Skip to main content

'The Little Red Hen' Sugar Cookies

'The Little Red Hen' is a familiar children's book published by Little Golden Books, and many kindergarteners are taught the virtue of work ethic through its story line.  Told from the perspective of the little red hen and her barnyard friends, the book is a classic and a favorite with kids.


I was recently asked to make a set of cookies for a classroom that was putting on a production of 'The Little Red Hen'.  The cookies were given out as a reward to every single child that participated in this stage performance.  Let me assure you, they were a hit!

Keeping the sugar cookies to two shapes and only five colors, I baked and iced chickens as well as pigs for the children.

  Do you remember this book from childhood?  


I cut out large pigs using a cookie cutter from Copper Gifts and used a rooster cookie cutter that I got from my friend, Janet.  She told me that she discovered this little rooster at a specialty kitchenwares store in Carmel, California.  It's really charming and makes beautiful cookies.


As you've seen me do countless times, prepare to ice the cut out pig cookies by placing them on a decorator's turntable.  Why do I like working this way?  It's because I like to rotate the cookies while decorating; it helps me maneuver certain angles with the piping bag much more easily.  The bamboo toothpick is there to help me coax the icing into corners and to poke out any air bubbles from the icing.


Outline and flood the pigs using a #4 or #5 plain round tip with bright pink royal icing, and let the base coats dry completely.


Using a little bit of fuchsia-colored royal icing for the accents and a #2 plain round piping tip, pipe a circle for a nose, a partial triangle for ears, two beads of icing for the cloven hooves, and a curly pig tail.  Using a #1 piping tip, add a black dot for an eye.  Let dry completely.


The 'little red hens' are outlined and flooded in red royal icing using a #4 piping tip.  This is left to dy.  Using a #2 piping tip and the same color (simply switch piping tips), pipe tail feathers and an outline for the wing as shown. Using a #1 piping tip and black royal icing, pipe a dot for an eye and three-pointed feet and legs.  Using a #1 piping tip and yellow royal icing, pipe a small beak.  Let dry completely.


My neighbor Cathy tells me that these cookies were a big success with the kindergarteners and teachers.  As a cookie decorator, you don't need to wait for a production of 'The Little Red Hen' at a local elementary school to make these simple cookies.  Ice some for a family reunion, a spring or summer cookout with friends, or make them to sell at a local farmers market.  You can also make some to surprise any neighbors or individuals who have a farm and practice animal husbandry.

Don't shy away from using bright colors like these, because they really will stand out and catch people's attention.

Happy Cookie Decorating!

Comments

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

How to Paint a Chair

If you have ever felt the need to spruce up a set of chairs or give them a new look, why not try a little bit of paint?  Our tastes in decor and color will probably alter throughout our lives, and at some point, we may find ourselves wanting to change the look of our furniture without having to spend a lot of money.  That's where a few handy tips, some tools from the hardware store, and good-quality paint come in handy.   I know I'm not alone in paying visits to local antique shops, antique fairs and flea markets, and falling in love with pieces of furniture that would be perfect if they were just a different color.  You don't have to walk away from a good purchase simply because it's the wrong color.   My dear friend, Jeffrey, is forever enhancing his home with collectibles from flea markets and tag sales.  However, certain items aren't always up to Jeffrey's tastes when he brings them home.  He is the type of person who won't hesitate to chang

Vintage Wilton Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes have certainly evolved over the decades just as tastes and styles have in our American way of life.  There was a time when elaborate & very formal towering feats of sweetness were the standard for every bride & groom.  Growing up in a household where I witnessed several wedding cakes take shape from start to finish, I can tell you  that every single one of these was a true labor of love.  For mom, Wilton was the go-to supplier in every aspect of cake baking, including the wedding cakes which flew out of our house every single year for friends & family.   Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers It’s fun going back and looking at Wilton’s methods and styles for wedding cakes during the 1960s and 1970s.  Back then, the shapely cakes were not simply stacked and covered in perfect fondant the way they are these days, but were iced and decorated with real buttercream, along with a multitude of accessories.  There was even a working fountain available that could b