Skip to main content

Fourth of July Cookies

Even kitty cats can be patriotic and festive for the fourth of July just as much as their human counterparts.  If they happen to be cookies baked and iced with red, white and blue royal icing, then so much the better.  I can guarantee you that everyone is going to want one of these adorable kitties at your Independence Day celebration.  The good thing about this batch of cookies is that they’re very simple create and not too elaborate in their designs.  It seems to be my favorite way of making iced cookies. 


When I set out to design the little sugary felines, I immediately reached for a set of cookie cutters a friend of mine and her family recently sent to me.  I just knew that making these shapes into Fourth of July cookies was going to be the way to go.  With only three colors to work with, tinted just the right shades of Old Glory Blue & Red, I let my imagination take over.  


These weren’t the only cookies I made for the fourth.  Another friend asked me to make some flag cookies for a small event at his home and, of course, I agreed.  For him, I went with a colonial version of Old Glory, one that is seen very frequently here in the Philadelphia area.  Known as the Betsy Ross flag, the stars on the canton of the flag are arranged in a circle.  I absolutely love this version of our flag and think it makes for a most emblematic cookie that people will come to appreciate.
Let's create some Fourth of July  cookies!


The patriotic colonial flag is the easiest thing to create.  Although I didn't include 13 stars & stripes like the original 'Betsy Ross' version, the cookie does capture the spirit of this historic flag.  The stars on the canton were piped with an Ateco #13 open star tip using stiff royal icing.  I made them ahead of time and let them dry completely.  For the canton, pipe a bead of dark blue icing in a square shape on the upper left-hand corner.  Immediately flood it with the same icing; drop piped stars in a circle while canton is still wet--let dry.  Pipe & flood alternating stripes of red & white for the body of the flag.  You can leave them as is or you can flock them with fine sanding sugar to make them even more star spangled!


My fourth of July cats have a simple design.  The majority have a flooded base of icing in either red, white or blue, which is left to dry, before having small dots or stripes piped on either the border of the cookie or throughout their bodies.  Small dots for eyes are always cute.

My Favorites  

For the upright cat, outline its head with a bead of dark blue icing and immediately flood it with the same color.  For the body, outline and flood alternating thick stripes of red & white.  Let the icing dry completely.  Pipe red & white dots on the stripes and a white dot for its eye.  Pipe three small whiskers for the finishing touch.

For the cat sitting down, pipe & flood thick stripes of red & white for the body and let dry completely.  Using red, white & blue, pipe small dots using a #1 tip on the borders of the stripes.  Pipe two white dots for eyes and one blue dot for a nose.  Cute!

This tray is ready to be shipped to a couple of lucky individuals.


There is still plenty of time to make something sweet, memorable and completely delicious for your fourth of July celebration.  Look to these cookies as templates for your very own patriotic kitty cats or Star-Spangled Banners and then make some for the kids & adults.  If you put them out on white platters or stack them up on white cake stands, they're going to look marvelous with the rest of your decor.  
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 7, 2014 at 8:14 AM

    Oh, David. I haven't been baking much since I began my new food plan, and this reminds me how much I miss it! The temptation is just too great to cheat, and I need to focus, focus, focus.
    The patriotic kitties were a stroke of genius!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good Things by DavidJuly 7, 2014 at 8:32 AM

    Haha! The cookies will still be there when you start baking again.

    There is always room for a cookie or two. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank You for Posting!

Popular posts from this blog

Antique Salt Cellars

There was a time when salt cellars played an important role on the dining table for the host or hostess.  As a result of it being such an expensive commodity several hundred years ago, salt was seen as a luxury and it was the well to do that made salt cellars quite fashionable & a status symbol for the home.  A single salt cellar usually sat at the head of the table and was passed around throughout the meal.  The closer one sat to the salt cellar, the more important one was deemed by the head of the household.  Smaller cellars that were more accessible and with an open top became a part of Victorian table settings.  Fast forward to the 20th century when salt was no longer a luxury and when anti caking agents were added to make salt free-flowing, and one begins to see salt cellars fall out of fashion.  Luckily for the collector and for those of us who like to set a table with Good Things , this can prove to be a boon. Salt cellars for the table come in silver, porcelain, cut glass
50 comments
Read more

Collecting Jadeite

With its origins dating back to the 1930s, jadeite glassware began its mass production through the McKee Glass Co. in Pennsylvania. Their introduction of the Skokie green & Jade kitchenware lines ushered in our fascination with this jade color.  Glassmakers catered jadeite to the American public as an inexpensive alternative to earthenware soon after the Depression, both for the home and for its use in restaurants.  The Jeanette Glass Company and Anchor Hocking introduced their own patterns and styles, which for many collectors, produced some of the most sought after pieces.  Companies marketed this beautiful glass under the monikers of jadite , jadeite , jade glass , jad-ite , jade-ite , so however you want to spell it, let it draw you in for a closer look.  If you want a thorough history of the origins of jadeite, collectors’ pricing, patterns & shapes (don’t forget the reproductions in 2000), I highly suggest picking up the book by Joe Keller & David Ross called, Jadei
48 comments
Read more

A Tour of Turkey Hill with Martha Stewart and Friends

Martha Stewart led an intimate tour of her former Westport, Connecticut home and gardens for a few of my friends this past weekend.  From the photographs I've seen of that special day, it was an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime by those who were in attendance.  As much as I regret not going to this momentous occasion, my friends were kind enough to allow me to share their amazing photographs here on the blog. Let's take a tour of Turkey Hill with Martha Stewart and a few of my friends. Without the kindness of Jeffrey Reed, Dennis Landon, Darrin David, Anthony Picozzi and Colin Eastland, this post would not be possible.  It must also be stated that the fundraising event was graciously hosted by the current owners of Turkey Hill, the Bergs. Many thanks to the Berg family for opening up the property. Turkey Hill is the Federal style home that was purchased, renovated and landscaped by Martha Stewart and her then husband, Andy, back in 1970.  It was he
17 comments
Read more