Custom Cookies

Lucky 13: The Thrilling Quest for Magical Cookies

By Julia on 9 March, 2020

I have been having a blast designing and creating Thirteen Charms for my March special. Not only is this the month of St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s also the first Friday the 13th of the year! Every day, for the first 13 days of March, I’ll be showcasing each Charm; I turned into a set of cookie-cutters if it doesn’t have you skipping around singing, “Hearts, stars, clovers, horseshoes, and blue moons. Unicorns*, rainbows, and tasty red balloons” I don’t know what else could. 😊

Leprechaun Magic

Lucky the Leprechaun (arguably the most famous Leprechaun) was gifted four magical charms by his dad; the Heart, Star, Clover, and Moon. His job is to spread magic around the world. Lucky is a harmless yet mischievous leprechaun and knows our world could use more than magic.

I hope to help Lucky in his endeavors by spreading more magic by stirring the joy within our nostalgic hearts. Lucky Charms are my favorite cereal. I thought I knew the shapes. I could sing the song. (There have been a couple of iterations because of new charms and discontinued charms). Little did I know how much I would learn about the magical world where Lucky lives!

The Charms

I started out looking at the box of Lucky Charms and the assorted eight charms. I was excited to sketch them and print them in a few different sizes. Then I got to thinking, where is the Pot of Gold? Did the new Unicorn replace it? Then the more I dug, the more I realized I hadn’t eaten much cereal over the last decade. The Pots of Gold were retired in 2008. RIP.

While I miss the pots of Gold, I love the Unicorns. (The Unicorns replaced the Hourglass. If I hadn’t looked it up I wouldn’t have known what that charm was supposed to be 🤷🏼‍♀️). At this point, my brain started whirring. What other charms have I missed out on or forgotten? Then I got to digging.

I remember the release of the rainbows in the 90s. I recalled the crystal balls that melted to reveal Lucky’s hiding location or answer yes or no questions. I ventured deep down the rabbit hole. At this point, I knew I wanted to have a dozen cookies. I scoured some Wiki fan pages devoted to the “Magically Delicious” cereal to search for hidden gems that I may not have recalled. I also thought about including the cereal shapes, but I felt committed to the marshmallow charms.

Decision Time

By the end of all of my research, I decided on :

Hearts
Shooting Stars
Clovers
Leprechaun Hats
Horseshoes
Blue Moons
Pots of Gold
Hourglasses
Unicorns
Rainbows
Tasty Red Balloons
?

I hemmed and hawed over how to fill the 12th spot. The original 4 Charms were Pink Hearts, Orange 6-Sided Stars, Green Clovers, and Yellow Moons. So maybe I should include the original star? Then I thought about the Blue Diamond. It was the first new Charm! I was also ~~mildly~~ obsessed with the Whales from ’86, but were they too obscure?

I reached out to my R&D team, aka my two best gals at work, and took a survey. One agreed that the Whales would be trendy in general (whether they were in the Charms collection or not). My other gal was immediately hooked on the Blue Diamonds (because they are blue). Also, there were lots of questions surrounding the 6-sided stars. Were they Stars of David? (I’m not the creator of Lucky Charms. I have no answers to these kinds of questions. My only thought is they are perfectly symmetrical). Though I could use them in a Channukah Collection as well… (and I love cookie-cutters with more than one purpose).

With the resounding response (*cough* one strong vote) for the Blue Diamond, I was all set. Yet, my heart still longed for the Whale. I connected with the Whale. I was born in ’86, and I love how ~~random~~ quirky this Whale is. So I decided to have both. I would have 13.

An Ocelot’s Dozen: The Lucky 13

Thirteen has been my favorite number as long as I can remember. I like spooky movies, I don’t believe in superstitions, and I felt like the number 13 got a bad wrap (just like black cats). I enjoyed being playful on Friday the 13th, walking under ladders, playing with all cats that may cross my path, because Friday the 13th was just another day. It took the fear out of it and turned it into something wildly fun!

I frequently have an extra cookie or two that I add to orders (gratis). I always bake a few extra in case there is an icing mishap, oven mishap, and of course, I need some for tasting! So an Ocelot’s Dozen is anywhere from 13-15.

As fortune has it, this Friday is Friday the 13th! If you need to double your luck, add charms to ward off your superstitions, or just have some extra fun this month, you can always order some of the Lucky 13! You may never catch Lucky the Leprechaun, but I’ll be taking orders all month!

Hearts
Shooting Stars
Clovers
Leprechaun Hats
Horseshoes
Blue Moons
Pots of Gold
Hourglasses
Unicorns
Rainbows
Tasty Red Balloons
Diamonds
Swirled Whales

Charming Cookie-Cutters

I sketched, designed, and 3D printed five sizes of each Charm. The options are as follows: Tiny Bites, Extra Small (XS), Small, Medium, and Large. If you are trying to compute the math, it’s 65 Cookie-Cutters. The printing time for each cookie cutter ranged from 1 – 4 hour(s). (It took me a couple of weeks to print them all).

As I was making a set of balloons for a co-worker’s baby’s 1st birthday (because the baby loves balloons), I accidentally started making them in a Rainbow Brite-style rainbow. Then I HAD to make a full set in the same Rainbow (even though I ended up gifting a small set in the colors of the Parents’ Alma Mater).

Cookie Time

Once the cookie-cutters finished printing, it was time to start baking test cookies! Yum!

Here is the collection of Shooting Stars! The Tiny bites are the perfect 1-2 bite cookie! (Tiny Bites, Extra Small (XS), Small, Medium, and Large)

Tiny Bites

I was pleased as punch when a full collection of 13 fit in my skinny cookie sleeve!

Extra Small (XS)

Eight XS cookies fit in the same sleeve! Which also felt like serendipity! (As for many years there have been eight charms packed in our cereal).

Small

The small cookies also come in packs of eight!

Medium

The medium cookies come in packs of 2! (You can choose!) Some of my suggested pairings are:

Shooting Star & Moon
Rainbow & Pot of Gold
Unicorn & Horseshoe
Clover & Leprechaun Hat
Unicorn & Rainbow

Large

Large cookies are available in single packs!

St.-Paddys-Menu

Finding the Leprechaun!

I stared at my cookie-cutters for days and days as they were printing and while I was baking. I kept getting the Unicorns turned around, so where I couldn’t tell what shape they were! One day, as this happened, I noticed my Pot of Gold had a funny resemblance to a curly beard! So I was inspired to make a Leprechaun! (Remember that love of turning Cookie-Cutters into multiple designs!)

Lucky Charms Treats!

Back by popular demand are Lucky Charms Treats! (Like Rice Cereal Treats, but made with Lucky Charms). I made them last year for St. Patrick’s Day, and they were such a hit that people started asking me about them in early February! This year, I’ll be offering a chocolate drizzled option as well as the plain (which is anything other than plain)!

These gooey treats are filled with homemade vanilla marshmallows!

Also, Gluten-Free Friends, did you know that Lucky Charms are GF? They are made from oats (and triple sifted to ensure they leave no traces of any gluten). I’ve never really thought about what they are made of, just that they are “magically delicious!”

Baked Goods | Cookies | Holiday | Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day Special

By Julia on 4 February, 2020

For Valentine’s day, I wanted to turn a classic treat into a delicious cookie. I love the traditional phrases, but I enjoyed taking a LOT of liberties with various other ideas and even asked a few friends for some ideas too!

I knew I needed a classic and modern collection; they were easy choices. I also didn’t want to alienate those that aren’t currently coupled or aren’t into the holiday, and my mind ran wild with the idea of anti-conversation cookies. Maybe you like Valentine’s day, and you don’t want to share the cookies. Or, you want to share some humor with some friends? Perhaps there is someone who doesn’t understand that they have been put in the “friend zone,” and they need a more explicit message?

Building my website has been nerve-wracking. Developing the courage to share it and invite others to view it has filled me with excitement, anxiety, joy, and so many other emotions. To give myself a little extra push, I decided to make a collection of encouragement cookies. A third of them are focused on “GIRL POWER,” but more broadly, they can be used for any audience that needs some inspiration.

I had a lot of “extra” ideas that I couldn’t seem to let go of, but I liked having a clean dozen in each collection. Naturally, this created the “bonus” collection. I thought a cookie that simply said “cats” was a purr-fectly clear message that said, “not interested.” My awesome SIL also thought it was hilarious, but as I mentioned it to a few other people, it didn’t really get any laughs. (Side note, my SIL and I laughed hysterically at this. Maybe it is because we are cat ladies).

Valentines-Menu

Ordering

How to order? On my menu, there is a custom order tab. Fill out the form, and in the notes section, describe the choices you desire and submit! Or you can always email me at Julia@theOcelotsDen.com.

When ordering you can mix and match as you please. Or you can order a dozen of one (or each) collection. If you order 6 or a dozen cookies, the cookies will be 6 different colors (or pairs of 6 different colors). If you order 2 cookies, I will randomly choose 2 colors.

All of the cookie orders will come in their own boxes sized based on the number of cookies.

Half-dozen cookie boxes are shown. Boxes will be chosen randomly for orders.

The cookies are large cookies based on my cookie sizing chart.

Updates

Now Taking Orders!

By Julia on 29 January, 2020

I am bubbling over with joy to announce I am officially taking local orders! If you are interested, I have created a “Custom Orders” page on the menu bar! It is complicated to include every option available, so if you are in doubt, include any thoughts or ideas in the notes section of the form.

A couple of weeks ago, I got super official and set up my business as an LLC and created all the appropriate filings to pay taxes. (I still need to get with my county. I am hoping to accomplish that in the next week or so. I want to be a good citizen and check all the blocks. I couldn’t submit that form online, and their office is 20 miles from my day job). I know that may not seem exhilarating, and paying taxes isn’t exactly on my top-10 list of exciting things, but it makes everything more “real!”

If, for some reason, the form doesn’t work (still learning about building websites), or it’s just more comfortable for you, feel free to email me your order requests! (I plan to respond to all requests within three business days).

I’m looking forward to a beautifully sweet 2020!

Baked Goods | Birthdays | Cake | Cookies | Holiday

A Magical Birthday

By Julia on 20 January, 2020

One of my sweet nephews turned seven recently. He has just started reading “Harry Potter” and was able to watch “The Chamber of Secrets” this week! I have been waiting on pins and needles for one of my nieces and/ or nephews to get hooked so that I can share the magic with them.

I asked him before Christmas what kind of cake he would like. I had planned on making fun sorting hat cupcakes. He was precise with his request, and it quickly changed my course. ‘I’d like a vanilla cake, I guess, with strawberries. So it tastes fresh. Sometimes (I think) cake is just so sweet.’

While I had my heart initially set on the sorting hat cupcakes, it was much better to prepare something exactly as he wanted it. I would find something else to create a magical element. (Besides, he’s only seven, he isn’t old enough to be sorted yet. #hufflepuffforlife). I even practiced by attempting to mold a tootsie roll into a sorting hat at lunch one day. Some of my friends and family immediately knew it was the sorting hat. Not everyone was convinced. They may or may not have thought it looked like Poo. So I made a poop Emoji out of another tootsie roll.

When I recovered from the fixation on the cupcakes, I realized I needed to make this as a whole cake instead. I wanted to bake my nephew some custom cookies in a wizard-like font to top his extraordinary cake.

I designed five cookie-cutters to spell out his name and capture his new age! There were some trials and errors in the designs. I cursed myself several times because I kept forgetting that you have to mirror numbers and letters to have them cut properly. It doesn’t matter for symmetrical letters, but in strange fonts, even a capital “A” is noticeable when printed backward. (Oops!)

Next came the cake itself. When I think of Vanilla cake and strawberries, I immediately imagine strawberry shortcakes. Especially the shortcakes in the grocery store that look like little fruit cups. (I have a basket weave shortcake pan, but I wasn’t sure that was the right call for a seventh birthday party). Instead, I baked a cake that would taste similar, and I planned to layer in the strawberries like a giant shortcake.

I baked the cake in two layers. (I should have baked it in three-layers instead of cutting the cake, it would have baked faster, but I only have two pans 10-inch pans). Due to the birthday boy’s aversion to overly sweet cake, I opted to use a thick whipped cream in lieu of a traditional frosting. I sliced and macerated the strawberries with some fresh lemon juice and a light dusting of sugar. I let the berries hang out while I sliced the cake and whipped the cream. Waiting allowed the juices to come out of the fruit and make a lovely light syrup for the cake.

With a cool cake, sliced and ready, I piped a dam of whipped cream around the edge of the cake. Next, I used a silicone basting brush and spread some of the excess strawberry syrup on the cake, followed by filling in the whipped cream and topping it with the sliced strawberries. I repeated this X3.

At the top of the cake, I used a large star tip to pipe the thick cream over the whole surface. I reserved 7 of the most beautiful strawberries to adorn the top of the cake. I hulled them and filled the void with some more whipped cream.

Earlier in the morning, I baked the sugar cookies for the cake. When they were cool, I sprayed them with edible gold paint and inserted some toothpicks in their base.

The birthday boy was coming over for a seafood feast (at his request), so I made a few other treats to compliment the cake and bring more magic into the day. I used a frog mold to make some fruit gummies and some chocolate frogs. The gummy frogs turned out great. (They felt like frogs). The chocolate frogs had very delicate front legs. Only one survived, but they were still tasty, and everyone enjoyed them.

We also had some divination butterbeer. (Add a drop of food color in the bottom of a glass under some ice and pour over your beverage for a colorful surprise).

I also sent them home with a dozen cookies I stamped with some cookies presses I got for Christmas. The impressions weren’t as crisp as I had anticipated (because of the fine details). It was a completely magical afternoon!

Hogwarts
Gryffindor
Ravenclaw
Slytherin
Hufflepuff

Cookie-Cutters | Updates

By Julia on 31 December, 2019

I am so excited because I can finally make custom Cookie-Cutters! (Cue, Handel’s “Messiah”) I recently was gifted with a 3-D Printer. I am beside myself with excitement! I have had a Silhouette (craft cutting machine) for seven years and love it. When I discovered they started making 3-D printers, I knew the Silhouette Alta was on the top of my wish list. (This is not a sponsored post. Just a fangirl geeking out). I use my Silhouette for more than craft cutting; I also use it for graphic design. I’m not sure this is the intended use case, but I already have the software, and I know how to use it. (It’s how I turned my sketch of the ocelot logo into an actual logo).

I have an understanding of the software, and I trust the maker of silhouette products, plus the retail cost of the Silhouette wasn’t astronomically high, and I felt like it was a good entry point for a hobby 3-D printer. My initial goal was to earn enough bakery profits to buy the 3-D printer, but secret Santa surprised me!!!

What does this mean for Custom Cookies?

Now that I have this 3-D printer, I can design and print custom cookie cutters and cookie stamps for any occasion. I won’t have to wait to order from Etsy or Amazon. I won’t waste hours scouring page after page searching for the perfect toy soldier and end up with a fantastic toy soldier that has short legs. My creative mind can go wild, and the sky is the limit!

What are the actual limitations?

Realistically there are, of course, limitations. The print bed of the Silhouette Alta is about 5-inches in diameter. Cookie-cutters have a handle, which takes up some space, so about the largest, I can make is about a 4.5-inch square (20.25sq inches), which is an XL cookie on my menu.

I have to be cautious about the amount of detail I use in the cookie stamps. In my first design, I created a simplified Ocelot stamp and cutter. Some of the features were fine and broke off. Since I am working with edibles, this isn’t ideal. I had to go back to the drawing board and create a design that didn’t have whiskers that would be fragile.

Other than size and fine detail, I have a vast amount of flexibility, which is thrilling! Can’t find an ocelot cookie-cutter? I’m your girl. Are you looking for A narwhal wearing a birthday hat? I’m your girl! Love Stegosauruses, but can’t find a cookie-cutter in a sea of T-rex and Triceratops? You guessed it; I’m your girl!!
I can’t wait to see what awaits in 2020!

I can’t wait to see what awaits in 2020!

Baked Goods | Christmas | Cookies | Holiday | Winter

Sweet Arctic Wonderland

By Julia on 29 December, 2019

A little over a month ago, my SIL asked me if I could bake some (5-dozen) Christmas Cookies for a school event. She gave me full creative licensing, and I was off to the races. I had recently acquired some hexagon cookie cutters and knew I HAD to use them for this project. I’ve seen a lot of creative holiday themes on squares and rectangles, so I knew I could make something work on a hexagon too.

I spent an afternoon looking around for various ideas. I saw penguins and snowmen that were adorable. I even sketched them out. But then I became besotted with a precious polar bear. The polar bear led me to think about other arctic creatures. So, of course, I HAD to make a narwhal (or two) because the narwhal is my favorite real sea creature. (Otherwise, it’s mermaids).

I thought a little longer and remembered that I have an adorable yeti that sings “Winter Wonderland.” I felt my set was complete! A half dozen creatures and I could make ten of each. As I was looking at the color scheme of my sketches though I realized it was far better if I narrowed my scope. So I whittled it down to Polar Bear, Narwhal (x2), and Yeti.

I shared my sketches with my SIL, and she was just as in love as me. Her oldest (6 going on 13) then requested a cat in a Santa hat. So I knew I’d make him a couple of special ones. (Snow Ocelot-A fictional cat).

I wanted to try to use the fewest colors I could for the simplicity of design and execution. So I wanted half on a teal background and the other half on a gray background. I had initially intended to have several plain cookies in solid teal and gray. I thought some people might not want to eat the cute cookies, plus I knew it would also help keep the cost down for my SIL.

About two weeks before the cookie order was due, my SIL found out they were going to do a cookie decorating contest, and parents were asked not to bring dessert, so she reduced her order to one and a half dozen for a Christmas party she was throwing. Since it was a smaller order, I opted to do all creatures.

I piped the different animals one color at a time and in layers in places to create some depth. I was giddy once they were all decorated. Patience is a requirement with cookie decorating, I was ready to add faces and eyes, but the frosting takes time to set. I arranged them around in alternating patterns for fun before I headed to bed.

The next morning I got up bright and early to add all the fine details with my handy dandy edible markers.

I freehanded the snow ocelot by looking at my original logo sketch by only focusing on the darkest parts. I was happy to only have two ocelots in the bunch, but it was entertaining to draw in such detail on a cookie!

With all the fine details added, I painted over the yellow horns with some edible gold paint, and they were all finished!