It’s a great day! I’m so happy to be celebrating the anniversary of my second kidney transplant today. If you’ve been a long-time follower, you might remember me sharing about it here on the blog.
I found out I was sick shortly after graduating high school. I went on the waiting list and received my first kidney transplant when I was in college. It helped keep me going for almost 20 years before I started getting sick again. Unfortunately, I ended up needing dialysis … again. But fortunately, I didn’t need it for very long because my mom was able to donate one of her kidneys to me. And, I’m so forever grateful. Mom, I know you’re reading and I love you so much!
Now, 10 years later (that’s hard to believe) we are both doing good. I get check ups often, take immunosuppressants and continue to do my best to take care of her gift. Mom’s doing good with her kidney, too – in fact, her levels are better than mine. Yip-pee!!!
A decade is a huge milestone, so I wanted to commemorate it with something sweet that we could share. I already made kidney cake pops back in 2011, so I went with decorated sugar cookies this time.
Hope you like them and really hope you never have a reason to make them. But if you do… here’s a how-to for some super cute and tasty kidney sugar cookies. Let’s get to it.
I wanted to recognize 10 years, so I used this lowercase “L” from the Sweet Sugarbelle Alphabet Cookie Cutter set I have for the number one. I wanted the kidney to be the zero, so I used this droplet shape as the base and cut away dough to the shape I needed. This cutter was from a Shape Shifter set by Sweet Sugarbelle.
For the conversation bubbles, I used the cat cutter from her Mini Shape Shifter Set and cut off one of the ears.
There you go. Big bean shapes.
Note: Here’s a recipe for the sugar cookies and royal icing that I use all the time. It’s by my friend Bridget of Bake at 350. And it’s a winner.
I used gummies for the arteries and veins. These Trolli Sour Bite Crawlers were a pretty good shape for the size of my cookies. Just cut them in half and at an angle, so you can attach them more easily.
After making and tinting half of the royal icing recipe purple, I spread a small amount on the left side of the baked and cooled sugar cookies with an offset spatula and then attached the gummies, cut side down. They should stay in place once pressed onto the royal icing.
Then outline the cookies with piping consistency icing and fill with flood consistency. Go right up against the gummies so when the icing dries, it will help secure them.
When dry, you can outline them again for definition.
Using the other half of the royal icing recipe, I tinted some of it blue for the numbers and left the rest white for the conversation bubbles.
You can decorate and add dots with a secondary color. Just use the same consistency of icing with the second color and dot it on immediately. The two colors will settle together.
Here’s all the pieces, outlined. You could leave the kidneys just like this and be good to go, but you guys know I like to add faces.
Eeeek! So cute.
I used edible ink writing pens to draw on the eyes and mouths. To dot the eyes, I used white royal icing and then for the cheeks, icing that was tinted pink.
They are so happy!!!
With a little nod to my kidney cake pops, I made signs that say Yip-pee!
Oh yeah, these are the edible ink pens I used are by Nomeco.
These anniversary cookies are definitely a 10 in my book and I can’t wait to share them with my mom.
Enjoy and hope you are having a great day, too!
Congratulations on an amazing 10 years of creativity and deliciousness, Bakerella! Your journey has been truly inspiring, and your cake pops have brought so much joy to so many. Here’s to many more years of sweet success and fun baking adventures!
Wow! this looks delicious.
I know this was a few years ago but I just came across it while searching for kidneyversary ideas. My husband will be celebrating 20 yrs in less than two weeks and I am thinking of attempting these if I can find a cookie cutter!
Hey Angie congratulations and appreciate your effort
Congrats on 10 years! Thanks so much for much wonderful recipes!
Congratulations Angie on 10 years! I wish you and your mother get strong and feel better every day.
Congratulations on 10 years! I remember that blog post and can’t believe how time has flown!
Congratulations on 10 years. I am 11 months post transplant (kidney was donated by my sister)!
Angie,
You are a creative genius! Happy 10th anniversary. I’m celebrating 10 years as well. My first lasted 20 years!
I wish you many, many, more! It can be done.
Just take good care.
Tricia
Congratulations! So happy to hear you and you mom are doing well!!
Adorable cookies! Happy Kidneyversary! My husband has PKD and had a transplant in Jan 2007…..still going strong.
Wow. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. I remember praying for you during that time. Sooo glad you and your mom are doing great. What a blessing. Congratulations!
Congratulations to you and your mom! Long time follower here! I enjoyed meeting you at Cupcake Camp at the Oregon Coast. Glad you’re still around doing your thing.
Congratulations to you both for ten great years! Here’s to many more!
I love the cookies and love you more! Happy Birthday to you!
Happy anniversary!!
Thank the Lord for such a talented, well rounded, beautiful woman. Continue to be whole and healthy. Hope you and your amazing mother enjoy those cookies!
Just one more of the very long list of reasons to love and admire you!