Woodland Cookie Set

I had been thinking about designing a set of Woodland Cookies for nearly a year, but it was a recent trip with my friend Cindy to Blake's Decorette Shop that really pushed me into action.

I already owned the gnome and large mushroom cutter but found the smaller mushroom, deer and small plaque on our shopping trip and immediately couldn't wait to get started. 

I devoted a good amount of time to planning and designing the cookies, and two full days to baking and decorating them.

The mushroom and tree cookies were by far the easiest of the set to make. The deer was a little frustrating because it was hard to release the cookie dough out of its long thin legs. Cindy mentioned this might be a problem when I picked up the cutter at the store but the deer's cuteness won me over and trumped practicality.

Then there are the gnomes — The only way I could figure out how to bring them to life was to base coat them and then after that dried, add more details by painting on thinned royal icing. Each gnome took a good 40 minutes to decorate but despite the work, I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

Stay tuned for detailed tutorials on how to make each cookie in this set. Up tomorrow will be the mushrooms.

Double Decker Ghost Cookies

These double decker ghost cookies are a favorite of mine. They were quick to make and I think they're super cute too.

I cut the ghosts using a mini-cutter from a Halloween set that my mom gave me more than 15-years ago. No worries though, mini-cutter sets are still easy to find in stores today and online. Two stores where I've had good luck finding the sets are Michael's and Cost Plus World Market.

When making double decker cookies, my one tip is to cut the top cookies about half of the thickness of the base cookies— This just keeps the cookie from looking too bulky. The ghosts are 1/8-inch thick and the base cookies are 1/4-inch thick.

Here's how I made them:

Outline and flood base cookies and set them aside to dry completely.

Outline and flood ghost cookies with white icing and while the icing is still wet, drop on the eyes and mouth using black medium consistency icing and a #2 tip. Let the ghosts dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Once the base cookies and ghost cookies are dry, adhere them together using piping consistency royal icing as glue. A little goes a long way, so don't add too much or it will squish out and ruin the look. Use an edible ink marker to write "Boo!" and pipe a border.

Wait for the royal icing "glue" and border dry completely before packaging.

Art Festival Cookies

I'm catering a lunch at an arts festival this Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and cookies are on the menu.

At first I thought I'd just make chocolate chip since they're crowd pleasing and quick to whip up. But in the end, I decided I should also offer another choice and come up with a cookie that's "artsy" and celebratory.

Decorated cookies, which I consider my art, were an obvious choice except that they're not easy to make in large quantities unless you do something really basic.

So I decided to go for round cookies decorated in an few bright colors. I love how these turned out, they are simple yet high impact and will be a colorful addition to my menu.

When you are just adding a base coat to a cookie, it's important that you keep the icing clean and neat and avoid smudges and smears. The secret is to use 15 second icing for the outline and flooding — That's icing that settles back into place in 15 seconds after you draw a line through it with the back of a spoon. This consistency is important when you are working on a small cookie and want the icing to settle and be smooth yet be stiff enough to not run out and over the edges of your cookies.

Once you get the hang of outlining and flooding, it goes very quickly. I was able to decorate 100 cookies in two hours — That's just 1 minute and 20 seconds per cookie!

Here's more information on the arts festival which is free and open to everyone. The Trinity Arts Commission has worked very hard putting together a special event that celebrates a variety of art mediums and offers something for all ages.  There will even be two performances of the play "A Wrinkle in Time."

If you would like to partake in the noon lunch, tickets cost $7.50 and can be purchased at the festival. I hope to see you there!

Trinity Arts Festival 

"A Wrinkle in Time"
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (147 NW 19th Ave, Portland, OR)

SATURDAY SPECTACULAR

May 16 - 10:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.

Free admission to all events.

Childcare available 10-12 and 1-5:30 in the nursery.

All Day

CAULDRON ~ multimedia installation

IF YOU FELT THE SAME ~ multimedia installation

ARTISTS AMONG US ~ 15th Anniversary Exhibition

YOUTH ART EXHIBIT

MOVING OUTSIDE ~ outdoor fiber art exhibit

LIVE PAINTING DEMONSTRATIONS

ICON WRITING DEMONSTRATION

10:00 a.m.

AMAZING PORTAL ~ puppet theater (children/youth)

11:00 a.m.

SYMBOLS, STORIES, SELF, AND STARDUST ~ ceramic arts

COSTUME MAKING ~ workshop (children/youth)

RED DOOR READERS ~ readings

11:30 a.m.

YOUTH CHOIR PERFORMANCE ~ brief concert

12:00 p.m.

LUNCH ($7.50/person, Kempton Hall)

1:00-4:00 p.m.

ORGAN WITHOUT STOPS ~ marathon concert

DROP-IN ARTS & CRAFTS ~ kids

1:00 p.m.

MOVE! DANCE! PLAY! SING! ~ participatory session for kids

BOOK DISCUSSION ~ Book of Creation, John Philip Newell

LIFT UP YOUR VOICE & SING ~ beginning voice class

TIME & MULTIMEDIA ART ~ panel discussion

PLAYFUL INTUITIVE PAINTING ~ workshop

TRANSPARENT SNOW GLOBE COLUMN ~ interactive installation

2:00 p.m.

MOVE! DANCE! PLAY! SING! ~ participatory session for kids

WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION ~ presentation

SONGWRITING AS TRUTH-TELLING ~ participatory workshop

THE HERO'S JOURNEY IN SCI-FI & FANTASY ~ presentation

3:00 p.m.

SACRED DANCE & LABYRINTH WALK ~ guided session

UNLIMITED: A DOCUMENTARY ~ screening

INSPIRATIONAL FIBER WALL HANGINGS ~ discussion

4:00-5:30 p.m. & 7:00-8:30 p.m.

A WRINKLE IN TIME ~ dramatic adaptation by John Glore

And, here's how to make Colorful Cookies:

Sugar Cookie Cutouts
Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch cookies

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

 In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until blended, then beat on high speed until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat until well blended. Add flour and salt; beat on low speed until combined, then on medium speed until well blended. Divide dough into two equal portions. Place dough between sheets of plastic wrap. Press evenly into a disk and chill until dough is firm, at least 20 minutes. Working with one portion of dough at a time (keep remaining chilled), peel off plastic wrap and roll on a floured board until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured cutters and transfer onto bare baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees (325 for convection) for 7 to 9 minutes or until firm to the touch and slightly darker brown around edges. Cool on wire racks.

I used a small 1.5-inch round cutter to cut the cookies. When I make small sized cookies I'm careful not to roll the dough to thin since I want the cookie to be satisfying and perfectly balanced with the sweet icing. I aim for 1/4-inch.

Royal Icing
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Food coloring

In a large bowl combine meringue powder, water and lemon juice and stir until meringue powder is dissolved. Add powdered sugar and with an electric mixer on low speed, beat until evenly moistened. Then beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Divide and tint as desired and add water a few drops at a time to get desired consistency.

Using 15 second icing and a #2 tip, outline and fill in the cookie.

Use a skewer or scribe tool to manipulate the icing, evenly distribute it and fill in any gaps. Give the cookie a gentle shake to help the icing settle and that's all there is to it. Let the cookies dry completely before packaging or serving. This takes about 6 to 8 hours.

Shamrock Cookies

Shamrock shaped cookies are the obvious choice when it comes to making decorated cookies for St. Patrick's Day.

The problem with them is there aren't many ways to get creative with the decorating. Solid green is kind of the only choice.

One way I've found to add interest to shamrock cookies is to decorate them in sections, letting them dry for a bit in between. This technique creates a textured effect that adds interest and dimension to the cookie. Plus, it's easy to do and you still only have to mix one color of royal icing.

Here's how:

Take your time mixing your green royal icing. Since these are a one color cookie, you want a good looking shade. I used a combination of avacado, leaf green, electric green and brown Americolors.

The pretty handle of my Grandmother Beatrice's rolling pin was the inspiration for the green color I mixed. It's always helpful to have a visual of the color you want to mix.

Using a #2 tip and flood consistency icing, outline and fill the bottom two leaf sections on every cookie. Let the icing dry for at least 20 minutes before moving on to the next step.

Now outline and fill the top leaf section of every cookie.

Finally, outline and fill the stem. Now you have a single colored cookie that's definitely not boring — so much better than flat green. Be sure to let the cookies dry completely before serving or packaging.

Easy Valentine Cookie

This two colored Valentine cookie is pretty and very easy to make.

Besides two colors of royal icing, you also need two cookie cutters to make them — a large cutter of your choice for the base cookie (I used a plaque-shaped one) and a smaller heart cutter.

I chose to fill the heart with a fuschia colored icing but pink or red would also look great.

This design once again proves to me that it's often the simplest ones that look the best. And, getting a perfect shaped heart in the center of the cookie was no problem because I made a guide to follow by using the heart cookie cutter to make an indentation before baking.

Use a heart cutter to make an indentation in the cookie before baking.

This outline will stay after baking.

Outline the cookie and heart shape and flood with white royal icing.

Immediately fill in the heart with the color of your choice. I chose fuschia. Let the cookie dry completely before packaging.

Hey, now that I think of it, this using a cookie cutter to make an indentation technique has a lot of decorating possibilities.

I happen to have a small bee cutter and wouldn't a "Bee Mine" Valentine cookie be sweet?

Stay tuned.....

R.E.M Music And Cookies

My latest batch of decorated cookies that will be available at the liturgy.

Please attend "Fall On Me: The R.E.M. Alt. Liturgy" this coming Saturday, Nov. 2 for some great music and to support the Wednesday Community Meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. There is no charge to get in but there will be a free-will offering with every penny going to the cathedral's hunger ministries.

If that's not enough, there will be cookies. Here are the details:

Fall On Me: The R.E.M. 

Alt. Liturgy

Saturday, November 2, 6:00 p.m., Kempton Hall, 
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (147 NW. 19th, Portland, Oregon)
Join Trinity for an alternative liturgy set to the music of R.E.M. From their College Radio roots to their reign as one of the most influential rock bands of their era, R.E.M. brought a cagey mix of attitude and poetry to catchy guitar pop. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll also find a spiritual renewal in the band’s most eponymous work. From a nod to the Comic Vision in “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) to the soul searching of “Losing My Religion,” it’s easy to find.

Lavender Cookies

After weeks of dark rainy weather in Portland,  yesterday was surprisingly warm, sunny and reminiscent of Spring so these lavender cookies were what I chose to make.

Only four colors of royal icing are needed to create them - white, green and two shades of violet. It's important that your royal icing is the right piping consistency to get a crisp looking scalloped edge and leaf and bloom details. Toothpaste is the best way for me to describe the desired consistency.

I let the base icing dry for 20 minutes before adding the lavender decorations so that the flowers would sit on top of the cookie and not sink into the icing.

I can imagine these would be a hit at just about any tea party. I made an additional super-sized cookie for my daughter Eleanor to present to her friend Momoko on her birthday. Because I don't have any giant square cutters, I cut the cookie freehand using my 6-inch bench scraper.

Here's how to decorate them:

With piping consistency white icing and a #1 tip, pipe a scalloped border.

Add a border to all of the cookies.

With flood consistency white icing and a #2 tip, flood the cookies and use a skewer to move the icing and evenly fill the cookie. Let the flooded cookies dry for 20 minutes.

With piping consistency green icing and a #1 tip, add lavender stems.

With the same icing, add "v's" to a few sections of the stems.

Do this to all of the cookies.

With  two shades of piping consistency violet icing and #1 tips, pipe dots on top of the "v" sections of the stems.

Because the base icing was left to dry for 20 minutes, the lavender will sit on top of the cookie and add dimension.

I like to use self-sealing cellophane bags to package the cookies.

Just For Fun Cookies

My good friends Shinobu and Rieko came over yesterday to see my new kitchen and decorate cookies with me just for fun.

The day before, I baked up a batch of sugar cookies that I cut in different shapes. Then my friends and I made royal icing together and tinted it in a variety of colors.

It was "relaxed decorating" because we enjoyed experimenting with different icing techniques and not feeling any pressure because the cookies were just for us.

Having the correct consistency of royal icing when you are decorating cookies makes all the difference and the only way to figure this out is by practice. I also hinted to my friends that I'm hoping to recruit them when it's time to decorate snowflake cookies for the annual Christmas cookie sale to benefit the Wednesday Community Meal.

Cookie decorating is always more fun when you are with friends.

A heart decorated using the simple "wet on wet" icing technique. Fill and flood a cookie with white icing using a #2 tip and quickly drop colored dots of icing using a #1 tip.

A scalloped chevron heart made by piping a white border and then filling and flooding the cookie with pink icing. While the icing is wet, draw lines of white icing across the heart and quickly use a skewer to draw through the icing lines to create a chevron effect.

A simple scalloped heart made by outlining a border with piping consistency icing using a #1 tip. Piping consistency icing is the texture of toothpaste. Let the border dry and then flood the cookie with another color of icing. Use a skewer to ease the icing to the edges of the border.

A pretty cupcake cookie made by flooding  the cookie with white icing for the paper and pink for the cake. Add some cute sprinkles to the pink cake part. Let the icing dry for about 15 minutes before piping lines for texture on the paper and swirls for texture on the cupcake. Because the flood icing wasn't completely dry, the details melted a bit into it for a soft textured look. If you want your details to look sharper, add them after the flood icings are completely dry.

A simple chevron pattern that is striking yet so easy to make. Food the cookie with white icing and immediately pipe lines in alternating colors across the cookie. Use a skewer to drag down, up and down through the lines, wiping it clean after each swipe.

Easy Ombre Cookies

Besides being easy, these ombre cookies are chic and au courant.

Ombre is a French word that means "shaded" and in fashion it is used to describe the color effect of one color going from light to dark. It's taking one color and just gradually enhancing its depth.

It was a breeze to tint the royal icing to create these cookies and the results are pleasing and cohesive.

I think these would be especially nice for a wedding or an event that has a color scheme. Piled high onto a platter, they would look striking.

To ice the cookies, I just piped a border and immediately flooded the cookies using a #2 tip. The design is in the color, not the details.

Here's how to tint your icing:

Divide your icing evenly into four bowls.

Drop a small amount of coloring into one bowl, put more coloring into the next, even more into the third and finally put the largest amount into the fourth bowl.

Mix the colors well. Add a bit of water if necessary to make the icings flood consistency.

Use a #2 tip and piping bags to outline and flood the cookies. Let the cookies dry completely before packaging or arranging on a platter.

A package of cookies wrapped with inexpensive baker's twine. A homemade tag adds the finishing touch.

Mini Heart Cookies

 Here are just few simple decorating ideas for mini heart sugar cookies.

Because they are small, one batch of cookie dough (see recipe below) yields at least 40 cookies, making them the perfect treat for a platter at a Valentine's Day party.

Baby pink and medium pink.

Baby pink and dark pink.

Red and medium pink.

The most basic - white and pink.

Sugar Cookie Dough

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

 In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until blended, then beat on high speed until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat until well blended. Add flour and salt; beat on low speed until combined, then on medium speed until well blended. Divide dough into two equal portions. Place dough between sheets of plastic wrap. Press evenly into a disk and chill until dough is firm, at least 20 minutes. Working with one portion of dough at a time (keep remaining chilled), peel off plastic wrap and roll on a floured board until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured cutters and transfer onto bare baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees (325 for convection) for 7 to 9 minutes or until firm to the touch and slightly darker brown around edges. Cool on wire racks.