Recently, I shared my favorite recipe for rolled sugar cookies describing the ways in which I find them the ideal “canvas” for decorating. If you missed it, I’m including the recipe here again, as having the right cookie is essential as the base for your art. Also essential, is using the proper kind of cookie cutter to cutout your cookies. I like tinplate steel cookie cutters, which make sharp, clean impressions in the cookie dough. American-made tinplate steel cookie cutters may be purchased very inexpensively, so seek them out in retail stores or via on-line sources. While tin cookie cutters may seem light and insubstantial, they are actually well suited for their purpose. Once your cookies are baked and cooled, they will be ready for “flooding” with a cookie glaze, which is applied and left to dry completely. After that, the cookies are detailed with ornamental frosting and garnished with an optional sprinkling of coarse sanding sugar for just a touch of bling. Besides a rolling pin and a cookie cutter, the other materials you will need for your cookie project is parchment paper or silicone baking mats for lining cookie sheets, a squeeze bottle for outlining and flooding cookies with glaze, a paint brush for spreading the glaze and a pastry bag fitted with a round pastry tip (a Wilton size two or three is good for most tasks) for detailing cookies with decorating frosting. Making decorated cookies can be laborious, but, as long as cookies are made with love, even simple designs will yield spectacular results.
Sue Ade is a syndicated food writer with broad experience and interest in the culinary arts. She has worked and resided in the Lowcountry of South Carolina since 1985 and may be reached at kitchenade@yahoo.com.
