recycled packaging for cupcakes, cookies, and macarons

It’s bake sale season!  And soon enough, our kitchens will be converted to cookie factories come December.  So here is an almost-free approach to creatively packaging all of your yummy treats!

This is a fantastic way to repurpose all of those plastic water bottles, as well as to use up scraps of cardboard.  And it’s an opportunity to consume your collection of washi tape or pretty ribbon that have been patiently waiting at the bottom of your craft drawers for the day they are given purpose.

I picked up my 3-pack of washi tape at Daiso for $1.50 back in August when I was in California.  A combined 48 yards!  What.  A.  Steal.  Hundreds of these little packages can be made with a $1.50 inventory of washi tape.  What’s sad is that our households may actually go through that many plastic bottles in a year.  At least this project grants the plastic bottles another calling in their lifetime before they hit the landfill.

For use of two water bottles (ideal for a row of homemade cookies and macarons):

1. Cut off the bottom of two plastic bottles to preferred length.  Fill with treats.

2. Attach the plastic bottles together with tape.

For use of one water bottle (ideal for one mini cupcake, but also great for a smaller serving of cookies and macarons):

1. Cut the bottom of one plastic bottle to preferred height.  Trace on cardboard.  Cut cardboard circle.

2. Place cupcake on cardboard circle.  Cover with bottom of plastic bottle.  Make sure the plastic bottle sits on top of the cardboard circle.  Affix tape around the plastic bottle and cardboard circle.

If you do not have washi tape, you may use double-sided tape covered with decorative ribbon.

Make sure to bake your cookies, macarons, and mini cupcake to fit the diameter of the water bottles.  I haven’t endeavored in baking macarons, so I splurged on half a dozen for the sake of this post.  Really.  Sweets for blogging’s sake!

D-I-Y cookie stamps and pleated cookie wrapping

It’s that wonderful time of year when our regular household kitchens are converted ad hoc into ambitious cookie factories.  Over the years, you’ve probably collected an extensive inventory of cookie-making gadgets and supplies, all of which have eaten through a bit of your holiday budget.  This holiday season, instead of heading out to the store for another investment (five dollars here and there do add up), you can design and make your own cookie stamps to emboss your sugar cookies.  They’re absolutely inexpensive to make and add a special touch to your creations.   Then wrap your beautifully embossed sugar cookies in beautifully pleated packages.

I often work backwards when creating most of my favors, as I did for this project.  I found this striking holly berry-printed tissue paper first, before it became the inspiration for the theme of my cookie stamps.  This project is also very suitable for making monogrammed cookies, for a more personal touch.

To make your reusable cookie stamps, you will need an old plastic cutting sheet that you will no longer use, a pencil, a sharp X-Acto knife, a pair of scissors, and a cutting mat.

1.  Using  a pair of scissors, cut your plastic sheet into a circle.  The size depends on the cookie cutter you will be using to cut the cookies.  If you would like an embossed border around the perimeter of your cookie, cut the circle smaller than the size of your cookie cutter.  Draw your desired image with a pencil.

2. Take a sharp X-Acto knife and cut an opening in your image, then slide in a pair of scissors and cut the image.

3. Thoroughly wash and dry your cookie stamps and it’s time for stamping!

4. Take your favorite sugar cookie recipe.  Press the stamp onto the rolled cookie dough with your fingers.  You can use the tip of a knife to lift the stamp off the cookie.

5. Cut the cookies with a cookie cutter and you’re ready to bake!

For beautifully wrapped cookies, you will need tissue paper, printed labels, and tape.  Buying circle labels can be expensive, so if you already have a circle punch at home (as I do), simply print your label design on a regular sheet of paper, punch into circles, and adhere with tape.

1. Layer two sheets of tissue paper and cut into a circle about three times the diameter of your cookies.  Stack the cookies in the center.

2. Fold and pleat the tissue paper all the way around the cookies.

3. Adhere your label.

May all your days of cookie-making and cookie-giving be merry and bright!