ANNOUNCMENT!

Curtain Up Cookies is taking a hiatus from cookie creating to focus on outside endeavors.

Please check out the NEW Curtain Up Crafts etsy store to see what we're up to over there!

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Introducing Curtain Up Crafts!

I have some exciting news!

It is a little bittersweet as it means I am shifting away from cookie decoration, but I have a new endeavor!

Introducing Curtain Up Crafts!



I have been bit by the embroidery bug and have had so much fun creating and experimenting with cross stitch and embroidery.

Last Friday was the grand opening of my Etsy store!


Use Code CURTAINUP20 for 20% off your order until the end of July!


Here is a sneak peak at some of the items in the store. Some are Broadway related and some are not. Some are already sold out, as people snatched them up right away, but I will try to restock and add new items weekly!

I also do custom orders, so please contact me here or on the Etsy store for more information!

Visit my Etsy store here: curtainupcrafts.etsy.com


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Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Curious Holiday : Winter Pups & Rats for The Curious Incident...


Right before the holidays, I dropped off some treats to the company of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime on Broadway; cookies of the two furry stars of the show, Toby the rat and Watson the puppy!

The puppies grow so quickly that they bring in a new one every 4 weeks! Animal trainer & wrangler for the show, Lydia DesRoche has each of the animals drawn by a friend as a graduation gift. 
The "Wall of Fame" 
Photo by Lydia DesRoche

When we discussed the cookies, Puppy #4: Watson had just graduated, so we decided to use his drawing. How cute is he?!? 
Drawing by Mary Garcia

Now they are on Puppy #6! Happy to report that all of the graduated puppies have been adopted since their star turn.
Mary Garcia has done all of the puppy portraits, and Lili Chin (doggiedrawings.net) did this great drawing of Toby (sold on T-shirts here!)

Drawing by Lili Chin (doggiedrawings.net)

 Lydia and I wanted to give the cookies a little holiday theme, so I added a scarf to Toby and a winter hat to Watson.




The best part was that when I dropped off the cookies, I got to meet Toby! 
Photo by Lydia DesRoche

She was so sweet and really loved the cookies!
Photo by Lydia DesRoche

Follow Lydia on instagram (@lydia.d) for more pictures of all the adorable Broadway animals she cares for, and a great video of how Toby liked her cookie.



Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Here's a look back at this year in cookies!



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Monday, December 29, 2014

Chrismukkah Cookies!


Happy Holidays!


A friend of mine has been asking me to make holiday cookies for her family for years. 
They celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, 
so I got a little creative and couldn't wait to make these half-and-half cookies!





I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a great new year to come!


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Saturday, December 20, 2014

Rhapsody Collective Collabaret!

I love getting the chance to donate my cookie talents to a friend's cause! On Thursday night, Rhapsody Collective, a group of young New York City artists collaborating to create new plays, held a fundraiser called their Collabaret. Or is that what we're calling the finale song on The Colbert Report...? Topical humor! Yay! Anyway, my good friend Michael Bradley Block is the founder and artistic director of Rhapsody Collective. I've really enjoyed watching this group grow and expand throughout its three years, and I jumped at the chance to help by donating a batch of cookies to their Tricky Tray raffle.


It's easy to raffle off a batch of custom cookies for the lucky winner to order later on, but I always think it's more fun to have the cookies at the event so people can see them first hand, and so the winner can eat them right away! Instant gratification! So, I found these cute "cabaret" silhouettes to coincide with the event.


The Collabaret was a big hit, and let me tell you, Rhapsody has some crazy talented members that are going to be making headlines real soon! WOW! Check out some of the performances on their facebook page and keep an eye out for the collective's third cycle of plays coming in April 2015!




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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

My 3 Favorite Non-Cookie Holiday Treats


As much as I'd love to, I can't decorate cookies for every holiday party I go to.  Since I spend most of my pre-holiday time working on batches of cookies for others (stay tuned!), I have a few go-to party treats that are easy to whip up for my friends, and are guaranteed to be a huge hit!




NO-BAKE OREO TRUFFLE BALLS (Easy)



These simple truffle balls are to die for! And with so many different types of Oreos and Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's out there (I used TJ's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's - SO GOOD!), the flavor combinations are endless!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 regular-sized package of Oreos or Joe-Joe's
1 8oz. package of cream cheese (room temperature)
1 10oz. bag of easy-melt chocolate
Toppings (Crushed Candy Canes, Sprinkles, Cookie Crumble, etc.)

WHAT TO DO:
1. REMOVE the cookies from the package and place in a large Ziploc bag.
2. Make sure the Ziploc bag is completely closed with little air inside. CRUSH the cookies up.
3. POUR the crushed cookies into a medium bowl. ADD the room-temperature cream cheese. MIX the cream cheese with the cookies until completely combined. There should be no dry cookie pieces at the bottom of the bowl.
4. LINE a cookie tray with parchment paper. SHAPE the "dough" into 1-inch balls and place on the parchment. PLACE the full cookie sheet in the freezer while you prep the chocolate. This helps the balls stay together when they are dipped in the chocolate, and helps the chocolate harden more quickly after dipping.
5. MELT your chocolate.
    In a double boiler: Fill a pot with about 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Place the double boiler over the pot and pour half of the melting chocolate in. STIR the chocolate until it is evenly melted. Put the heat on low; just enough to keep the chocolate melted, but avoid burning it.
    In the microwave: Pour half of the melting chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl. Put the chocolate in the microwave for 30 second. Stir the chocolate and repeat in 30-second increments until the chocolate is fully melted. Be careful not to over cook, as the chocolate can burn.
6. REMOVE the Oreo balls from the freezer and dip them, one by one, into the chocolate. I found it easiest to poke them with a skewer and cover them with chocolate using my stirring spoon (and you can leave the skewer on for a cake pop vibe!)
7. PLACE the chocolate-covered Oreo ball back on the parchment paper. ADD any toppings before the chocolate hardens. POUR the second half of the melting chocolate into the double boiler/bowl and melt once you're running low.
8. CHILL the truffle balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour.




CHOCOLATE TOFFEE BARK (Medium - but also pretty easy)
Goes great with champagne! ;)

Your guests will not be able to get enough of this addictive sweet treat!

WHAT YOU NEED:
Aluminum foil
Cooking Spray
1-2 sleeves Saltine crackers or Matzo
1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips
Toppings (Crushed Candy Canes, Sprinkles, etc.)

WHAT TO DO:
1. PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees. LINE a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. SPRAY the foil with cooking spray. FILL the cookie sheet with a single layer of crackers.
2. MELT the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. WHISK in the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil until the sugar is fully dissolved.
3. POUR the butter-sugar mixture over the crackers, using a spatula to make sure it is spread evenly.
4. BAKE the crackers in the oven at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes until the toffee on top is bubbling.
5. REMOVE from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips on the crackers. Allow the chips to melt for a bit, then SPREAD the melted chocolate over the entire tray of crackers with a clean spatula.
6. SPRINKLE any toppings over the chocolate.
7. COOL in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
8. When cool, remove aluminum foil and BREAK toffee into pieces.




CINNAMON PUMPKIN PULL-APART BREAD with Buttered Rum Glaze (Hard - but don't let it scare you!)


This is a recipe that I found last year from Sunny Side Up that looked unbelievable, but every time I read it, I cowered in fear. I have never made bread before, and it was very intimidating. But Thanksgiving rolled around and I could not get it off my mind. So I went for it. And it didn't go horribly wrong! I had to do the 1st step three times before getting it right, but after that it was surprisingly smooth sailing. So, trust me, if I can do it, you can do it. Just give it a try. And no matter how it comes out, it will taste amazing!

Recipe copied and adapted from Sunny Side Up (I edited some steps with techniques I found helpful):

WHAT YOU NEED:

Bread
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup 
granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread or all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Buttered Rum Glaze 
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp rum 
WHAT TO DO:
1. PLACE 2 Tbsp butter and 1/2 c. milk in a small sauce pan over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture starts to brown. POUR the browned mixture into a stand mixer with a dough hook and allow to cool.
2. While butter mixture is still warm (but not hot) ADD yeast and 1/4 c. sugar to the bowl, stir slightly, then allow to proof for 6-8 minutes (until the top is foamy).
3. ADD pumpkin puree, salt and 1 c. flour to the bowl. Stir until combined and add the remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time. Allow the dough to kneed in the mixer for 6 minutes.
4. LINE another bowl with a thin layer of oil using a paper towel. REMOVE the dough from the mixer and place in the bowl. COVER with a clean towel and let rise for 60-90 minutes.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, PUNCH it down and flip it out onto a floured surface. KNEED the dough with your hands for 1-2 minutes and ROLL into a 20x12 rectangle. (Great tip from Sunny Side Up that I failed to see... "If dough is difficult to roll out, cover with a towel and allow to relax for a few minutes then try again." Mine put up a fight.)
6. GREASE and FLOUR a 9x5 bread pan and set aside. MIX 1 c. granulated sugar with the cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. MELT another 2 Tbsp. of butter in a pan and BRUSH it over the rectangle of dough. SPRINKLE the sugar mixture over the butter, spreading it evenly and patting it into the dough.
7. CUT the dough into 6 strips. LAY the strips on top of each other and cut into 6 squares. PLACE the piles of squares vertically in the loaf pan (unlike layers of a cake) until the pan is full. COVER with a clean towel, and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes. *At this point (midnight), I placed the covered pan in the refrigerator overnight so that I could bake the bread fresh in the morning for breakfast*
8. PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees. After rising, BAKE the bread for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown.
9. To make the glaze, heat the butter, milk and brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from heat and stir in the rum and powdered sugar. Once bread is cool, remove from pan and pour glaze over top.


                                                                             It won't last long!








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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

OPENING NIGHT COOKIES: Holler If Ya Hear Me

Holler If Ya Hear Me started off the 2014-2015 Broadway season last week!


What else to do but celebrate with cookies?




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FIAT Thank You Cookies

A batch of "Thank You" cookies from a satisfied customer 
of Fiat of Manhattan to thank the dealership
for their superb service!






They loved them!

TWINS!

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