Let it be known that if there was a human form of Cookie Monster, it would be me. Obviously I don’t have googly eyes and a coat of blue, scruffy fur– but! I do love cookies, a lot, all different varieties from the classic chocolate chip to English toffee. Because of this, it has always been an understanding with my friends and families to surprise me with cookies for special occasions (even though any surprise is greatly appreciated), but I also love getting/giving flowers especially having worked with them for so long. Putting together two wonderful things, flowers and cookies, you have one hell of a gift to give someone who enjoys both sweets and scents: the cookie bouquet. I have seen many different variations of this concept done by florists and bakers alike, but I am doing a simplistic version that is relatively easy to do, inexpensive, and gives a really great presentation.

A To begin, you will want to bake some delicious cookies. I cheated and used one of those cookie dough packs where you rip away the squares, put them on a sheet and bake them for 15 minutes. You will want to use 6-12 cookies for your bouquet as it signifies a half dozen or dozen cookie roses; I only used four in my demonstration.

You will also have to prep the stems you are using for your cookie flowers. Go to a craft store and see if they have any flowers or bouquets on clearance, the bloom itself doesn’t matter because you will be cutting this off. Try to find longer stems with leaves and you will need however many flowers you are wanting to do. You could also pick up some fake filler flowers, like baby’s breath or greens, but this isn’t necessary. Once you have your fake flowers, use wire cutters to cut off of the bouquet and cut the bloom off of the stem, keep the leaves! You will also want to have a clean stem on the top  (make sure to take off the plastic bottom case that holds the flower to the stem) with leaves.

B Complete list of your supplies:

—Six to twelve cookies, or however many you’d like to do.
—Corresponding number of prepared floral stems to the number of cookies.
—Cling Wrap
—Parchment paper
—Cellophane (optional)
—Curling ribbon
—Tissue paper
—Scissors
—Craft scissors; here are some inexpensive crafting scissors from Amazon that come in handy for projects like this and many other things. (Pioneer CS-5 Memory Cut Craft Scissors - Scallop Cut)
—Tape (optional)

1 Place an individual cookie face down on a piece of cling wrap. Fold the edges into the back of the cookie and secure tightly. The great and worst thing about cling wrap is that it sticks very well to itself…but this is also how it secures in the back. You can also use tape to secure the edges, but the cling wrap should work just fine. I only had clear cling wrap on hand, but it looks great if you use different colors of wrap to resemble different flowers. It will be easy to find different colors during the holidays, but you can always order some online or try to hunt some down at a craft store.

2 Take another piece of cling wrap and set the wrapped cookie in the middle of the sheet facing up. Place the floral stem underneath the cookie, but make sure the leaves are not in the way or you will end up wrapping them inside! The great thing about fake flower stems is that they can be manipulated without breaking them off, so tuck them underneath the wrap or bend them out of the way for now. If a leaf or stem is very close to the base of the cookie and cannot be moved out of the way, you will want to remove it in order to complete the next step.

3 With the cookie and stem properly placed in the middle of the cling wrap sheet, fold the layer of cling wrap in half over the cookie and tuck the loose ends towards the bottom of the cookie, joining them together tightly around the stem and pinch to secure. If the wrap is not sticking together, you can use a piece of tape or a small rubber band to secure it. These will not show because you will be finalizing this in the next step.

4 Secure the ends of the pinched cling wrap with curling ribbon, making sure to tighten it as this will hold the stem and cookie together within the wrap. It looks nice to match ribbon color to the cling wrap accordingly if possible. When you have tightened the ribbons and the cookie is firmly secured to the stem, curl the ribbons ends for a nice touch.

5 This is the final product of your cookie flower! Try picking up the flower to ensure that the cookie is secure to the stem; it will naturally be top heavy but it should be stuck together enough that you can pick it up without the cookie falling off or drooping over. Repeat steps 1-4 for the rest of your cookies and then you will have your bouquet ready to be wrapped up. I found it to be easiest to wrap all of the individual cookies in step one, then do all of them in step two, rather than finishing one cookie one-by-one; basically, create some sort of assembly line!

6 Using parchment paper, cut a piece long enough to wrap your cookies. You can determine this by placing your cookies diagonal in a corner of the paper and cutting enough so that you have enough room to wrap around your arrangement. I like using parchment paper because it’s easy to use, sturdy enough to hold a form, and it also is a cute material to work with because it’s main use is for baking and your flowers are baked goods. Place a piece or two of tissue paper on the parchment paper and keep the lengths even. You can stylize the tops of the paper using craft scissors, like these scallop scissors.

7 Arrange the cookies on the paper by starting in a corner and working diagonally down, making a triangle shape (start with one on the top, then two in the next row, so on an so forth). If you are using a filler flower, you will want to put down a layer of cookies, then a sprig of filler, and continue with this pattern until you have reached the bottom of your arrangement. This step is based on your design preferences, so do what you think looks nice but it is easiest to wrap the arrangement when it has been done in a triangle shape.

8 Wrap the cookies by folding one side down to show the tissue paper and tucking this side off to the side. Fold the other side over the arrangement, keeping it fairly snug to secure it and wrap it around the back. Tuck the ends under so that they are hidden behind the back of the bouquet. I have found that tape will not hold parchment paper very well (if at all), so you will want to make sure that the paper is fairly tight (not too tight, not too loose), and that the ends are folded and tucked behind.

9 Cut a piece of cellophane long enough to wrap the entire bouquet (using the same diagonal technique as with the parchment paper). This step is optional but it does provide extra support for your arrangement and I think that it looks nice. You can tape or fold the ends of the cellophane into the back, and firmly secure the wrap around the middle with curling ribbon. As a finishing touch, you can curl the ends of the ribbon to stylize it, or even add a big bow.

This is your finished product! Keep in mind that the bouquet will more than likely be top heavy, so if necessary you can add some crumpled tissue paper into the bottom of the parchment paper for extra support. The cellophane will also act as an extra layer of support for your bouquet and provide a polished look. This idea is great gift for many occasions and can be personalized depending on the recipient and your design preferences. One option is to use different colors of cling wrap to make the flowers look more “flowery”, but I only had clear on hand.

If you like this idea, but don’t have the time to do it, you can always buy a version of it from a bakery or a floral shop. My recommendation is a personal favorite and that is Cheryl&Co (which started in my hometown of Westerville, OH). You can order a cookie bouquet with delicious gourmet cookies and a beautiful presentation from their website: cherylandco.com (Once on the homepage, search for “cookie flower” and it will come up). You should also browse around to see their other gifts because they are quite delicious and are a great alternative for many different occasions!

Personally speaking, this is a great gift to give someone that has a sweet tooth and also a love for flowers. It’s affordable and easy to make and would be a great gift to give anytime for any occasion! I also love this because it’s great for all ages from a little kid (perfect for a dance recital gift), to your girlfriend/boyfriend, or  even your grandparents! In fact, it’s especially good to give to a guy because most guys aren’t “cool” with getting flowers so this is a variation that will work for them. (Remember: the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach).

Here’s to stopping and eating some roses every once in awhile…cookie roses, that is!

-M.