Skip to main content

Bridal Shower Cookies

Making any type of sugar cookie decorated with royal icing requires some planning, time management, and very good ingredients.  I like to begin these projects several days before the event, so that I don't run into problems.

Recently, I had the pleasure of making some bridal shower cookies in the shapes of tuxedos and wedding dresses for a dear neighbor.  Although I have never created any wedding cookies before, I do own several cookie cutters perfect for such an occasion. 


The wedding dress cookie was made with a copper cutter that I purchased from a very good friend several years ago, and the tuxedo top came from a recent purchase of Sweet Sugarbelle cookie cutters at Michael's.  If you don't own the shape shifters set from Sweet Sugarbelle, I highly recommend getting it because the cookie cutters lend themselves to so many things.  

After baking the cookies, I made several batches of royal icing in black and white.  For this project, I made sure to have a flooding consistency icing, as well as a stiff royal icing in both colors.  


I altered the dress-shaped cookies before I even baked them.  The original shape of the cookie cutter had a skirt with a scalloped bottom, so I decided to trim the scallops of the cookies using a "trim edger cutter" from that set of shape-shifters I mentioned earlier.  After baking and cooling the dresses, I traced a sweetheart bodice, and a two-part skirt with a Wilton Food Writer pen.


The gowns were then iced in several stages.  The outside areas of some of the ball gowns were outlined and flooded in white royal icing using a #3 piping tip.  I then placed either white or pink pearl candies along the centers as shown.  The areas were left to dry completely.  I then outlined and flooded the center areas of the skirts  with the same white royal icing, and left them to dry completely.  The sweetheart bodices were then outlined and flooded with white royal icing using a #2 tip, and were immediately flocked with either coarse, clear sanding sugar (for sparkly tops) or with white nonpareils (for pearly tops).  The cookies were left to dry completely.  Any stray sugar crystals or nonpareils were removed after the tops were dry.


White royal icing dots were added to the neckline of the cookies with a #2 tip to create a delicate pearl necklace, and more dots were placed along the edges of the gowns as shown.  The center area on some of the skirts were enhanced with a super-white edible glitter; dip a small brush into the glitter pot and carefully paint it onto the dried royal icing.  The glitter won't immediately stick to the icing, but if you leave it alone, it will settle.  I treated the bare areas of the cookies with the same edible glitter.  Voila!


The tuxedo tops of the gentlemen were made using the adorable "gift box with ribbon" cutter from Sweet Sugarbelle.  Her set of cutters comes with recipes and decorating instructions.  She had a version of this tuxedo top that I fell in love with, so I used it!  The tuxedo jacket areas were outlined and flooded with black royal icing as shown.  These areas were left to dry completely.


Don't they look spiffy already?


Bow ties were outlined and flooded with the same black royal icing using a #1 piping tip.  A single drageé was placed in the middle of the bow tie.  This area was left to dry completely.  I then used a #2 piping tip and some white royal icing to fill in the shirt, and while the icing was still wet, I piped black shirt studs down the middle.  The cookies were then left to dry completely.  

The lapels and the edges of the bow ties were piped with a #1 tip, and some black royal icing (it has to be stiff).  Done! 


As you can see, I modified the skirts and the bodices on most of the gowns to give some variety.  All of the tuxedos, though, were exactly the same.  I loved the way the wedding gowns sparkled!


Wrapped in clear cellophane bags and tied with white ribbons, the Bridal Shower Cookies were ready to be placed on platters for gift-giving.


It's a certainty that you will know of a bride-to-be in the near future.  If you happen to be adept at making royal icing cookies, consider making a set of cookies for a bridal shower.  Use these cookies as a guide or create your very own edible works of art.  Make sure that you make a cookie for everyone attending the bridal shower.  In fact, make extras just in case.

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

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

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