For local clients and customers I decided to go a little retro with their Christmas sugar cookies this season. Snow globes filled with beautiful evergreen trees covered in icy sugar crystals, jadeite-colored Christmas trees strewn with garlands that look like tinsel, Christmas stockings that are stenciled with snowflakes, and a few Victorian ornaments that are shiny and bright with colorful drageés, are just some examples of what I made.
Let it be known that not only do the cookies look pretty, but they taste the way a good sugar cookie ought to. It doesn't matter how nicely a cookie is decorated or how elaborate the artwork is, the cookie base and the royal icing has to be delicious. Being in the business of making custom cookies for special clients and local customers here in Pennsylvania, my ultimate taste testers and critics are the kids.
Well, I think it's safe to say that this year's retro Christmas cookies are going to go down in the history of this blog as the tastiest treats for kids and adults this holiday season.
Let's quickly go through them so that you can make some of your own. Give yourself a couple of days to tackle cookies like this. The results are absolutely worth the effort.
Christmas Snow Globe Cookies |
The Christmas Snow Globes: ice the base of the snow globe in jadeite-colored royal icing using a #2 piping tip, and while the icing is wet, carefully place multi-colored (or silver) drageés as you see here. Using white royal icing and a #3 piping tip, outline and flood the entire globe of the cookie; while the icing is still wet, flock the bottom half of the globe (or the entire thing) in clear, fine sanding sugar. Let this dry completely. Gently pick up the entire cookie and flip it to the side. Carefully shake off any excess sanding sugar, making sure that this is done over a rimmed baking sheet. With a Christmas tree stencil and a cake decorating air gun, airbrush Ateco gold onto the cookie. Half of the tree will be exposed beautifully, while half of it will be covered in icy crystals. Done!
Red Cookie Stockings: for the stocking, outline and flood the boot of the stocking in red royal icing using a #3 piping tip. Immediately ice and flood the cuff of the stocking in white royal icing using a #3 piping tip. While the icing is wet, carefully place 2 mm silver drageés as shown. Let this dry completely. With a cake decorating air gun, airbrush Ateco gold onto the cuff of the stocking and then carefully airbrush gold snowflakes on the boot using a stencil. Let dry completely. Voila!
Christmas Cookie Stocking |
Green Cookie Stockings: for the stocking, outline and flood the boot of the stocking in jadeite-colored royal icing using a #3 piping tip. Immediately ice and flood the cuff of the stocking in white royal icing using a #3 piping tip. While the icing is wet, carefully place 2 mm silver drageés as shown. Let this dry completely. With a cake decorating air gun, airbrush Ateco gold onto the cuff of the stocking and then carefully airbrush a green chevron pattern on the boot with a stencil. Let dry completely. Done!
Victorian Ornament Sugar Cookie |
Victorian Ornament Cookie: for this simple, yet utterly beautiful cookie, outline and flood the entire cookie using white royal icing and a #3 piping tip. While the icing is wet, carefully drop 3mm gold and wintergreen drageés as you see here. Let the cookie base dry completely. Using the same white royal icing and a #2 piping tip, pipe a bead of icing along the perimeter of the ornament. Using red royal icing and a #2 piping tip, pipe dots around the ornaments as shown, or however you wish. Let the cookie dry before packaging it.
Jadeite-colored Christmas Tree Cookie |
Jadeite Christmas Tree Sugar Cookie: to get the "sectioned" look onto your Christmas trees, outline and flood every other tier of the branches in jadeite-colored royal icing with a #3 piping tip and let the areas dry completely. After those sections have dried, outline and flood the alternating tiers in the same fashion. Let the entire base dry completely. Using the jadeite-colored royal icing and a #2 piping tip, pipe the lines of "tinsel" in a zigzag pattern as shown. While this is still wet, immediately flock the garland with clear, fine sanding sugar. Do not disturb this until it has dried completely. Gently pick up the entire cookie and flip it to the side. Carefully shake off any excess sanding sugar, making sure that this is done over a rimmed baking sheet. To attach the multi-colored drageés, you have two options. You can either pipe dots of royal icing and stick the drageés onto the dots while the icing is wet, or you can use cake decorating "adhesive". Both are effective and both give the cookies a different look.
This happens to be my favorite cookie of the bunch.
Can you believe that I almost didn't blog about these cookies? What I love about showing cookies here on the blog and through social media, is that many of my friends are getting the confidence to roll up their sleeves and begin decorating cookies of their own. Nothing is more flattering and more rewarding than seeing good friends, acquaintances and new readers rolling, cutting, baking and icing cookies at home.
As for me, I'm onto round two of my Christmas cookie decorating. This next round will be for my entire family on the west coast. Stay tuned!
Dear David,
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me! I finally jumped in and baked up a batch of Heirloom Sugar Cookies and iced them with your delicious lemony Royal Icing...using a pastry bag for the first time in my rather long life:). The first few looked like my 6 year old granddaughter had done them but I finally got the hang of piping and have had the most fun day! Can’t wait to get another batch going to give to friends for Christmas! So glad I found your blog!!!
Leslie, I'm so happy that you had success with the recipes, and that you're enjoying the blog!! Jumping right into cookie decorating is the way to go. With time and practice you will be a pro at this in no time.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and your family!!