The Pitter Patter...

This weekend finds me making special goodies in celebration of babies.  The first project is for my friend Sue's new grandbaby.  I'm making "baby feet" cookies.  Since the parents have decided not to find out whether their soon-to-be baby is a boy or girl, the cookies are frosted in dusty shades of pink, blue, yellow, and sage green.  I couldn't find a cookie cutter in time, so I made my own template.  Using Alton Brown's sugar cookie recipe (now the only recipe I'll ever use), these cookies came out beautifully.  It was fun to pipe little pads and toes using royal icing.  I got up at 6:30 a.m. to package the cookies in cellophane bags and tied them with pretty ribbons.  I think these cookies will be a hit.

I am also baking a cake for my friend Diane's soon-to-arrive granddaughter.  It's going to be a jungle-themed cake for a baby girl, decorated in pink fondant with a little giraffe peeking out from green leaves at the base of the cake.  That will get decorated tonight, and I'll post a picture of both the cake and the cookies later today. The layers are in the oven right now, and the aroma of the French Vanilla cake with a ribbon of dark chocolate marble is warming up my apartment on this cold morning.  Cookies and cakes are not the only things getting frosted today -- I woke up to 20-degree temperatures and a layer of snow coating the ground outside! (Update: It's now later today, and here are the cookies!).

Also, in the spirit of welcoming babies, I send my best wishes to nephew Rod and  his wife Emily, who welcomed their first baby, a son, yesterday.  They are a distance away, but they just may be receiving a box of "baby feet" cookies soon after they return home with their new little bundle. 

I always think of spring as a time for renewal.  It seems my friends and relatives have taken that notion very seriously!  Congratulations to all!

Photo:  Henry's foot when it was really tiny - almost two years ago