Quick Decorated Cookies

If you have your heart set on making decorated sugar cookies but don't have a lot of time, these simple mini cookies are the answer.

As I've mentioned before, decorated cookies are not something to be made last minute because they are time consuming to make and not just because of the baking and decorating. They take a full day just to dry.

Luckily there are exceptions and these Blue Mini Heart Cookies are one of them. Because the 1.5-inch heart is small, I was able to use a thicker flood icing to fill them which reduced the drying time to six hours.

Usually I flood cookies with 10 to 15-second icing which is icing that takes that long to settle back into place after drawing through it with the side of a spoon, but for these I was able to use 20-second icing.

Another time saver was that I didn't use a separate icing to outline the cookies. Instead, using the same 20-second icing,  I outlined and filled each cookie in one step. This kind of decorating goes really fast and in the end it took me just four hours to bake and decorate 100 cookies. They'll take another six hours to dry and then they are done and ready to package and/or serve.

Step 1: Make and bake the cookies.

Step 2: Mix 20-second icing and outline and fill the cookies. I like to decorate three cookies at a time. After filling, use a scribe tool or skewer to evenly distribute the icing and give each cookie a gentle shake to help the icing settle into place.

Step 3: Wait for the cookies to dry.

For added interest I went for an ombre look, using three shades of teal icing and I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

Using different shades of icing is a nice way to add interest to a simple design.

These cookies are going to be served at this Saturday's Leonard Cohen Liturgy to benefit Hunger Ministries at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. I hope you can join us. Everyone is welcome and the event is free. It's great opportunity to enjoy wonderful live music and eat cookies.

Here's more infomation:

LEONARD COHEN LITURGY
Saturday, November 15, 6:00 p.m., Kempton Hall. Join Trinity for an alternative liturgy set to the songs of popular music’s saint of solitude, prophet of the heart and brother of mercy. From “Hallelujah” to “Tower of Song,” Leonard Cohen stands with Bob Dylan as one of the world’s most fascinating and prophetic songwriters. But this Alt.Liturgy will show that he also stands with David in the Psalms, constantly asking, “Can you hear my song?” A freewill offering will benefit Trinity’s hunger ministries.

Lingering And Not Wanting To Leave

Volunteer Frank serving the first two meals of the day — meatloaf, baked potato, roasted green beans and baked apple slices.

When I arrived at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral this morning, a bit before 7:30 a.m. to start cooking for the Wednesday Community Meal, I saw a man bundled up and huddled with his back against the church trying to stay warm.  He was first in line for a meal that was still three and a half hours away and he was so crouched over that I couldn't see his face.

The temperature was just below freezing but felt even colder because of heavy winds. It really was miserably cold and even with a winter coat and gloves,  I could barely stand just walking from my parked car to the church.

Once inside, I asked my friends Mary and Martha who volunteer with me,  "Did you see there's a man already in line? I'm going to ask him if he wants a cup of hot chocolate." They both thought that was a good idea and said I should just bring him one.

So I mixed up a rich cup of hot chocolate and headed outside towards the man expecting to encounter sadness and even some gruffness since that's how I'd be if I was freezing and stuck outside.

That's not what happened.

"Sir, I have a cup of hot chocolate for you," I said. His head quickly lifted and I saw a smiling ruddy face with sparkly kind eyes.

"Oh that's so nice of you, I'd love a cup of hot chocolate," he enthusiastically said and added "I'm looking forward to the meal today."

He really surprised me with his positivity and politeness amid such suffering. He amazed me. The next time I get whiny about something trivial, I'm going to try my best to remember him and put things in perspective.

We served 287 meals today and noticed that our guests lingered longer and some even got back in line to eat two or three times, not wanting to leave the warmth of Kempton Hall.

Guests today were treated to beautiful handmade scarves all lovingly made and donated by volunteer Nancy's 86-year old mother Chieko. When I told a man who had chosen a scarf that it was handmade he said "I can tell and I'm going to cherish it. Thank you."

Meal Closeup.

An Even Better Way To Package Cookies

I've found that the addition of a piece of heavy duty paper is an even better way to package sugar cookies while still using my favorite inexpensive self-sealing cellophane bags.  

The piece of sturdy paper adds support to the package and helps keeps the cookie safe and sound during transport and handling.

The use of pretty paper also enhances the look of the packaging and makes for a nice presentation.

My paper choice was acid free patterned cardstock that I found in the scrap booking section of Michael's Arts & Crafts. To assemble the packages I cut the paper to size, set the cookies on top and simply slid them together into the cellophane bags.

It really is easy and makes for a very professional presentation.

Part of the fun of adding paper to the packaging is deciding what design to put with what cookie.

The addition of paper helps the cookies stay upright and protected during transport.

Teal And Gold Heart Cookies

This elegant cookie design came about because I wanted to make some simple heart cookies for a sale this weekend but was determined to stay away from using pinks and reds which I felt just wouldn't be right for Fall.

I'm really pleased with this combination of teal and gold. For a little extra oomph and shimmer I also painted the border with gold luster dust.

To make these I used a round scalloped cutter to cut the cookies and then after baking I outlined them with gold royal icing.

After the border dried for 30 minutes, I flooded the cookies with white royal icing.

I let the cookies dry overnight and the next day piped hearts onto the cookies. If you don't feel comfortable doing this freehand, you could use an edible ink marker to draw a heart that you could trace.

The final touch was the addition of gold luster dust on the border. To do this, I put a teaspoon of luster dust in a small container and added just enough vodka to make a paint. Then I simply painted it on with a soft brush. Let the cookies dry completely before packaging.

The Art Part Of Cookie Decorating

Painted Cookies

Brushed Embroidery

I started decorating cookies one day nearly ten years ago just because I was feeling creative and needed an art project. I've always been someone who has thrived on working with my hands and trying something new.

Actually one of the first things my mom said to my husband when we announced we were getting married was, "Do you know about Heidi and her projects?" What can I say? — I like making stuff and when I was younger I wasn't the best at cleaning up my messes.

When I gave cookie decorating a shot, I had been interested in it for a while after seeing Wendy Kromer demonstrate outlining and flooding on Martha Stewart's show and saving a 2004 issue of Sunset Magazine that had tips and a recipe from pastry chef Emily Luchetti. Her sugar cookie cutout recipe was so good that it is the one I still use today with one little change, the addition of a bit of almond extract.

I didn't take any pictures of my first cookie decorating project, a batch of snowflakes, and that's probably a good thing. They were nothing special due to too runny icing and my lack of experience but they tasted great and I was hooked on the whole process of decorating cookies.

It's my art and I love it because the decorating possibilities are endless and there's always a new technique to try, learn and improve upon. Plus, I get the added pleasure of seeing smiles when I share the cookies with family and friends.

This week I've been working on some new designs for an artisan fair at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. I've been doing a little brushed embroidery work, painting and I'm making sets of cookie place cards that will be sold with an edible marker, perfect for setting Thanksgiving tables.  I can be found selling alongside my good friend Linda who makes the most adorable and super soft one-of-a-kind knitted dolls.

I hope to see you this weekend. Here are the details: 

10th Annual Artisan Invitational Fair. Saturday, November 8, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 9, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Kempton Hall. Admission: 2 cans of food or $2. Benefiting The Cathedral Arts Program and Trinity Outreach Food Pantry. Free parking.

Fabulous Free Food

Every bit of the soup, salad, entrees and dessert that we served today at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Wednesday Community Meal was free thanks to our wonderful gleaners and the generosity of those in our community who share their leftovers.

A group of dedicated volunteers gleans regularly for us, collecting food from places like The Oregon Food Bank, Good Samaritan Hospital, Phil's Uptown Meat Market, Pizza Schmizza, Grand Central Bakery and Trader Joe's which helps us keep our costs down and stay within budget.

We are on track to serve just under 20,000 meals by the end of the year and even with financial support from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, donations and fundraisers, feeding everyone would be cost prohibitive without the gleaning.  Typically we need to purchase additional ingredients so that we can serve a well-rounded meal and have enough to feed everyone who comes to our door.

Today though, with a little creativity, we were able to utilize just our gleaned food and serve 247 four-course meals.  

It really is a shame how much food is wasted in our country and it feels satisfying to save it and put it to good use. It's also important to note that just because it's free, it doesn't mean it's not fabulous. The food we glean is high quality and nutritious and to prove it, here are some of the meals we served today:

Green Chicken Curry, Roasted Tomatoes and Green Beans, Carrots and Onions.

Baked Fish, Roasted Tomatoes, Rice and Green Beans and Onions.

Seasoned and Sliced Chicken Breast Over Rice, Green Beans, Carrots and Onions and Roasted Tomatoes.

Chicken Skewers Over Rice, Roasted Tomatoes and Green Beans, Carrots and Onions.

Salted Caramel Mini Macarons

Mini Salted Caramel Macarons

If you want many macarons, make mini macarons. I made another batch of Salted Caramel Macarons because I needed more to share with friends but this time made them mini-sized and got 80 finished macarons from a single recipe.

Mini macarons are so cute and I find that the small size is actually easier to pipe and bake, making them ideal for first time macaron makers. It can be a struggle to pipe even-sized rounds of macaron batter when when you don't have much piping experience so aiming for small nickle-sized rounds is a good place to start and then when you get the hang of it you can go bigger. As for the baking, I find that mini macarons bake more evenly because of their small size and are less likely to have hollow centers. 

To make the Mini Salted Caramel Macarons, just follow my original recipe but reduce the size and baking time — Mine took 10 minutes to bake but I started checking them at 7 minutes. It is important that you bake them long enough. They should feel very firm to the touch and not wobble a bit if you give one a gentle shake. It really is better to bake macarons a bit too long than too little. If they are underbaked, they won't want to release from the parchment and they'll tear and be fragile. I've been through this and it's very frustrating!

Please give mini macarons a try. Once you have success, you'll be hooked on making macarons and trust me, you friends and family won't mind one bit.

The piped mini macarons. I aimed for nickle-sized rounds and after settling they grew to be a bit bigger than a quarter.

Look at all those macaron shells from one batch! I got 160 shells, enough to make 80 finished macarons. Here the shells are sorted into pairs and ready to be filled with salted caramel buttercream.

The finished macarons.