Meaghan Mountford - Sugarlicious : 50 cute and clever treats for every occasion

Welcome to Sugarlicious , where you can bake, craft and eat all in one place. Decorated cookies, cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, marshmallows and other sweets claim more and more space in the do-it-yourself world. And with more and more resources available to make unique, quirky treats, the possibilities can be overwhelming. Where do you start? Here. Within these pages, whether were coating marshmallow pops in sprinkles or crafting a garden gnome to display on a cake, edible art is simplified, explained and moved within your creative reach. Imagine walking down the baking aisle at the craft store and feeling completely in control, full of knowledge and inspired by the products, rather than confused by all the tubs of fondant and tubes of food coloring.

This book is about creating cute and clever edible art. And if youre like me, when you see something cute and clever that you can also eat, you immediately wonder if you could make it yourself. Im here to tell you that you can.

While I worked as a cookie decorator for almost a decade, only in the past few years have I moved beyond piping icing to delve into fondant, cupcakes, cakes, marshmallows, petits fours and candy clay. Ive created hundreds of crafty sweets to share on my blog, the decorated cookie. And as the Edible Crafts editor of CraftGossip.com, I mine the internet daily for inspiration and information from the world of food crafts. Here I share what Ive learned with you. Whether the world of decorating sweets intimidates you, intrigues you or consumes you, you are in the right place.

Farm Animal Snack Cakes, a Marshmallow Village, Candy Clay Critters, Solar System Cookie Pops, Milk Shake Cake Pops, Totally Edible Birthday Cake, Crazy Chocolate Lollipopsthis is just a sampling of what youll find inside. The crafts range from super easy to a little more challenging, and they may take anywhere from mere minutes to up to a couple of afternoons to complete. Youll find sweets for every event, occasion, holiday and season, so you can craft all year long. And the best part about edible art is mixing creativity with practicality. The desserts in this book are mixed, baked and crafted as works of art, but they are also meant to be given, served and eaten.

Youll find recipes for cookies, cupcakes, cakes, petits fours, icing, frosting, fondant, candy clay and more. Youll make cookie, marshmallow and cake pops. Youll learn how to mix frosting colors, pipe and flood icing, make fondant decorations, paint and stamp with food colors, use food coloring pens, work with edible icing sheets, decorate with sprinkles and candy, and so many other sweet techniques. With each project in Sugarlicious , youll learn lasting skills that you can apply to the sweet canvas of your choice.

How to use this book

I suggest first skimming through the book just to get an idea of the many edible crafting possibilities. Then choose a treat youd like to make from Part Three: The Crafts. Each craft has a list of the recipes and supplies you need, as well as the techniques you will use. Part One contains all the supplies used in the book, Part Two has all the recipes, and every technique is covered in Part Four. Gather everything you need, and dig in.

The difficulty of each craft is indicated by measuring cup icons. One cup signifies that the craft is easy, two cups indicate that it is moderately challenging and may take a bit more time, and three cups mean it is challenging. Beginners may want to start with a one cup craft, but even the most challenging crafts are absolutely doable for novices and experts alike. Most of the crafts in this book fall in the two cup category.

If you are creating sweets for an event or a party, or to give as a gift, visit Part Five: The Wrapping, where youll find packaging and serving ideas, including how to wrap favors and make arrangements from sweets on sticks. Make sure not to skip Part Six: Resources and Templates, which includes templates to accompany some of the crafts, as well as a Resources list. Supplies are easily accessible and most are found in your local craft store and supermarket, but finding the right supplies can be the toughest part of edible crafting if you dont know where to look or what to buy. Between the Supplies list in Part One and the Resources list in Part Six, youll know exactly what to buy and where to get it.

Look out for Tips, Shortcuts and Ideas. These handy comments offer important time-saving solutions, suggestions to avoid mishaps, and ideas on how to mix and match the crafts.

tips

• Carefully read all the recipes and instructions in advance so you have the ingredients and supplies you need.
• Warning: Most crafts need to dry overnight! And many need to dry overnight between steps. So allow enough time if you are using the crafts for an event or giving them as a gift.
• Heed the Shortcut tips. If you are new Heed the Shortcut tips. If you are new to edible crafting, substituting store-bought ingredients is a great way to make crafting even easier.
• Creativity is encouraged! Once you learn Creativity is encouraged! Once you learn the techniques, youll be best able to make use of the Ideas offered for mixing and matching the sweets and the decorations.