This Valentine’s Day, be inspired by more than just love.
Be inspired by classic literature…. with an edible twist.
William Shakespeare sugar cookies are as fun to make as they are to gift.
Throughout this post, I’m sharing Shakespeare in words and edible treats.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (Sonnet 18)
My friend Susan who owns Artesao cookie molds was sweet enough to share her Shakespeare cookie mold with me.
You may remember I used similar molds to make my Rock the Vote pre-election sugar cookies last year.
You start by firmly pressing the dough into the mold and filling the entire cavity.
Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2)
I always pop the mold in the freezer for about 15 seconds which makes the dough pop out easier.
Then, gently release the dough from the mold.
The image comes alive right before your eyes.
Very cool, huh?
“All the world’s a stage, and the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts.” (As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7)
After sharing pictures of these cookies on Instagram over the weekend, I got an email from a buyer from a shop at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival who may be interested in selling the mold at one of the festival shops.
I immediately passed along the contact-info for Susan and I also emailed her to give her a heads-up on the impending query.
Now, how great is that, that I can put these two people together?
I think this is another reminder of the value of blogging friendships and how the mutual support of each other’s creative efforts can potentially put unexpected partnerships into motion and end up making good things happen.
“To be, or not to be: that is the question.” (Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1)
By the way, FTD Flowers sent me the lovely roses to use in my photo styling and I think they work perfectly with the theme I have going on here.
Not much represents Valentine’s Day more than a couple of dozen, long-stemmed roses, right?
“What’s in a name? A rose by any name would smell as sweet.” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2)
You may already know that I have a thing for pretty packaging.
Whenever I gift cookies, I like to add a handcrafted twist.
I used a few simple supplies including a Shakespeare rubber stamp I found on Etsy, a few large tags, plastic goodie bags and some ribbon from my local crafts store.
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1)
See? It doesn’t take much to add a sweet, whimsical touch to cookie gifts.
These Shakespeare sugar cookies could be served for any number of occasions and not just Valentine’s Day.
Consider how nicely these would go over at your next book club meeting, or you could offer them as treats for fellow actor’s in your child’s school play.
What about gifting them to inspire the young (or old) writers in your life?
Just use your imagination.
“To thine own self be true.” (Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3).
“If music be the food of love, play on.” (Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 1)
Thanks for stopping by.
See you back here next time. ♥
I’m linking this Shakespeare Sugar Cookies post with the following:
Well these cookies are definitely an eye catcher! How neat are these! Hope you ate some, Lisa;) Have a great day!
Ha,ha. Yes, I ate one. They’re pretty big.
After packaging most of them up, I gifted them to a few of my neighbors. They love that I’m a blogger because I always share my blog goodies-lol.
Enjoy your Valentine’s day, Cindy.
*sigh* The photos are so beautiful and the cookies *sigh*. I love the roses what a perfect touch. Were you afraid to nibble on Shakespeare? Now my sweet mother-in-law would have frozen the cookie or put it in her cedar chest. She put so much stuff in her cedar chest then she’d forget what she did with them. She was a sweetheart. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day. HUGs!!
Thanks, Marisa. I appreciate that.
Oh, let your mother in law that you can also use these with material other than cookie dough.
I first filled them with fondant to see how they would turn out and I got a nice, hard image of Shakespeare.
You could also fill the mold with paper-clay to create a permanent(albeit, inedible) image.
Thanks so much for featuring another one of my molds! The photographs are so gorgeous and the cookies are perfectly molded. I just love the magic your expert hands create. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks and you are so welcome, Susan.
Thanks again for sharing them with me so that I can share them with everyone else.
Happy Valentine’s day.
Lisa,
Stunning, creative, fresh approach to Valentine’s goodies… How wonderful you were able to connect Susan with the Shakespeare festival organizer.
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Judith
Lisa, your Shakespeare Sugar Cookies are one of the features of this week’s Monday Social.
Judith
Yay! Thanks so much Judith.
Oh my gosh…so doing this as my granddaughter is currently in rehearsals for a Shakespearean play!….Gorgeous photographs….Fantastic mold! .. You are the best….and I leave you with this….”It is not the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.” W.S.
Oh Lisa, you are killing me! I love the WS cookies and the beautiful photography. The quotes from Shakespeare were the icing on the cake – er, cookie.
Thanks so much Barbara.
This was such a fun post to write and I’m glad I thought to add the quotes all around.
Happy Valentine’s day to you.
I am a huge fan of dark and moody photography and these pictures couldn’t get any better. Most of my cookie baking is done around the holidays and I would love to try these molds. Also, my daughter is opening her cookie shop this summer and I will share this with her.
Thanks so much, Sandra.
Wow, how exciting about your daughter’s impending shoppe.
Think of all the lovely posts you’ll be able to do featuring all her cookies.
Happy day to you.
What a wonderful tribute to Shakespeare! The cookie molds have to be on every literary person’s list and I will have to get some. And once again, your photos and packaging are so wonderfully beautiful. I love your photographs….such creativity and style, you are so talented. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thanks so much, Michele.
Yes, these cookies/molds make lovely gifts for literary buffs.
Happy weekend to you.
I really do like the cookies. They are quite original and would be perfect with a set of dishes I have called “Shakespeare’s Sonnets”.
Thanks so much,Barbara.
I’m glad you like these Shakespeare cookies.
Oooooh, your dishes sound lovely. You’re right, these cookies would pair with them nicely.
That combo would make a nice blog post too (smile).
Happy day to you.
You have to comment on how you got those exquisite shots I’m absolutely in love with the photos!
I JUST discovered you and this post! It’s ages old, so I’m not sure you’ll see this and will be able to answer my question. I teach Shakespeare and love cookie making. Do I need to buy the cookie mix with the cookie mold? Or do you have a recipe that works similarly? I have my own recipe, but I’m afraid I’ll lose the detail if I use it.
Thank you! (Your packaging is a delight!)
Greetings, Nell.
The woman who makes the molds also sent me a cookie mix to go along with it.
Often, when using molds, you need to use a recipe designed for molded cookies for the dough to turn out of the molds properly.
I think you could probably use any recipe as long as it’s specifically for “molded cookies”.
Just do an online search for molded cookie recipe and you’ll find quite a few options.
Good luck and have a great day.
Thanks for popping by.
xoxo