You may be wondering why I'm posting Chicago themed decorated sugar cookies when the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics, and Valentine's Day are all right around the corner, but these cookies were for something much more important to me. These cookies were made just for my husband on his birthday.
He's a low-key kind of guy. He'd never ask me to make cookies for him, but when he saw these, he loved them. In fact, you loves them so much that he admitted that he's having a tough time actually eating them. But my two little ones have been chowing down on these non-stop since our birthday celebration for their Papa.
My husband grew up in Chicago, and when I say Chicago, I mean the city (not the burbs like me!). He grew up on the north side of the city, and his teenage years were spent riding the L (the elevated transit system in Chicago). He knows the city like the back of his hand, and since all of our family and most of our oldest and dearest friends live there, Chicago holds a special place in our hearts. Since we couldn't be in Chicago for my husband's birthday, I thought I'd bring a little bit of Chicago to him.
For the Wrigley Field sign, I used a square and oval cookie cutter to achieve my desired shape.
Then, I created a cardboard template to place the marquee and the script for the sign. If I had a cookie projector, it would have been so much faster, easier, and neater! The marquee sign is my absolute favorite part of the cookie. It's like I had Wrigley Field put my husband's birthday up on the board!
The skyline cookies were much more straightforward. I just used a plaque cutter, flooded it with icing, added the details, and voila. Done!
Below are the gifts my two little girls made for their Papa. They have the crafting bug just like their mom! My 5 year-old painted the mug, and my 23 month-old painted the Cookie Monster. You can't see it in the photo, but she insisted that we paint hearts all over Cookie Monster's butt. Yup, she's loves potty humor already! My husband loved his birthday celebration with his two little girls and me. I feel so blessed to have a healthy, happy family. I couldn't ask for anything more.
Chicago Themed Sugar Cookies
The cookie and royal icing recipes can be found here.
Wrigley Field Royal Icing Colors:
Red – Piping and Flood consistencies
White – Piping Consistency
Black – Piping and Flood consistencies
Wrigley Field Sign Decorating Instructions:
1 – Using the template, use a food color marker to outline the marquee portion of the sign.
2 – Outline the entire cookie with red piping icing; making sure to outline the marquee portion of the sign. Allow the outline to set for 30 minutes to an hour.
3 – Flood the cookie with red icing (not including the marquee portion of the sign since that will be black). Allow the cookie to dry for 24 hours.
4 – Using a food safe marker, outline the text.
5 – Using white piping icing, create the lines around the sign. Allow to dry for an hour or so.
6 – Using white piping icing, outline and fill the letters.
7 – Using black flood icing, fill the marquee portion of the sign. Allow the cookie to dry for 24 hours.
8 – Using white piping icing, create the text on the marquee sign.
Skyline Royal Icing Colors:
White – Piping and Flood Consistencies
Blue – 20 second icing
Black – 20 second icing
White – Piping icing
Red – Piping icing
Skyline Decorating Instructions:
1 – Outline the cookie with white piping icing. Allow it to dry for 30 to 45 minutes.
2 – Flood the cookie with white icing. Allow to dry 24 hours.
3 – Using a food color maker, mark off where the black banner will be placed on the cookie. Using 20 second icing, fill in the black banner of the cookie.
4 – Using 20 second blue icing, fill in the water.
5 – Using the black icing, create the buildings. Allow the cookie to dry 24 hours.
6 – Pipe the name of the city on the black banner.
7 – Pipe an outline around the entire cookie in red. Allow the cookie to dry for an hour or so.
8 – Using a fine tip food color maker, add the antennae.
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These are incredible! I love the design and you’ve executed it so beautifully. Happy Bday to your hubby! 😀
omg, those are unreal!
Thanks so much Allie! I’m still sort of new to cookie decorating, but I hope that I’ll get better the more I practice. These cookies were just so fun to make!
Thanks so much The Cape on the Corner! They tasted pretty good too 🙂
What a great idea for your husband’s birthday! These cookies would be a big hit in our family as well…Chicago is so easy to love for those of us born here. But as my husband always says to our kids, “Chicago fans love the Cubs, but they’ll break your heart!” Still…we do love them! Great cookies!
I LOVE them!! So very cool!! Happy birthday to your hubby! 🙂
Hi Jodee,
Great meeting a fellow Chicagoan in the blogosphere! Yes, the Chicago Cubs are perennial heart-breakers, but when you’re from Chicago (especially the north side of the city), you have to love ’em.
Thanks so much Maysem! I’ve had this idea in my head for a while, so I’m glad I was finally able to bring them to life!