Easy to make and lots of visual impact and classic birthday fun - that's what we were going for when we whipped up our cookies & cupcakes for Jude's birthday...
Nothing says circus like animal cookies! These were super easy to make and so fun to decorate...We used the sugar cookie recipe from the classic Joy of Cooking - delicious, crispy and buttery! We made royal icing which is the simplest thing to make and frosted them with small paint brushes (more tips for decorating here). Animal cookie cutters found here and here and here.
The cupcakes were baked in the cutest red & white striped cups with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles topped with ribbon flags for a festive circus-y look. We found the striped cupcake liners at Sweet Baking Supply and made the little flags out of grosgrain ribbon and wooden dowels (we found ours at Flax but you can find them at most art/craft supply stores) cut down to varied lengths (find the how-to in our new book, Handmade Weddings!)