Lipstick!

You’ve Got Mail is one of my all time favorite movies.

I know that it’s cheesy. 

And really, Greg Kinnear is so way hotter than Tom Hanks. In real life, Tom Hanks is about as sexy as a pair of Crocs.


But, I absolutely love that book store that Meg Ryan owns–The Shop Around the Corner.


I love that it’s cute, and quaint, and in New York.


I love that she loves books.

And she reads to kids. 

I love that Steve Zahn works for her.


And let it not escape notice that Meg Ryan was at an all time hairstyle peak in that movie. She just hasn’t ever looked the same since. And I don’t like her with long hair. 

It’s weird. 


Plus, she’s gone all Lisa Rinna with her lips now. Sooo not a good thing.


Anyways,  I love to watch the movie and recite the lines and imagine owning my own little book shop in New York and having cute hair and a normal, non-Botoxed face.


It’s a dream of mine.


But recently, I’ve aquired a pretty tacky and embarrassing habit. And I’ve realized that I’m not Meg Ryan in the movie, after all.


I’m Tom Hanks, for crying out loud. 


See, I love going to bookstores. But I just can’t justify spending twice the amount that I could buy the book for online. Especially cookbooks. Those things get expensive. So what I’ve started doing is going to the bookstore, grabbing a few cookbooks that catch my eye,  and then sitting down and perusing them. Once I see which ones I really like and which aren’t worth my money, I go home and order the ones I want online.


I won’t name the website I use, but let’s just say that it rhymes with Bamazon.com.


I know, I’m a horrible person. It’s so tacky of me.


But I won’t be forced to choose between my love of bookstores and my love of online savings.


I can’t do it.

So here I find myself…..contributing to the downfall of the bookstore. Choosing savings over personal service and ambiance.

I’m such a jerk.

A jerk with a ton of awesome cookbooks, that is!! And wait til you see the baby that I perused at Smooks A Shmillion (I just love code words). I loved it so much that I came home and immediately ordered on Bamazon.com.

Kids’ Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse

I own the other two Whimsical Bakehouse books, but I can tell you that this one is definitely my favorite. What I love about their cakes is that they use melted chocolate to decorate instead of fondant. 

I’m not a huge fan of nasty play dough all over my cakes, so this is a major plus for me. 


When I came to this page of the book, I knew that we were destined to be together.

There are tons of other cute ideas in this book, but I’m not gonna show you because I have them marked to make later.


These lipsticks were so easy, I had them baked and decorated in no time at all. Wanna know how to make them? 


Duh, who doesn’t wanna make lipstick cookies, right?

INGREDIENTS

2 sticks butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
1 extra large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
pink food coloring
3 1/2 cups cake flour
2 cups dark wafer chocolate
1/2 cup white or colored wafer chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed, mix butter and sugar until fully incorporated.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.


Add pink coloring drop by drop until you achieve desired color.


On a piece of wax paper, sift the cake flour and add to the butter mixture. Mix until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.


On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into 12 inch logs that are about 1/2 inch in diameter. Chill the logs for 30 minutes to an hour. Cut the logs into 3-inch pieces, cutting one end on a diagonal. Arrange the cookies 1/2 inch apart on the cookie sheets.


Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly colored. Let the cookies cool on the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


In separate bowls, melt your wafer chocolate in the microwave.


Dip the cookies halfway into the dark chocolate, creating a straight edge where the cookie and chocolate meet. Place the cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet to harden (to speed the process along, place in the refrigerator for a few minutes). Once hardened, pipe stripes with your colored chocolate (I used a #1 tip in a piping bag).


For the cupcakes, just bake your favorite cake mix or from scratch recipe (there are several here if you want to click on cupcakes in my sidebar). Frost with desired frosting (also, homemade or store bought). Using an offset spatula, flatten the top and edges of frosting and roll the edge in sprinkles on a plate. Using #8, 9, or 10 round tip, pipe lips on the top.


You are now the proud owner of lipstick cookies and cupcakes. And you’re welcome.


Happy Tuesday!!

**I’m linking these up to Hoosier Homemade’s Cupcake Tuesday. Go check out the goodies and link up one of your own!