Cookie Cutter Frustration

The cute but not practical pig cookie cutter.

If I hadn't been mesmerized by the adorableness of this pig cookie cutter, I would have realized it really wasn't a smart choice.

Because if I looked at it more carefully in the store, I would have noticed that there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to extract cookie dough from the teeny weeny tail of the pig.

The impossible tail.

I used the cutter anyways, accepting that there would be no long curly tails. But the experience helped me confirm that I don't want cookie cutters with small intricate areas. I want cutters with clean lines that are easy to use. Cookie making should be fun, not frustrating.

There was nothing I could do - these pigs were destined to have broken tails.

Valentine Pigs

Two design variations: A piped heart and a cookie heart.

My daughter Eleanor and my niece Maya asked me to make them Valentine cookies that they could give to their friends at school so I came up with these cute pink pig cookies.

The girls think the pigs are perfect - not mushy,  but fun and lighthearted and appropriate for all of their friends.

I experimented with a few designs and actually like the simplest one best (this is usually the case).

All the pigs need are an eye, bright snout and piped heart. This is a good design for beginning cookie decorators.

Here's how to decorate them:

Outline the pigs using a #1 pastry tip and piping consistency pink icing.

Flood the cookies using a #2 pastry tip and thinned flood consistency icing. Let the cookies dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Using a #1 tip and piping consistency dark purple icing, add the eye and heart. Using a small brush, add a touch of hot pink icing on the snout.