All in one post... UK GIVEAWAY (ended)! VIDEO! TUTORIAL! (ok, calm down now)

I'm very excited today as this is going to be my first (UK only) GIVEAWAY here on my blog! And yes, I did shout that. I created one more set of my Rustic Robin cookies, in order to film how I painted the little robins, and write a new tutorial for my 'What's New, Honeycat?' feature over on Cookie Connection. (To see the whole collection, just click on the badge in the sidebar).

Which leaves me with a set of new cookies which I could eat I suppose. But that would be so sad, just sitting here, alone, looking at the rain, eating robins...

...and it struck me that I've been muttering occasionally about a giveaway from time to time over on my Facebook page, as all you lovely people who have been joining in and following me over there (you do follow me over there don't you?) might have noticed, and wondered 'whatever happened to that idea?' but politely kept quiet about it.

Well it's about time I kept my promises isn't it? So that one of you can sit, alone, looking at the rain, munching on robins...

So here it is! One box, with two layers of cookies (approximately 20 of varying sizes from 1" to 4"). There is one handpainted robin in the set, plus lots of snowflakes, frosty toadstools and berries, and sparkly leaves, in vanilla bean biscuit with royal icing. (Ingredients listed at the base of this post.)

Oh, and that isn't all, there's that VIDEO I mentioned! Well, have a look at how I painted that sweet little robin, then imagine yourself biting his sugary little head off. It could be you! For much more detail on the process of handpainting cookies, make sure you head to Cookie Connection and read the TUTORIAL! Ok, that's enough shouting, here's the video.

I'm afraid this giveaway will have to be limited to the UK only due to my insurance restrictions. Also, these cookies are fresh now, carefully wrapped and so will remain good to eat for quite a few weeks more, but I wouldn't want to risk them sitting for six months in the global postal system! But don't worry, I'm putting together a little collection of some of my favourite things, and will have an international giveaway in a while.

Just fill in the Rafflecopter entry form below and I will contact the winner for their UK address, and pop the cookies in the post to you! Giveaway ends Monday 19th January 2015 12am (ie Sunday midnight). Please remember UK ENTRIES ONLY - I can't send cookies outside the UK (subscribe to my blog so as not to miss my international giveaway coming up soon). As well as using the widget, if your comment doesn't show up, please comment directly on this blog post - tell me what you'd like to see Honeycat Cookies make! I shall make sure the draw is taken fairly by cross-checking all the entrants. Thank you.

See the winner announcement here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions: UK only. The winner will be chosen at random. I will send one box of cookies in the design shown in these photographs to the winner of the giveaway, entirely free including free P&P, within 3 business days of being provided with a UK postal address by the winner. I will announce and email the winner on Monday 19th January 2015. If I have not had a response with a UK postal address from the winner within 3 days of emailing I will pick a new winner. No cash or product alternative. I cannot be held responsible for loss or damage in the post. The ingredients are as listed below, please check carefully if you have any concerns about allergy or food intolerances. 

Ingredients: Wheat flour, Sugar, Butter, Cornflour, Royal Icing (Powdered sugar, Dried Egg White, Anti-caking Agent Tricalcium Phosphate E341), Egg, Lemon Juice, Vanilla Bean, Salt. Food Colourings, Lustre Dusts and Flavourings; any or all of the following: E422, E1520, E551, colours E153, E133, E122, E104, E129, E124, E153, E155, E102, E110. (E122, E129, E102 and E124 may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children). Allergy Advice: Contains whole egg and wheat. May contain traces of nut: all products are homemade in my kitchen, where I both store and cook with a variety of nuts.

A Guest Post and a Giveaway!

Head over to Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary to see my guest post all about Honeycat Cookies and how I got into this racket and couldn't get out again, and enter my first Giveaway to win a dozen cookies! (UK entrants only, sorry).

But before you do so, a quick post here to mention how I used to hate doing character cookies, but now I love it! These princesses were a joy - perhaps because they're all so pretty and I do like pretty! Each one had a couple of 'acccessory' cookies, but the little fairy had a host of small butterflies. No prizes for guessing who this is.

I'd never really looked at the mermaid properly before, and I rather like her confidence and floaty hair - I think she's probably my favourite.

Mischievous fairy - her eyes were the most fun to paint.

I've done this one before (see the photos here) but was quite happy to do her again for this set.


Something new about this set... no lustre dust! I'd been sent some Americolor super-black food colour gel to try out, by my friend Anjum, of Eat Cookie Sleep Cookie and just love how it's so black, and the icing isn't grainy, as I've found with the Sugarflair I usually use, and it dries much harder. I wanted to draw together some of the elements such as the dark hair, and the richness of the apples, and decided that I'd use black piping as it goes so well with the butterflies too. There may be more of this in Honeycat's future!