Red & Green Striped Sugar Cookies (and a Giveaway!)

Is it seriously December already?

Time is flying, I can't believe my little munchkin is almost 6 weeks old & I feel like she has already changed so much!

Living up to her nickname of Mini Smalls, so far she takes after her mommy in a few regards.  For one, she likes her sleep.  (Sadly, she enjoys sleeping in the day a little more than the night, but hey it's a work in progress).  

Two, she loves to eat!  She was a peanut at birth but now (as my brother-in-law would say) she's getting her 'man weight.'  At her 4-week checkup, she was up to 9 pounds and 21 inches.  The pediatrician actually told us we can't let her eat so much at each feeding- ha!  When she's awake, all she wants to do is eat and even when she's asleep you can tell by her mouth movements she's dreaming about eating.

Ugh, truly a girl after my own heart.

Now if only she could have solid foods, I bet she would LOVE these sugar cookies with her milk.  (Santa would probably love them too.  Just sayin'.) 

Which brings me to my next point - I am excited to introduce my second promised guest, Amy of Yummi Yogi   We have actually never met in person, but she is a friend of a friend of a friend (!) who contacted me a couple months ago about doing a giveaway on V&B.

Yummi Yogi is company that makes cookie cutters in the shape of yoga poses - so cute, right?

Call me a nerd, but to me this is one of the coolest things about blogging.  You get to 'meet' so many amazing & interesting people that you might not have otherwise come in contact with!

Anyway, not only was Amy kind enough to giveaway of one of her designs to a lucky V&B reader, she also shared her recipe for these super fun striped sugar cookies AND a peek into her life via the interview below.  

Please check out her online shop for any yoga (and baking!) lovers on your Christmas gift list.  Or maybe for yourself... don't be shy now ;)

To enter the cookie cutter giveaway-- now through December 16, 2012, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite holiday recipe or tradition.  I will randomly choose a winning comment, and that person will receive one of Amy's adorable cookie cutters!  Easy peasy! (Please  just make sure there's a way for me to contact you in your comment in the event you are the winner.)

Interview with Amy from Yummi Yogi

Please tell us a little bit about your family and the area where you live.

I have a beautiful new 10 month old baby girl, Elle Ruby and I married my soul mate, Dennis but I call him Dube (Doobie) which is our last name. (long time nick name for him) We reside along the coast of NJ. I love our area and to be able to see the water everyday if we choose to is so refreshing. Especially in the summer for beach yoga :)

How did you get started doing yoga, and how long have you been practicing?

I started yoga over 5 years ago searching for more activities to do after the company I was working for closed down. I was familiar with yoga from my childhood friends growing up but never practiced when I was younger. I thought I would try different classes at my club/gym and after I walked into my first yoga class I never stopped! 

What do you enjoy most about the hobby?

I feel very connected to yoga and love how it encompasses your mind and body off the mat as well. It is challenging which I like and it helps me stay focused. There’s always something new to learn that is why it is called a practice, it will never be perfect and I love that. You can express yourself on the matt and let your mind go which is not easy for a lot of people to do. I wish everyone can experience it. And I’ve met some really amazing people through yoga.

What were some of the things that were most important to you to include in your business model? 

I not only want to reach yoga studios with this product but to be able to grow the business into health food markets as I really enjoy the life style of healthy eating/living and also to children. Both through kids yoga schools/groups etc., and also with kids eating healthy, very important to me!

I am also interested in helping my retailers grow their business. So I provide a free marketing service to them. I try to provide merchandising ideas for selling the cutters and also help promote their business events etc., through my platform of social media. I am a small business and hope to help other small business grow too. 

What advice would you give to someone interested in starting their own business?

That it is possible! I believe organization is a key factor to being successful. Take your time, think everything through and go for it! If you have a true passion for something you won’t mind putting the time and energy into your business because it is so rewarding.

What are some of the biggest challenges of being a business owner?  Most rewarding aspects?

For me at this stage in my career, it is the time management now that I am also a mom and have my own business. I have a strong support system with my family that I am grateful for but it is very challenging! I love what I do and I also love being a mom :)

The reward from a business aspect is that I am proud of myself that I have come this far and that I am positive about what the future holds for Yummi Yogi. Each day I grow and learn more and more. I love that the customers & followers really respond positively to what I am doing which makes me happy as well. I also love that I can be creative with the cookies and also from the marketing perspective too. I do every part of my business from designing the cutters, assembling the cutters, to slapping on the shipping labels and also marketing my business and creating the website.

How did you become interested in cooking/baking, and which do you prefer?

I love to cook and explore all types of styles. My favorite is Indian. I don’t eat meat but do eat fish on occasion. Baking is something that I have grown up with especially during the holidays, it is tradition to make a plethora of cookies and give them away as gifts. I like to bake because I can be creative in a visual way with decorating etc., however cooking is being creative with your ingredients which is fun too!

Where do you like to go to find inspiration on recipes and different ways to use your products?

I love to see what others are coming up with in the kitchen. For cooking I usually take bits and pieces of different recipes and mold them into my own. For baking, I don’t always look at baking recipes but just seasonal inspirations and then try to incorporate it into using the cookie cutters, like the corn bread and chilli for example. I love pinterest and food blogs for ideas too.

What are some of your family’s favorite holiday traditions & foods?

I grew up with both my parents having polish parents so there was a lot of pierogies and cabbage! At Easter we always would dye eggs and before our Easter Brunch everyone at the table would take a decorated egg out of the basket and usually one of the kids starts by turning to their neighbor and “bang” eggs. Who’s ever egg got cracked loses that round. And it continues around until there is a winner or crackless egg :) We still do this today. 

Christmas was all about the cookies! From Kruscyki’s to anise cookies to name a few.

I hope to carry on my family traditions and also create a few new ones of our own too. I think it’s important for the kids to have that and now as an adult I really appreciate it. 

Thank you to Amy for sharing her story & talent with us!  Now... get to commenting so you can win one of these cuties for yourself!

Striped Sugar Cookies

• 1 lb butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 C. sugar
• 5 C. sifted flour
• 2 t. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• red & green food coloring

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla & mix well.  On low speed, add one cup of flour at a time & mix until incorporated.

Divide dough in half and place into 2 bowls.  Mix green food coloring into one bowl to desired shade.  Mix  red food coloring into other bowl to desired shade.  Wrap each ball of dough in plastic and flatten with a rolling pin.  Refrigerate for 2 hours, then preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place a new piece of saran wrap on a flat surface.Cut a 1”x 6” strip of red dough and place on the new piece of saran wrap. Repeat with green dough and place green strip next to red strip. Continue this process until there is enough dough to fit a Yummi Yogi™ cookie cutter. (Approx. 5” x 5”).  Gently roll dough again to join strips, then place dough in freezer 5 minutes.

Cut dough with cookie cutter and transfer to a greased cookie sheet or a non-stick baking mat. Gently press dough out of cookie cutter onto sheet and bake in preheated oven 10-14 minutes.  Cool briefly on sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.   

Family Recipe & Cookie Photos Courtesy of Amy Dube, Yummi Yogi™

*Note:  I did not receive any compensation for this post, only one product to give away.  All opinions are my own.