Recent content by jlanger

I've been busy... About sixty different reef fish cookie cutters have been designed and I've been trying to get some inventory built up so the printer has been earning its keep.

Ta-da! TANGS!!!! The first batch of 3D printed cookie cutters have been printed. Eleven cutters completed. Another 175+ to go.

Any guesses at what I purchased during this Black Friday Sale weekend? I have a lot of learning and designing ahead of me now.

As of now, I am only making cookies for events that I will be attending. And especially during this time of year, my cookie efforts are directed towards the Christmas cookie variety.

A 3D printer for creating the cutters has been on my wish list for years and I'm very close to adding those to my list of projects.

I just wanted to add this photo as a comparison showing the progression of my fish cookies over the past eight years. Disclaimer: I didn't get around to making the Potter's Dwarf Angelfish cookie this year so I substituted the Coral Beauty Dwarf Angelfish in its place.

The next event was Reef-A-Palooza at Chicago. With these two events being scheduled fairly close together, I didn't have much time in between for much else. For this event, I decided to make dwarf angelfish cookies; the Centropyge and Paracentropyge. In addition to all of these...

We're back, baby!!! When COVID-19 shut down all gatherings and events, there was about two years when I wasn't making any fish cookies to share with my friends. But when those events came back in 2021, I was ramped up to bring more fish cookies and even more excited to step up the decorating...

Let's take this up a notch! Over the years, I created more and more cookie cutters and decorated numerous fish species. In the summer of 2018, I was asked to make some fish cookies for a special event with specific cookies requested. I could've used some of the cutters that I already have...

Cookie Requests and Special Orders After the initial batch of cookies was delivered to Rhinelander, the cookies were posted various social media outlets and it caught the attention of a few people interested in having cookies made and shipped to them. Since I use an icing that doesn't dry into...

Decorating Cookies! With the cookies and icing all ready to go, it's time to decorate. This is the most intensive portion of the cookie making process. I'm a perfectionist. I need to have my cookie look just like the fish I am decorating. So this process takes time. This build will show how I...

Making the Icing! I used to make a buttercream icing for the cut-out cookies. As I made more and more cookies, I found that the buttercream recipe wasn't great for the cookies. It tasted great, but it doesn't set up as well. The butter warms very quickly causing the icing to become too soft. By...

Making Cookies! Once the dough has chilled, I prepare for rolling out and cutting the dough. I line each cookie sheet with parchment paper. This makes it very easy to transfer the cookies from the pan and it makes the clean-up at the end VERY EASY! I again remind you to wash your hands. I...

Making Cookie Dough Here comes the fun part. Cookies. Not sure if I have to go step-by-step, but why stop here. It is a build thread. I use a basic cut-out cookie recipe. Butter (1 c.) Powdered Sugar (1-1/2 c.) Egg (1) Vanilla (1 tsp.) [I use my mom's homemade vanilla.] Almond Flavoring (1/2...

Making a Cookie Cutter The first step to any cutter is design. I find a photo of what I want to make a cutter for and I make a freehand drawing to the size I want. The drawing doesn't have to be perfect. After doing many cookies, you will learn how the dough will bake and will affect the shape...