Last night I decided to make some cookies. I used my Granny's Christmas Cookie recipe (a family secret) but the technique works with any type of rolled cookie.
TIP #1: Make your dough ahead of time. I made a huge batch at Christmas, divided the dough into smaller portions (using our awesome
FoodSaver) and froze the leftover dough. Each batch makes 16-24 cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutter. With smaller batches and less prep work, this allows me to bake on a whim - which I love to do.
Since I haven't yet bought any cookie cutters of my own, all the ones I have are hand-me-downs (thanks Mom!) which means I only have Christmas shapes, a heart and round (which isn't much fun) - so I made hearts. But I figured a fancy shape deserved fancy icing, so I did some experimenting and came up with an easy soultion!
1- I rolled and cut out my dough - even if you didn't
pre-make your dough, it always helps to chill it for 10 minutes to make handling easier.
2- I whipped up a batch of Super-Simple Cookie Icing (see recipe below) and made it thicker than normal. I colored it pink and used and sandwich bag to pipe a dam of icing onto the cookies. NOTE: I first attempted to do this with actual decorating supplies (a piping bag, coupler and tip) but the icing was so runny it just oozed out around the coupler and made a huge mess. The
ziplock bag made everything so much simpler!
3- Once the dam had dried, I thinned the icing a bit and filled in the rest of the cookie. I didn't want to be too messy so I cut a bigger hole in my
ziplock bag, piped a pile of icing inside the dam and used a butter knife to smooth it out, making sure the icing touched the dam all around.
This is such a simple method! No fancy tools needed. This is also a great way to get detail on your holiday cookies - stars and stripes for July 4
th, trees with ornaments and garland for Christmas - you get the idea!
Go experiment with your own cookies and let me see your results!
my recipe for:
Super-Simple Cookie Icingingredients:*
confectioners sugar
milk
food coloring
*It's impossible to give exact quantities for this recipe because it's all based on feel.
directions:
-In a small mixing bowl pour a very small amount of milk (approx 1 T) and a large amount of confectioners sugar (approx 2 C). Stir ingredients together. The consistency is right when you feel some resistance when stirring, but the icing is still runny enough to drizzle quickly - you really can't mess this up. Just add milk or sugar accordingly until it feels right to you. If the icing starts to crust, just stir it and add a tiny bit of milk if needed.
TIP #2: Always start with the milk then add the sugar. It's easier to get a feel for how much liquid you are adding to the mix. And always remember: a little milk goes a long way.
TIP #3: Make your icing in small batches. It's much easier to control the consistency this way.
-Color the icing as desired and apply to cookies.
Enjoy!
This is just too hilarious. This piece probably costs more than an authentic stormtrooper suit, but it's not as much fun to play with. Even more hilarious: in light of his trial he has been dressing more toned-down and sophisticated lately. And if a diamond encrusted stormtrooper helmet doesn't scream sophistication, I don't know what does.
The hubby enjoying our new green and blue beach gear and getting serious with his fantasy football strategy magazine.
[EDIT: The fabulous blog now goes by a new name, so all links and references to their old URL have been removed.]
One of my favorite blogs is having a giveaway! YAY! But giveaway or not, definitely check out her wonderful and lovely blog. Always a source of inspiration!
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