Hammer Cookies

My hammer cookies are done and ready to share. The design was simple but making 200 still took a lot of time and counter space!

I was lucky to have my friend Pam visiting me the day I decorated the tops of the hammers and she helped me find space for them in the kitchen and smooth out the icing after I filled them.
 
I purchased the cute hammer cutter online from a company called American Tradition Cookie Cutters.

Here's how I made them:

I baked a lot of cookies.

I used a #2 tip and gray colored medium consistency icing to add a line at the head of the hammer. I then let this dry for about 15 minutes before I outlined and filled the top of the hammer with flood consistency icing.

I just kept working in sections until I had the top of all the hammers completed.

I let the cookies dry overnight before moving onto the next step. Because I had so many cookies all over my kitchen, I knew I needed to be able to pick them up and move them around. Letting the tops dry overnight means that I will be able to touch that area and move the cookies when I decorate the handles.

To decorate the handles, I outlined them with red medium consistency icing using a #2 tip and also added two lines down the middle.

I let this outline dry for about 1 hour before moving onto the next step.

With flood consistency icing and a #2 tip I filled in the handles. I like the textured effect on the handles and think it adds a lot of interest to the cookies. Once the handles are filled in you just need to wait for them to dry completely. This takes about 8 hours.

Here are all the cookies packed and ready to be delivered. When tackling big cookie projects, be sure to give yourself three or four days to work on them. Big batches of decorated cookies aren't something you whip up last minute.