I love to write, and I love to make things. Seems like a perfect fit for a blog.
I have been thinking about this for a long time. Every time someone says, “You should really have a blog,” I’m like yeah, I totally should. I’ll get around to it. Eventually. When I have more time. I’ve been thinking about it for two years. I have missed having a creative outlet for writing, and I while I admittedly lack photography and coding skills, I am ready to try something new to share what I know. Being the obsessive perfectionist that knows nothing about computers that I am, I’ve spent hours on Pinterest and other blogs reading about it, and asking questions and generally overcoming internet stage-fright.
And then Elsa sent us a snow day after a holiday weekend. And it seemed like the timing was right and there was no more room for excuses. And I had the perfect project to post for a snow day. Welcome to my new adventure.
One of my favorite things to do with my mom is make unnecessarily elaborate cutout cookies. We have tried every recipe and trick on the internet (and in the library – email me if you don’t know what that is). Not to brag, but she and I are kindof famous for our Christmas cookies. This year, sadly, we didn’t get around to making any (being a grownup really sucks up your time). So a couple weeks ago when we had approximately 100 snow days (give or take) in a row, I decided to make some cookies just for fun. I thought I’d take some pictures and share the method here. It takes practice to get them looking bakery Insta-worthy, but I promise it’s not that hard.
It all started when I decided to stop at this little cake supply store by our new apartment. When we moved last summer all my food coloring spilled all over the bag it was packed in and I had to throw the whole thing away (tear). Now, in some things, I’m a snob and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Food coloring is one of those things. No offense to McCormick, but you just can’t get true colors from mixing the little primary color droppers you buy at the grocery store. It’s worth investing in gel food coloring.
So anyway, while I was there, I discovered something called disco dust.
Say WHAT?!
How have I lived all these years upon the Earth and not known that edible glitter existed? HOW? I mean, I had heard rumors, but I thought it was all just a glittery dream.
It’s NOT, friends. It’s real.
So of course I spent a small fortune on different colors of edible glitter and then I went home, where, inspired by the piles of snow outside the window, I made snowflake cutout cookies.
The book that changed me and LL’s cookie game is called Cookie Craft, by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer. If you want to learn how make and decorate incredible cookies, I highly recommend you read this book. Their recipe is the one we always use. The dough rolls out easily and bakes sturdy enough to support all the decorations you want to put on them. This recipe doesn’t spread, so the shapes you choose retain their integrity. The best part is, they actually taste good, so people actually want to eat them. Also, their dough freezes really well before and after it’s baked. That’s good if you are trying to bake for an event (like a shower).
The Method:
1. Regardless of what dough recipe you use, one trick we learned from these cookies babes is to roll out your dough between two sheets of parchment. No more worrying about sticking to the counter and the rolling pin. No more stupid flour all over your kitchen. At this point, I like to chill the dough for a few minutes so that it cuts easily and crisply. You can find a lot of amazing snowflake shapes out there with cut outs that allow for endless unique designs. I particularly like the huge ones because they are more impressive and they are a bigger canvas for cutout designs. I’ve found some of my favorite copper ones at Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table after Christmas.
Because all of this can seem like a lot of work, even though none of it is difficult, I like to break the process up over a few days. I often make the cookies a day or two before I want to decorate.
2. Next comes my least favorite part – making the icing. People always ask how we get the icing so smooth and perfect on the cookies. The secret is that you have to use two types of royal icing – one is called “Flood” icing and the other is called “Piping.” You need a batch of flood and a batch of piping for every color you want to use. Now you’re starting to see why this is my least favorite part – but don’t get discouraged, after this comes the fun part!
Before we get started, you’re going to need some cake decorating materials.
For each color of icing you want to use, you will need:
- 2 decorating/pastry bags (I prefer the disposable because I hate cleaning up icing, but Mother Nature does not approve.)*
- 2 couplers (they hold the piping tips on the bag and make your life a lot easier)
- 1 round decorating tip (size 1)
- 1 round decorating tip (size 5)
- gel paste food coloring (for these cookies I used AMR 110 Teal and AMR 132 Soft Pink from AmeriColors)
- You’ll notice in the image above that I didn’t use pastry bags. I buy plastic squeeze bottles at the craft store to use for the flooding because I think they are both easier to handle and to clean. For the piping I found some cake decorating squeeze bottles that fit a decorating tip, so I now use those for piping. Buh-bye bags. If you want to get started with an inexpensive decorator’s set that has everything you need to complete this project, I recommend this one.
3. The Piping icing is stiffer (essentially it has more powdered sugar). Using a size 1 cake decorating tip, you will outline your design in the chosen color and let it set for a minute. The Flood icing is much thinner and will flood the surface you pour it onto. That’s why you pipe first – it acts as a dam. When it all dries, it should be seamless looking.
While I love the dough recipe from cookie craft, I have not had great luck with their icing recipe. In fact, I tried it again for this batch and it kept separating because it has egg whites in it. So I called Laura in frustration because I thought we had solved this problem, and she revealed that she stopped using this recipe years ago and had concocted her own superior recipe (moms, amirite?) Why didn’t I know this? Because I hate making the icing so I always make her do it (daughters, amirite?). So without further ado, I’ll share LL’s Royal Icing Recipe. It’s easy and fail-proof.
To make Royal Icing:
You start with Flood:
Mix 1 lb (approx. 4 cups) confectioner’s sugar with 3 oz (3/8 cup) of milk and 3 oz light corn syrup in a stand mixer. When it is absorbed, you can add your flavoring. I like to add butter flavoring and vanilla, myself. My mom likes almond. You can also add citrus peel. Whatever combo you pick, you’re looking for about 4 teaspoons total.
Next you can make the Piping:
Take 1/2 cup of the flood icing you just made and add 6-8 heaping spoonfuls (love how specific moms get with their measuring) of confectioner’s sugar. That’s it. I know, it doesn’t seem like enough. That’s why I added more sentences, so it would look more substantial.
Now you separate the piping and the flood into equal number for how many different colors you want to use. For this batch, I made three pairs, one white, one pink and one turquoise. I struggle with making the pairs match. It’s a learning curve. Once you’ve got your colors mixed, you can fill your bags and get decorating!
I took these cookies to one of my trunk shows as a hostess gift last month and they were a big hit! I would love to see some of your handiwork if you decide to try it!
