When I grow up...

I want to be like Wade. Which is why this past weekend I had to try to make Wade's famous sugar cookies. You can already deduce that of course, they were not nearly as delicious as his. But, I had to try. First off, I couldn't use his tried-and-true Kroger brand mix. Blame Clayton for not having any Krogers in town. So, I had to settle for Betty Crocker.
Second, I couldn't remember ever buying cookie sticks, so I had to roll out my dough without them. - which resulted in too-thin, uneven dough. Now I understand the need for the cookie sticks! Funny thing is, when I went in my baking drawer to retrieve my decorating supplies while the cookies baked in the oven, look what I discovered:


Cookie. Sticks. Sigh... If I had only known that my Mom had bought these in... October 1989???


Back when Michaels was actually "MJDesigns". I guess when she let me borrow her assortment of cake decorating tips, she also threw in this package of cookie sticks. Next time.

After baking it was time for the decorating. Which tip do I use?

My laziness at washing my one Wilton-brand reusable bag 3 times for my three piping colors left me creating my own piping bags out of Wilton's parchment triangles. Word of caution, if you do not roll the top of the bag down properly, icing will ooze out the top, down your hand and then all over your freshly decorated cookies. I had to learn the hard way.

The end result. Carolina Tarheel cookies for tailgating at the UNC-Virginia Tech game.


The cookies seemed to be a hit with our tailgating buddies. Though, they have never had real Wade-Lewis sugar cookies, so it's probably an unfair conclusion on the success of my cookies. I think Wade should continue to be McKinney's official cookie-baker. But know that perhaps you too can be successful recreating these tasty treats for your unknowing family and friends!

McKinney Cookies

We all had some great ideas from the beginning on how to announce our blog to the agency. It was agreed that food would be the best crowd pleaser—but it had to be really good food. Trust me, we would not have wanted our blog associated with my tofu soufflé (although I like it). So it was an obvious choice to have Wade make his famous sugar cookies. But it was only after he lugged in plate upon plate of the secret snack that we realized these weren't just sugar cookies. These were custom Mckinney logo cookies! 140 of them! Talk about designer cookies.


They were piled in a basket lined with strips of paper featuring our blog address. The snack area was flooded, and then the applause emails started rolling in. My personal favorite was from julia, titled "thanks for being awesome," and contained the following image.

We all took a deep breath, enjoyed a cookie, and then got back to work.

Mama Said To Share

best tasting brand


rolling method


candle votive as cutter


lift and flip on pan


silpat by another name


egg whites for royal icing


piping outside in


ready to share


Sugar Cookie
1 pkg. Kroger-brand sugar cookie mix.
1 stick butter melted.
1 egg beaten.
¼ cup flour.
Mix ingredients above until dough forms.
Roll dough portion between 2 pieces of wax paper.
Use cookie sticks as guides for rolling pin for consistent thickness.
Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes until edges turn lightly brown.
Turn the pan after 3-4 minutes for uniform baking.

Royal Icing
1 lb. 10x sugar.
3 egg whites.
½ tsp. cream of tartar.
Beat with mixer until smooth.
Thicken with 10x as needed or thin with drops of water for correct piping consistency.

Tip: Roll enough dough for 2 large cookies between two sheets of wax paper. After cookie cutting, remove excess dough leaving only the cut cookie shapes. Lift the wax paper with cookie shapes and carefully flip on to cookie pan. Then, peel away wax paper from the cookie shape and repeat process.

If you truly enjoy baking cookies, consider purchasing a Silpat baking liner for your cookie sheet pan. Cookies never burn using the French-made liner. I own two so I can fill a pan with cookies while the other is in the oven.

Piping is an art. I recommend the Wilton-brand reusable bag. Pipe from outer cookie edge in as if coiling. If consistency is right, holes will fill as you pipe. Icing too thin will run.