Sunflowers are such happy flowers.
Wait......in my world......ALL flowers are happy.
I guess that is why I like them so much. :)
There's something super happy about a sunflower, though.
And the best part (for me) is that huge bulging center. :)
To make 3D sunflowers, first you'll need flower-shaped cookies.
A list of favorite cutters.....
For the 3D middle of the flower, cut a thick round cookie
that will cover most of the surface of the sunflower's center.
Round the edges of the circle cookie with your fingers to give it a "dome" shape.
After the cookies are baked and cooled,
cover the dome circles with brown 10-second glaze.
This is where creativity comes into play.
You can leave the center plain brown........OR
add brown sanding sugar.......OR
add stripes, polka-dots, or other patterns with varied colors of glaze......OR
add a myriad of other decorations to show off that beautiful sunflower center.
For an elaborate sunflower center, check out this blog post.
Once you've covered the center cookies,
outline and flood the flower cookies with gold 10-second glaze.
When they've dried a bit, add dimension with petal outlines.
Dry the cookies overnight.
Use a microplane to smooth the bottom and sides of the flower center.
(I bet you never thought you'd be "sanding" a cookie, huh?)
"Glue" the center onto the flower cookie with glaze.
Add brown glaze dots all the around the centers.
(Keep the dots separate to prevent them from running together.)
