Christmas Cookies -Part Two!

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Well, my two-week long cookie making extravaganza has come to an end and I have to say that I am pretty happy with how they all turned out. Time consuming yes! So much fun to make and I can't wait for the next excuse to make sugar cut-out cookies again!! I have a champagne bottle cookie cutter and I'm thinking New Year's!!

I took a lot of photos so enjoy them and I hope they inspire you to make some cut-outs of your own! I have also included some links to video tutorials that really helped me create designs, etc. I am including the basic recipe for Royal Icing which I used on all these cookies. 

With all the cookies, I started with a basic Royal Icing. You want to use a thicker consistency for the piping (outline of the cookie) and follow with a thinner consistency for the flooding (center of cookie). All you have to do is add water (starting with 1 teaspoon) to your thicker icing until you reach the consistency you need for flooding. Here is a VERY helpful website that has tons of video tutorials on piping, flooding, decorating, etc. -you name it, they have instructions for it! www.universityofcookie.com

Royal Icing Recipe (using Meringue Powder) -courtesy of the book "Cookie Craft"

-There are four basic ingredients

For Piping:
4 cups (1 pound) Confectioner's Sugar
3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
6 tablespoons warm water
1-2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract (if you use the brown colored extract, your ising won't have that crisp white color look you are achieving). Clear colored vanilla can be found in craft stores or you can purchase online. 

For Flooding: 
4 cups (1 pound) Confectioner's Sugar
3 tabelspoons Meringue Powder
12 tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

Making the Royal Icing:
1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your electric mixer
2. Beat on high for 5 minutes if you're using an electric mixer or for 10 minutes if you're using an electric hand mixer. If your mixer has multiple attachements, use the paddle. 
3. When you reach the desired consistency, it's important that you immediately cover the mixture or store it in an airtight container. The consistency you are looking for is firm stiff peaks. 

I made a rolled chocolate cookie and used plain white royal icing to decorate these snowflake cookies. You can find many rolled chocolate cookie recipes online by doing a basic Google search. I bought some of my sanding sugars at Michael's Arts and Crafts and I also visited a local cake decorating shop here in Seattle. I think next time though, I will purchase online as you can often find things cheaper! 

Play around with the designs. You can use the same designs for both the chocolate and the basic sugar cookie.

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Here are some ideas on how to box your goodies! I bought my boxes online from a boxing company that specializes in food grade boxes. I then bought the decorative picks and holiday ribbon from Michael's.

Let your creative juices flow!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I am off to deliver these goodies to our friends & neighbors! 

JJ will be back on Monday with something special for us. Have a fun weekend finishing up the last little things for Christmas. :-)

-Amy