Edible Blooms- a Delicious Alternative to Sending Traditional Bouquets

I have received my share of beautiful bouquets- birthdays, anniversaries, valentines day- there are few things that compare to an elegant arrangement of flowers.
But how sweet and unique it is to send an arrangement that is not only beautiful- but edible as well! Everyone loves an indulgent treat.
Cookies, chocolates, brownies, rice crispy treats- they appeal to all. So perhaps the next time the occasion calls to send family or friends something special for their birthday or just to say I Love You- consider something that is in good taste- literally and figuratively!
Lady Fortunes has a full line of Gourmet Cookie Bouquets- Cookie "Blooms" that are meticulously hand decorated with Royal Fondant Icing in brilliant colors. Edible Tulips, Roses, Daisies, Sunflowers and more crafted from cookies are expertly arranged and shipped to hundreds of delighted recipients every day.

Our newest contribution to this line of gourmet gifts is our Flour Pots line of cookies. Delightful little sugar cookie flowers cut by hand from freshly rolled dough are dipped in a variety of chocolate confections and adorned with candy centers. Perched on sticks an arranged in terra cotta flower pots, these arrangements are certain to brighten everyone's day!

You can make your own version of Lady Fortunes Flour Pot Cookies- but if time is limited $14.99 + S&H will get a lovely arrangement shipped and delivered anywhere in the Unites States.

We recommend that you start with a homemade sugar cookie dough- but commercially prepared dough will work as well.

Roll the dough out to a 1/4" to 1/3" thickness and cut out small 1" - 1.5" flower shapes. Bake and allow to cool completely.

In a double boiler, melt white chocolate. Once it is melted, pour into several small bowls and incorporate candy colors so you have a variety of different colored chocolates. (Candy colors are available at your local cake supply shop or online- don't use food coloring)
Using sugar tongs, dip cookies into the chocolates and place on top of popsicle sticks set on too of wax paper. While the chocolate is still wet, apply small candies to the centers of the flowers- mini M&Ms are a great choice.
From a garden supply shop, purchase terra cotta pots- the 3" Italian Pots are our choice. Take a 3" styrofoam ball and cut in half. Place one of the halves into the pot and press down all the way. Now you can arrange your Popsicle stick flowers inside!
Starting from the center, press you flower sticks inside at different lengths.
You can use tissue paper to fill the pots and add more color to your arrangement.

A satin ribbon is a very nice finale to the presentation.
You may wrap the pot in a cello bag - and voila!
A yummy gift that will be sure to please and delight your recipient.
Experiment with different shapes an sizes- add bees and lady bugs or little birds. Let your imagination run wild!

Favorite Fortune Cookie Recipe

One of my favorite cookies is the fortune cookie. It's sweet and smart and brings good fortune to it's eater.

I remember a small bakery growing up in San Francisco, CA where fortune cookies were baked the old fashioned way- and right in front of visitors and tourists. The crisp fresh taste of the cookies was always such a treat to me an my little sister- we waited each month for our visit to Golden Gate Park because a visit to the fortune cookie factory was always in store!

I still remember my first fortune message- and how eagerly I waited for my mother to read it to me: "a bright future is your fortune". Simple. Words that stayed with me throughout my life. Made me believe that anything was possible.

Today, as Chief Confectionery Officer of Lady Fortunes Gourmet Cookie Co., I have a responsibility to provide our customers with the best tasting cookies. Our fortune cookie recipe took years to perfect- made with all natural ingredients and baked in small batches. We still hand fold our cookies- they are not completely done by machine!

I would like to share one of my favorite recipes for fortune cookies that you can bake and enjoy right at home. It is simple and easy to make. I make these on rainy day weekends with my kids and the whole family enjoys them. Be sure to let them cool completely- my husband in particular cannot wait for them to set and eats them up while they are still soft and warm!

The ingredients you will need:
1/2 cup Unbleached Wheat Flour
1 TBSP corn starch
1/2 cup super fine sugar
3 egg whites
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start by beating the sugar with the egg whites. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed or until frothy. Add the melted butter slowly and mix. Add flavoring.
In another bowl, whisk flour together with corn starch. Add to your wet ingredients and mix on low speed until batter is smooth.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop batter onto a cookie sheet and space apart about 3 inches. I recommend baking 2-3 cookies per sheet to start - until you get the hang of it. I can now get 4-5 cookies at a time!

Bake at 350 degrees for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.

Here is the fun part- folding!! This takes the most practice but it's easy once you get it.

While cookies are still hot- get a wide lipped bowl- fold the cookie in half and bend it across the bowl so that the corners touch.

That's it!!!

You can prepare fortunes in advance- the size depends on the size of your cookies- for this recipe, I recommend 6" x 2" strips of paper . You can use parchment paper for a nice look.

Write your fortunes on the papers and put in the middle of the cookies prior to folding over the bowl rim.

Have a standard muffin pan ready to prop your cookies into to cool and "set" into their shape.

This recipe is particularly delicious - I hope you enjoy!!!

PS- try doing larger circles- like 8" or 10" diameters- you will get a Giant Fortune Cookie that will be sure to get people talking!!!