016
Let’s talk turkey. This month at McGoo U we create an adorable 3 dimensional turkey in a rich, autumn color palette. He is designed to sit up all by himself at the big kid table!
October 2016
This month we explore Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead at McGoo U! We bake up some ofrendas that would please any visiting soul: a sugar skull, papel picado, and bright chrysanthemums.
September 2016
This month at McGoo U we explore cookies that bring out our inner child with Arty’s 3 kids as guinea pigs… er guests! The designs are easily customizable for party themes and color schemes and use lots of fun techniques to bring out the Jr. Picasso in your kids. Create a coloring book style cookie, a paint with water design, and a fun new technique using mini misters that will spark all kinds of ideas and thrill cookiers of any age!
August 2016
From a teeny, tiny bud to layers of lush petals on a fully bloomed rose we experiment with scale in this month’s McGoo U. Nothing goes better with flowers than more flowers. These coordinating florals would be gorgeous in all kinds of hues and would fit a myriad of occasions.
July 2016
ALOHA! This month we use a bright tropical color palette with this fun summery Hawaiian themed set. We’ll spell out aloha in flirty florals, rustic bamboo and a beautiful and realistic plumeria. And we take the set from fun to TIKI-riffic! Lots of techniques and cookies in this month: wet on wet, piping, wood texture, dimensional piping, and painting.
June 2016
A common thread weaves the three cookies together in this month’s McGoo U. We will create a simple yet stunning dream catcher, a sweet floral embroidery hoop design, and a string and nail art cookie that is so fun! Some of the techniques we will use are piping, an easy rose, and achieving a suede and wood plank background.
May 2016
In class this month at McGoo U we will be focusing on our typing and letter writing skills. We spell it out with a rusty marquee light, in a wordy letter mailed in a vintage envelope, and we hone our typing skills as we type a message on a typewriter. tap tap tap… ding! There are so many fun ways you could incorporate these cookies into different themes and events.
April 2016
We’re focusing on some fun natural textures and themes this month in McGoo U. Arty takes you step-by-step in creating her succulent terrarium, then shows how she creates her realistic butterfly on a mossy rock. The final cookie explores a gorgeous crackle texture that is the perfect background for any design
March 2016
Pinkies up! This month we create a beautiful rose painted tea set with delicate details. Learn how to take scribble roses from teeny tiny to big and bold as we decorate our sugar bowl, creamer, tea cup, and teapot with a sweet rose print and it is all done using 2 cookie cutters.
February 2016
It’s time to revisit one of my favorite themes: circus! We explore a wide variety of techniques this month to get our vintage circus designs. And since it’s also almost time for the punniest holiday of all, these are a great jumpstart to a circus inspired Valentine’s Day set.
January 2016
I hope you’re excited to paint because we’re starting off this year with a big project: paper doll cookies! We are really going to focus on the process and techniques of painting with food coloring on royal icing as we create this charming and adorable set. You can do it!
December 2015
May your days be merry and bright and your Christmas cookies sparkly! This month we add some fun shimmer to a simple winter wonderland design and then delve into the dimension and details of a charming Santa face.
November 2015
November is the month to celebrate autumn, friends and family, and giving thanks for what you have. What better way to say thank you than with cookies? Decorate along with me using an autumn color palette and be grateful for your mad ninja cookie skills!
October 2015
This month in McGoo U we are exploring the spookier side of decorating and some fun and easy ways to antique and age your cookie designs, a simple element with big impact, some fun with textures, and a re-visit of The Cookie Architect’s eyeball tutorial with a macabre twist.
September 2015
Antlers, watercolor florals, brush lettering, metallic and glitter… oh my! It’s always fun to look at fashion and decorating and dress up our cookie in the latest trends. I took some of the themes I’ve seen lately and translated them into these super wearable designs for cookies. In September’s McGoo U I will take you through all the techniques I used from piping, painting, a fun new way to create flowers and a brand new secret recipe for McGoo Glitter Gold that will knock your socks off! I also found a brilliant new toy that you are going to love. I officially have one for every color and I’m constantly practicing and finding new uses for them.
August 2015
It’s Back to School time and we are getting ready with some fun designs that can be used for every age and can be modified for just about any occasion. Decorate them in your school colors, give them out to teachers, kids going away to school, or for a high school reunion! Explore some fun new techniques at school: McGoo U.
July 2015
Our palette for July is mostly red, white, and blue with some fun textures. There are a lot of techniques this month including wet-on-wet, stippling, royal icing transfers, a glass effect, and some unexpected piping techniques. My awesomely talented friends who came to decorate the summer day away with me are Christina Ramsey, Andrea Garner of Bella Cakes, and Sally Fraise of Sweetiedoodle.
June 2015
Happy Father’s Day from McGoo U to you! This month we celebrate the dads in our lives by creating cookies they are sure to love: A shiny trophy, a sweet greeting customized with the year they became a dad, and an impressive geometric tie design made easy with a few tips. All of these cookies are perfect for dads, husbands, grandpas, and as always the techniques learned can be used in endless cookie themes and designs.
May 2015
Happy Mother’s Day from McGoo U to you! We have fun with some floral techniques perfect for the inspiring ladies in your life. We create an elegant lavender sprig and a floral masterpiece along with a special cookie for the “fur baby” moms you adore, including Christina Ramsey, Andrea Garner (Bella Cakes), and Sally Fraise (Sweetiedoodle). Techniques include piping, dimensional piping, painting, and brush embroidery to make lavender sprig, brush embroidery painting, and dimensional dog cookies.
April 2015
It’s wedding season and this month we will focus on designs using a super trendy palette: blush, white and metallics. The three designs are great for wedding or bridal cookies and are varying degrees of difficulty so they are great for events large or small. Techniques used are lace piping, royal icing transfers, spray metallics, and a fun and easy use of dragees and sprinkles for a lot of impact.
March 2015
Hop on over to McGoo U to learn how to make an adorable, hinged Easter Bunny and Easter basket overflowing with flowers. This set combines many techniques like RI transfers, stippling, dimension flooding, basket weave piping, and more!
February 2015
Join Arty McGoo and her friends Louise Kressly and Delorse Sword for the February McGoo U class. Decorate along with them as they create a set of beautiful winter cookies. Some of the techniques covered are piping, royal icing transfers, painting, scribble roses, a new wooden plank technique, and more!
January 2015
Join Arty McGoo and her friends Laura Ewing of Cadillac Cookies, Leigh McClellan of Pastry Case, and Bobbi of Bobbi’s Cookies and Cutters for the January McGoo U class. Decorate along with them as they create a set of Valentine cookies that are the perfect way to show how much you care. Some of the techniques covered are piping, royal icing transfers, brush embroidery, painting, and more!
December 2014
Join Arty McGoo and her friends Angela of Icings By Ang, Cami of Cami Cake Co., Bobbi of Bobbi’s Cookies and Cutters for the December McGoo U class. Decorate along with them as they create a set of cookies, perfect for a white Christmas. Some of the techniques covered are piping, royal icing transfers, brush embroidery, and more!
November 2014
Join Arty McGoo and her friends Andrea (Bella Cakes), Laura (Cadillac Cookies), & Teresa (Sister Teresa’s Custom Cut Cookies). Decorate along with them as they create a colorful autumn set of cookies, perfect for Thanksgiving. Some of the techniques covered are painting with food coloring, chalkboard cookies, piping, royal icing transfers, and more!
October 2014
Come learn in the McGoo U laboratory as visiting professor Dr. Maryann Rollins (The Cookie Artisan) teaches us her clever moss and bittersweet-covered tombstone cookie design. Some techniques covered in this tutorial are painting, stippling, piping, and wet-on-wet.
