These cookies were not on my list of Christmas cookies.  Last week I found out that my favorite yoga/pilates/barre teacher is leaving to move back to San Francisco for a new job.  I've enjoyed taking her classes since March and I'm sad she's leaving.  I've never been challenged by a class as much as in her classes.  Kyle thinks she's a drill sergeant and the barre class is torture.

I'm going to let you know which cookie cutters I used.  For the United States I tried something new.  I purchased this stamp and die set.  I don't own the machine to use the die, so I tried using it as a cookie cutter. and I think it turned out well.  I die left an impression of each on the states, which is how I decorated the individual states.  The scalloped square is from here.  The plaque cookie cutter is from here.  The rectangle is from this set.  Most of the cookies were piped and flooded and once dry, I wrote on them.  The saying are what I would like to call "Stephaine-isms".  The California cookie I painted on a portion of the state's flag.