Practice, Practice, Practice - The Art of Cookie Making

I thought I would share with you the results of my practicing the Art of Cookie Decorating.  You can go to my blog on "Cookies, Cookies, Cookies" for the links to recipes. 

 

I learned that you cannot rush this.  A bit slower and deft hand will get the best results. But not too slow.  Also, the consistency of the frosting is key.  You'll just have to practice until you get it the way you want it.

 

 

I made these two dresses for my granddaughters.  They loved them.  The one at the top didn't flood well so I decorated over my mistakes.  It turned out pretty cute.  Though I am still striving for perfection around my boarders I am getting better and the cookies look more professional.  These are made for a birthday party tomorrow.  I am also making cupcakes and I will share those when they are done.  They promise to be super fabulous! 

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

 

I watch my Grandchildren several days a week so I am always trying to come up with something that will keep their interest and we can do together.  I want this time with them to be memorable and they will look back on this time together with fondness.  I have done sugar cookies before and felt kind of iffy about them.  They take a long time to do and the mess can get out of control.  They are also temperamental.  Bake too long and they get hard - bake too little and they taste doughy.  I also live at high altitude and it sometimes takes things a bit longer to bake and by then can become overdone.

Hippie Girl!

Sexy Momma, Love the painted toes!

I tried two recipes and both were great.  I followed them exactly and didn't change anything for altitude.  The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe and Alton Brown's Sugar Cookies. Alton Brown's recipe doesn't spread as much as the first one does.  But if you decorate well it doesn't matter. For the icing I put several tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl along with a drop or two of food coloring gel.  I added a few drops of water at a time and stirred throughly to get the icing smooth but thick. (It's easier to add more water than to put to much in at first.) I put the icing in piping bags and tied the ends with rubber bands because the kids squeeze the icing out the wrong end.  I also gave them knives to do some of the big stuff and then we used the piped icing for details.

Davy Do!

Sebby's Creations.  He loves the Christmas tree!

Chef Abby making cookie dough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I work with the kids I pre-measure everything into little bowls and let them pour each ingredient in when it is time.  They get to turn on the mixer and scrape the bowl. They love it.  The reason why I pre-measure is because I get distracted as you will read below and I don't want to forget where I am in the recipe.  They love it.



Chef Davy the Taste Tester!

You will notice that some of the cookies got a little bit more brown than others.  Don't forget that I am watching at least three toddlers while trying to get exact baking time and that doesn't always work out when I need to drop everything to change a diaper or get a drink of water or kiss a boo-boo.  I do like having the cookies get very slightly brown around the edges, not much. What I learned was just go for it.  It all turns out in the end and we had a blast doing it together.