Good Things by David

As a cookie decorator I find that the best cookies are those I create to surprise someone.  That's exactly what I did the other day to a dear cousin of mine who is expecting her firstborn.  Our family was going to give her a baby shower this month with baby deer as the theme, so I planned my surprise a couple of weeks ago. Baby Deer for a Baby Shower Years ago I acquired a large collection of cookie cutters from my dear friend, Janet Bridge, and since then I have made sure to do justice to them.  The majority of the cookie cutters are American made copper cutters from the venerable coppersmiths of Copper Gifts.  A small fawn cutter that I fell in love with the moment I saw it was THE perfect cookie cutter for this project. How adorable is this fawn? Having rolled, cut and baked my cookie shapes, I took some delicious royal icing and tinted three batches to match the fawns I see on a yearly basis around the property.  A rich chocolate brown, a neutral-warm taupe ...

Living in Pennsylvania, it's only imperative that I make some Groundhog Day cookies for the coming holiday. If you have followed the blog over the years, you know that we have resident groundhogs on the property which we look forward to seeing every single year.   These charming creatures are naturally skittish and solitary (Marmota monax), so we leave them alone and observe them from a distance. The holiday itself comes from Pennsylvania Dutch (in reality it is the Pennsylvania German's observance of Candlemas) lore, which tells us that when the woodchuck comes out of hibernation, if the creature sees its shadow, we will have six more weeks of winter.  If the marmot does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.   Since people around the country celebrate the holiday in some way or another, even if it's just to tune in to see what Punxsutawney Phil predicts, I thought it would be fun to make some cookies in honor of those adorable rodents. Use whatever cookie cutter ...

Citrus slice sugar cookies are a nice way to end the summer, whether you're at home with your family or at the beach enjoying a leisurely weekend.  A simple round cookie cutter is all that you need to make citrus slice sugar cookies by the dozen.  Lemon slices, lime slices and orange slices are sure to entice just about anyone who sees them. Citrus Slice Sugar Cookies After rolling out and cutting rounds of whatever size you wish, slice each cookie in half to create the citrus  wedges.  Bake per your recipe instructions and let them cool.   Royal icing should be made in batches and tinted in leaf green (a few drops of yellow will create a shade of lime), lemon yellow and bright orange.  Leave some plain white icing to pipe the pips and the pith of the citrus slices. Lemons, Limes and Oranges Working with flooding-consistency royal icing and #3 piping tips on all of your piping bags, outline and flood the base of a citrus slice in the color of your choice, a...

Cookies in the shapes of cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day are now yours.  All you need is a cupcake-shaped cookie cutter, baked & cooled cookies, and some tinted royal icing.  If you happen to have green nonpareils or some shamrock candies to attach to the cookies, even better.  As you probably already know, I like to keep cookie designs simple because it makes my job of creating dozens upon dozens much easier. Set in jadeite glass boxes, an array of cookies can be displayed for your family's St. Patrick's Day dinner. St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Cookies The colors of the Irish flag became the inspiration for the cupcakes pictured above.   Royal Icing Technique On a baked cookie, outline and flood the white "cupcake liner" using white royal icing and a #4 piping tip as shown.  Using orange royal icing and a #3 piping tip, outline and flood the swirled section of frosting as shown.  Outline and flood the section of leaf-green royal icing as shown using a #3 p...

You can surprise your sweetheart with a few envelope-shaped sugar cookies this Valentine's Day if you plan a few days in advance.  Even if you don't have a cookie cutter in this shape (I don't), you can still create a few of these cute edibles.  Very simple and easily accomplished by anyone. The Valentine's Day hearts above, are ones that I've created in the past.  They are customer favorites, so I make dozens upon dozens of them every single year.  Those are easy to make too. For the envelopes, cut out as many cookie dough squares as you can, and then slice off the top two corners of each square to create the shape of the envelope right before baking.  That's all there is to it!  If you have a house-shaped cookie cutter, you can try using that for the envelopes. For the royal icing colors:  mix Chefmaster 'Super Red' until you get the desired shade of red.  For the pink, mix a couple of drops of Chefmaster 'Fuchsia' until you get a light pink (u...

If you're looking for some Christmas cookies that are very much of the holiday, but are also holiday neutral images, look no further.  Wreaths, snowflakes and snowmen can be made for any winter occasion.  They can be given as gifts to friends, family and neighbors no matter their religion, and they can be shipped anywhere in the country or across the pond if they're made thick enough and packed well.  Holiday Sugar Cookies Can you believe that I don't actually own a wreath cookie cutter?  How utterly embarrassing, I know.  This, by no means, should prevent one from cutting out beautiful wreaths as long as there are fluted rounds and/or plain round cookie cutters on hand.  These are a must for any baker of any baking skill level.  The snowflakes and snowmen cookies do require you to have cutters in those shapes, but they can be found just about anywhere baking supplies are sold.  Online is best these days! Christmas Wreath and Snowflake Sugar Cooki...

This year's Thanksgiving will undoubtedly be different in many ways for everyone.  Small gatherings of immediate family members that live in one's household only is what we should be doing.  Let us follow proper guidelines now so that we can gather with our loved ones to celebrate many more holidays in the future.  I want everyone to be safe and healthy. Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies Sitting here on this L.E. Smith Caramel Glass cake stand is a set of Thanksgiving-themed sugar cookies that are absolutely easy to make.  No intricate designs that require skill.  Perfectly baked sugar cookies, a bit of tinted royal icing, a few tools to help you along, and you're good to go!   Make a small batch of sugar cookies in the shapes of turkeys, acorns, adorable foxes and some apples to have at the dessert table for your family.  Get the kids involved and have them personalize turkeys with the names or initials of those who will be sitting for the feast at the end o...

Do you know an avid fisherman or golfer who is celebrating a birthday this year?  If you do and you happen to be a little crafty with cookies, consider making that individual some iced sugar cookies which depict putting greens and perhaps a fishing rod complete with hook and/or lure.  They make fantastic party favors. At the request of a dear neighbor whose husband was turning sixty, a set of sporty cookies were created for a milestone celebration.  The cookies were a snap to make.  Golfing & Fishing Sugar Cookies My neighbor Elfie even thought of a clever way to celebrate her husband's birthday during quarantine.  I'll show you what she did! Putting Green Sugar Cookies Putting Green Sugar Cookies :  using a game controller-shaped cookie cutter, cut out and bake as many of these shapes as needed.  Using leaf green royal icing and a #3 piping tip, outline and flood the inner shape of the putting green and let dry completely. ...

It's that time of year to begin showcasing our green for St. Patrick's Day.  In cookie form, one can turn just about any shape into a spirited Irish-themed treat for the holiday.  As long as you color them green, in whatever shades you desire, your cookies will look bright and festive.   For this particular set of cookies, I used Americolor and Wilton food coloring in: leaf green, kelly green, copper, orange, ivory and black. The leprechaun faces that I created are not a new design, but rather one that a cookie decorator came up with years ago.  All you need is a cupcake cookie cutter. That's right!  A cupcake cookie cutter is the perfect shape for a leprechaun.  Cut out as many "heads" as you want and then get to work. When you're ready to decorate, have royal icings tinted in two shades of green, jet black, pale ivory, and a bright orange that has a hint of copper.   Leprechaun Faces :  Turn all of the cupcake shape...