Enjoy these refreshing cookies for Father’s Day! They’re jumbo sugar cookies decorated with royal icing and they’re a fun way to tell Dad he’s the best pop around.

First off make some cookie dough. I used this Sugar Cookie Recipe from Bake at 350. It’s a keeper and I use it whenever I make sugar cookies. The recipe makes 9 of these jumbo cookies. Ten if you rolled them a little thinner.

I used this awesome rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough. A new fave I recently bought from Food52. It rolls perfectly even, quarter-inch-thick cookies. I have always used a rolling pin and added those thick rubber bands on the ends to help keep my cookie thicknesses the same, but this one is much more convenient and I love it so far.

Now, I’ll admit that these cookies are not the quickest to make because of the multiple colors and drying time needed, but I couldn’t resist trying to make them after this soda pop pun popped in my head. If you’re a cookie decorating pro, they’ll probably be a breeze for you, though. I’m not, so I made a template for my idea to make the decorating easier.

I highly recommend downloading this template for yourself if you decide to give them a go.

* Cut out the soda can from the paper template with scissors. * Roll out cookie dough and use a straight edge to cut the dough into rectangular shapes based on the size of the template. * Then cut out the corners of the can from the paper template and use a knife to cut the same corners off from the dough. I always roll my dough on lightly floured parchment paper so I can easily transfer the cookie cut outs to a baking sheet when they are ready to go in the oven.

Bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes and let cool completely.

Now for the next step. I used the same template and cut it into sections to use as a piping guide. Just trace each section on the cookie with a black edible ink pen. This was super helpful for me because there is no way I could have gotten them all to look similar without it.

Now, you’ll need some royal icing. You can use the same recipe from here.

I left some of the icing white, tinted some gray and then tinted three shades of green to get started. If you're careful and good at cookie icing planning, you can get all the colors you need out of one batch of icing.

These cookies really need to be made over two days, so you can also just make a second batch for the remaining colors when you’re ready …especially if you’re like me and not good at judging how much of each color you’ll need.

Here’s my piping order. (And I basically just played around with icing consistencies to avoid having to pipe the outlines and then come back and fill in with flood icing. To thin icing, you can add a little water and to thicken it, you can add a little powdered sugar.)

Okay, first I piped the lid and bottom of the can using tinted gray royal icing.

Then, with all my green shades ready to go, I started with the lightest color green in the middle of the can and then filled in the medium green on either side of the light green while the icing was still wet to give it a seamless look. And I repeated the same thing with the darkest shade of green. (Note: As I completed each section, I added a few dots with alternating shades before moving on to the next shade of green.)

Toothpicks are super handy. I used them to even out the icing where there were empty spaces and also to help create pointed ends. Just gently pull it through the icing as shown in the last picture above.

Now let dry. Dry. Dry. Dry. I would recommend drying overnight.

Now, we’re on to day two. I used white icing and tinted blue, yellow icing and more gray icing to finish the cans.

For the words, I used the same template and cut out the word soda as one piece and the word pop with the circle badge as a second piece.

Then I could easily place each word in position and trace right on top of the cookie with an edible ink-writing pen. I used Sweet Sugarbelle’s pens here because they have a really thin tip.

You’re best … I tried to do mine to pipe these words around the other letters.

Oh and I used tipless decorating bags to pipe everything by the way. They’re pretty handy. But me and lettering… not so much. I’m definitely not great at this. But when I would mess up, I would just wipe the icing off and start over until I got something that was readable. Let the words dry some and then you’re on to the the big letters…

Soda Pop!

I made the blue icing with a thicker consistency so it would not spread, but would also not need to be outlined. Because that would have been a disaster.

Pipe inside the lines and then tint some icing yellow and pipe inside the circle. Outline the lid with more gray royal icing and let everything dry.

When dry, I added a little highlight detail to the big letters by lightening the remaining blue royal icing with white icing color and using a small paintbrush to gently paint highlights on the letters.

For the final touch I used an orange edible ink-writing pen to write inside the circles because after piping the white letters I knew I wouldn’t be able to make them look straight enough. The pens are much easier to control and you could even use them for the other small words if you want. Here’s the color assortment for reference.

You’re so da best Pop!!! Enjoy and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

It’s a gonna be a bright, bright sun-shiny day for anyone that receives these super cute cake pops. They are just so cheery!!!

Now, I’m pretty sure these are my first sunny cake pops. You’d think I would have tackled them by now out of all the designs I’ve created over the years…… but really, there’s still a ton of designs I want to make.

And today it’s these sweet-faced little suns. The design was inspired by these cute weather illustrations I saw on Etsy. I think it was their happy little faces that got me.

Okay, let me shine a light on how I made the rays. I knew I needed to make a ring of light to match the illustration. I just needed to figure out how best to make it work.

Here’s what I came up with.

I found a 1.5-inch metal cutter and used this as my starting point.

Then I made a template based on the cutter. (Here it is if you want to give these a go.)

* First tape a piece of wax paper to the top of your template. * Then fill a squeeze bottle with melted and smooth yellow candy coating and carefully pipe a ring inside the lines. Use a toothpick to pull and coerce the coating into the pointed tips. You are basically coloring within the lines using melted candy coating. * Let the rings dry and then use the same cutter to very gently remove any excess coating that overflowed into the center. You want a round shape to fit over your round cake pops. * Gently twist the sharp edge of the cutter in position and it will cut through the candy.

And voila. Rays ready to shine.

I went with strawberry cake for these… Crumbled, mixed with frosting and rolled into balls. Here are my full basic cake pop instructions if you need them.

I made the rays first to use as a guide for my cake pop size. You want the balls to be just slightly smaller in diameter than the opening of the rays so that when you dip them in coating and place the rays on top, the coating attaches to the sides and acts like a glue.

I thought about adding the rays to already dipped and dried cake pops, but they would have had to be attached after the fact and the opening could have had gaps or just seemed stuck on instead of one seamless sun.

* Dip the end of a lollipop stick into melted coating and then into a chilled cake ball. (see my basic instructions for tips) * Dip into melted and fluid candy coating that is a shade darker than your rays. You can use orange or just add a little bit of red candy coating to the yellow you are already using. * Let any excess coating fall off and back into the bowl and while the coating is still wet, quickly place a ring of rays over the pop so that the sides of the cake ball touch the inside opening of the rays. * Let dry completely.

Faces next. Use a black edible ink writing pen to draw little smiles and eyes like above.

Dot the eyes with melted white candy coating using a toothpick. (It really finishes the look and adds personality) Then attach two pink confetti sprinkles in place using melted candy coating as glue.

And that’s it.

Enjoy and I hope these brighten your day!

Luscious! That’s what this cake is. I made this little gem for my mom this past weekend to surprise her for Mother’s Day. I say surprise because over the last year or more she will periodically send me the link to this cake on Pinterest and ask me to make it for her. Needless to say I haven’t until now.

I mean … She likes vanilla. I Iike chocolate. She likes fruit. I like chocolate. She likes pastries. I like chocolate. She likes nuts. I like chocolate.

For us to be so much alike, this makes me wonder. But Mother’s Day seemed like the perfect occasion to make something springy and sweet for her.

P.S. When I gave it to her she said, I hope it’s not chocolate.

She was very excited to find out it wasn’t.

This cake is bursting with loads of lemon and blueberry flavor.

When mixing blueberries in the batter, it helps to coat them first in flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom when baking.

Divide the batter among 3 pans and bake away. I used 8 X 2 inch pans.

When the cake cools, frost it with cream cheese buttercream. SO so so good.

Decorate the top a bit more and sprinkle it with love.

When it’s time to cut into the cake, prepare yourself for this glory that awaits inside.

Now, even though I almost always lean towards chocolate, I can appreciate something absolutely delicious and this hits the mark. Mom approves, too!

Keep it in the fridge and when you bite into a berry, you’ll get a thrill from the cold juice that bursts in your mouth.

Here’s the original recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I want to send you straight to the source, because she shared wonderful, detailed instructions that you’ll find super helpful.

P.S. I did double the frosting recipe though.

Enjoy!

I could not stop eating these soft chocolatey cookies filled with pockets of Nutella right in the middle. Oh my gosh. So good!

Ingredients are straight up basic but these cookies are bursting with chocolate flavor.

Dreamy!

And a delicious addition mixed in the batter.

Now let’s double the fun with chocolate morsels.

Chill the dough and prepare more Nutella to stuff inside.

Pipe very thick lines on wax paper using remaining Nutella (that you didn’t already eat by the spoonful) and freeze for about 30 minutes.

When firm, slice into roughly 1-inch sections.

Scoop up some dough, place a nutella piece on top and then spoon more cookie dough on top. Shape and seal the edges and then place on a wax paper covered baking sheet.

Finally press more morsels on the top and sides and bake.

Pressing morsels on top before baking helps them look much more glamourous.

Make sure to eat some while still warm to get all that melt-in-your-mouth that gooey goodness.

Enjoy!

Rawr! These little guys are so cute. I wish I had a safari party to bring them to. But alas… They’ll just have to hang out in my kitchen. Or maybe the den (wink wink) until I devour their furry faces.

So grab some cupcakes and buttercream frosting and let the decorating begin.

* Frost cupcakes with buttercream tinted light brown. I used a couple of drops of brown and yellow gel icing color for the lion’s fur. * Gently tap the frosted cupcake on all sides in a small dish filled with powdered sugar. * Then shape the frosting into a nice little dome using the palm of your hand if needed. The thin coating of powdered sugar will keep frosting from sticking to your hands. * Finally, gently roll the frosted cupcake on a paper towel. This will remove most of the sugar and create a tiny textured pattern at the same time.

Looks kind of like short fur. : ) That was the intention anyway.

And, don’t worry about any last remaining flecks of sugar. They will eventually disappear from the moisture in the frosting.

Okay, now let’s put their faces on! It’s easy.

Eyes = Black sugar pearls Noses = Chocolate morsels Mouth = White M&M’s or chocolate gems Tongues = Pink confetti sprinkles

Start with the noses and then add the other details. You just need to gently press each piece into the frosting. I decorated each face as I went to make sure the frosting was still sticky enough to allow the pieces to stay in place.

Sidenote: You can totally decorate these lions by just frosting the faces and skipping the whole powdered sugar and pattern method. I just like to start with smooth frosting when making animal faces. Like I did with these chicks using sanding sugar instead of powdered sugar. Sugar crystals work too. And cocoa powder on chocolate frosting also does the trick.

Ferociously cute faces!

Now for the “mane” attraction. Tint buttercream a darker brown and use a #233 grass decorating tip to pipe around the perimeter of the cupcake.

Pipe around at least twice and fill in where necessary for a full head of hair.

Tip: If your heat from your hands starts to make the frosting too soft creating droopy hair, then place the piping bag in the freezer for just a couple of minutes to firm it back up again.

Adorable. And oh yeah, the ears… I reserved some of the light brown frosting to pipe two small dollops of frosting on each cupcake and then used a toothpick to scrape down and carefully remove half of it so they would look flat on the front side and round on the back. Sorry I forgot to photograph that step. : )

I love them just like this, but …

You can also make them feel like a king. I used one of my Bakerella for Make’n Mold candy molds (discontinued now) but google crown candy molds and you can find something similar. Then just fill the candy mold with melted candy coating. Let dry and use gold luster dust mixed with clear vanilla extract to paint right on top of the candy.

Royally cute! Hope you enjoy them.