The Decorated Cookie » rainbow

the best ever RAINBOW baby shower… for ME!!! a huge thank you, blog world friends!!!

meaghanmountford — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:51:11 +0000

WOW! OK, people, now I cry easily, so you know I was bawling when I turned on my computer and realized that the most awesome and sweet sweets bloggers created a virtual baby shower–in rainbow, my favorite and my first daughter’s favorite, no less–just for me!!! Every time I think the blog world is too overwhelming, when the competition seems to be too much, I’m reminded of what goodness and kindness and thoughtfulness exists in the same place to completely smush anything negative. And now I have a bright, colorful, roundup of all that sweet goodness forever online for Violet to see as she grows older.

As many of you know who follow me on facebook, I gave birth to my second daughter a few days early. Violet Lake (Lake is my mom’s maiden name), arrived on December 7th. She weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces (that’s nothin’, I was almost 10 pounds). She has super dark spiky hair and very cute, flat ears, both of which make me question her DNA. She has blue eyes, a big nose, skinny legs and an expression like she thinks the world is nuts, which sounds more in line with her genes.

A gigantic THANK YOU! to all these ladies for making my day today!! A special thank you, too, to Michelle at Sugar Swings and Kathia at Pink Little Cake for organizing such a colorful sweetfest!! I wish we lived in the same town so I could give everyone a big, non-virtual, teary-eyed hug. You’ve got to take the rainbowy tour, because these women are freakin’ talented!!!

1. Vanilla Bean Baker - Baby’s First Christmas
2. Not Your Momma’s Cookie – Rainbow Swaddled Baby Cookies
3. Crazy for Crust - Rainbow Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
4. Dollhouse Bake Shoppe – Rainbow Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
5. Creative Food - Rainbow Pancakes
6. Hoosier Homemade - Rainbow Jar Cupcakes
7. Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons – Rainbow Smores Pops
8. Pink Little Cake - Baby at the End of the Rainbow Cake
9. Love From the Oven - Rainbow Cake Pop Cupcakes
10. Munchkin Munchies - Rainbow Balloon Cookies
11. The Baked Equation - Rainbow Baby Shower Cookies
12. Sweetology - Marshmallow Baby Pops
13. Sugar Swings - Rainbow Madeleines
14. Pint Sized Baker - Rainbow Meringue Tarts
15. Bird on a Cake – Rainbow Petal Cake
16. Haniela’s - Rainbow Centerpiece
17. Miss Candiquik – Marshmallow Baby Bottles

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the best ever cut-out cookie recipe

meaghanmountford — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:34:42 +0000

For veterans of my blog and books, you already know this recipe, so forgive the repetition. But it’s buried on my recipe page, and I feel it deserves a bit of spotlight. My favoritest ever, most super duper cut-out cookie recipe made it into both of my cookbooks because I’ll never use another. Don’t ever ask me to change it. Not only does it taste so good that I’ve seen people at parties hide these cookies in their pockets before the stash disappeared (really, their pockets), but it holds the cookie cutter shape flawlessly and bakes beautifully. It’s thick with an interesting texture, not too crunchy, not too soft. No spreading, no burned bottoms, no poofs or bubbles. It’s freezable, roll-able, bake-able. Paired with my favoritest ever, most super duper royal icing recipe, you get decorated cookie perfection. Am I being a tad overdramatic about my cookie recipe? Nope. Not one bit.

I have the original recipe posted HERE, now about six years old, along with my royal icing, cake and frosting recipes. And of course, this recipe is in Sugarlicious. But I’ll repost it below with some more notes. Check out my whole collection of decorated cookies from this blog HERE.

world’s best recipe for cut-out cookies

(pair with the world’s best recipe for royal icing)

sugar cut-out cookies for decorating

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional: 1 1/2 teaspoons of flavored extract (I highly recommend almond extract)

Briefly sift together the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer with the flat beater, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, blend the butter and sugar together on medium speed until fluffy. Add the egg and blend well. Mix in the vanilla extract and optional flavored extract, if using. Gradually blend in the flour mixture on low speed. Cover the dough (I scrape mine out of the bowl and put in a gallon-size Ziploc bag) and chill dough for about two hours. When chilled, work with about one-third of the batch at a time. Briefly knead the dough and roll it out 1/4-inch thick, or 3/8 inch if inserting sticks for cookie pops (see below for cookie pops how-tos) on a floured surface. Cut out your cookies and place one-inch apart on a good quality baking tray lined with a piece of parchment paper. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes. Thicker or large cookies may need up to 20 minutes. Cookies are done when the edges are golden brown.

Yields: 25 to 30 cookies (2 to 4-inches), 65 to 70 mini cookies (1 to 2-inches) or about a dozen large cookies (6-inch).

notes: You can make this dough the night before you bake with it. Just take it out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature until it’s still chilled, but pliable. You can also freeze this dough. After mixing, put the dough in a gallon size Freezer ziploc bag (or wrap well) and freeze. Thaw overnight or for at least a few hours in the refrigerator in the ziploc bag. If the dough is too chilled to handle, let it sit at room temperature for about 1/2 hour to 1 hour until it’s workable. Chilled is good, though, don’t let it get too mushy.

useful links:

For the royal icing recipe, click HERE.

For how-tos on making cookie pops, click HERE.

For basic cookie decorating how-tos, click HERE.

For tips on supplies and where to find them, click HERE.

For food coloring information, click HERE.

For tips on building a cookie cutter collection, click HERE.

To decorate these cookies… I originally made these swirly, sparkly cookie pops way back almost three years ago, HERE. You’ll find the link to the decorated instructions in that post. Using sprinkles makes cookie decorating so very easy, because sprinkles have the magic power of covering any mistakes. To decorate, divide your royal icing and tint your preferred colors, including white, using Americolor Soft Gel Pastes (Red Red, Orange, Egg Yellow, Electric Green and Sky Blue used here). Then, prepare decorating bags with couplers and size “5″ tips, fill with icing, and close tightly with rubber bands. Pipe a swirl on a cookie with one of the icing colors, and immediately coat with a coordinating color of sprinkles. Turn over to remove excess, then pipe a swirl of white on the cookie. Let the cookies dry overnight before handling or packaging.

UPDATE: Conversions for the rest of the known world!!!!

Because I’ve had some requests from those masses that live outside the US (wherein we stubbornly reject the switch to metric), I’m including some UNofficial conversions. I came up with this list ages ago based on what is printed on the ingredients’ packaging and some internet research. These have NOT been tested by me, but as soon as I finally get a kitchen scale, I’ll make sure they are accurate. Thus, if something feels off to you, go with your instinct (and feel free to let me know).

2 sticks butter = 1 cup = 8 ounces = 227 g
1 cup confectioners (or icing/powdered) sugar = 128 g
1 teaspoon extract = 4.2 g = 5 mL
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour = 312 g
1 teaspoon salt = 4.2 g
4 tablespoon meringue powder = 56 g
1/2 cup water = 4 ounces = 60 mL = 113 g
6 cup confectioners sugar = 768 g
1/4 cup vegetable shortening = 56 g
1 cup granulated sugar = 200 g
2 cup flour = 240 g
1/2 cup cocoa powder = 62.5 g
1/2 teaspoon baking soda = 2.1 g
1/2 teaspoon salt = 2.1 g
375 degree F = 190 degree C

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rainbow pound cake for a five-year old

meaghanmountford — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:02:57 +0000

So my daughter just turned five. She has anticipated this day since she turned four. As such, I’m afraid the distance between her real birthday and the actual celebration day was too long for her to bear. So on her actual birthday we made some rainbow pound cake. The reasons being: It’s small enough to just share between those of us in the house, it’s rainbow (her favorite), it’s easy to make, and there is no frosting. My kid is the only kid in the universe who prefers the cake part of the cupcake over the frosting.

What it means to turn five, according to my five-year old: Your arms are noticeably longer. You can no longer play with four-year old toys (guess I shouldn’t point out those Legos in the background). You are better at Skee-Ball (to be fair, she did demonstrate this). You can read instructions. You can go on scary rides. You can run faster.

And you know a lot more about rainbows and baking.

how we made rainbow pound cake

Step one: We copied Martha Stewart’s recipe for vanilla pound cake. Make sure to whip the butter and sugar on high until fluffy and to not overmix the flour into the batter. It will be a bit thick.

Step two: We added Americolor Soft Gel Paste food coloring, Electric Pink, Orange, Electric Green, Sky Blue and Regal Purple. To limit the mixing, I used one bowl, one spoon. I didn’t measure or divide, I just eyeballed it. I scooped some batter into the bowl, mixed in a few drops of the pink, and plopped it into my prepared loaf pan. Scooped some more batter in the bowl (I didn’t even wash out the pink or any of the colors), mixed in the orange, and plopped it into the pan. And so on with green, blue and purple. I wasn’t careful layering of the colors, though I did sort of try and spread them out to fill the pan. Sort of. It still baked up perfectly.

Step three: We baked the pound cake according to the recipe, let it cool in the pan 15 minutes, then popped it out onto a wire rack. The outside looks kind of odd with the purple, but the inside rainbow worked beautifully.

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sparkly rainbow Chex invented by a 4-year old

meaghanmountford — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:12:27 +0000

So a couple months ago, we decided to host a happy hour for my daughter’s pre-K class. The whole class. All the kids, their siblings and their parents. In our modestly-sized home. We ended up with about 40 kids, siblings and parents, all very good sports to cram themselves in said modestly-sized home. Naturally, I had to serve desserts, though I kept it simple with mini cupcakes with swirled frosting, homemade brownies and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Oh yes, and sparkly pink Chex.

The sparkly pink Chex was a last minute addition, invented by my daughter. Earlier in the day, she requested some frosted mini wheat cereal. Aw, sorry darling, we don’t have any frosted mini wheat cereal. I have Chex, though. After thinking for a moment, Maeve had the genius idea of turning Chex into frosted mini wheat cereal by adding sprinkles. I do take credit for a bit of the execution, but this idea is all hers.

So I set her up with a baking tray lined with wax paper and filled with Chex, a pastry brush, some melted butter and a shaker of pink sprinkles. She painstakingly painted each Chex with butter, then coated each one with sprinkles individually. Skeptical, I tasted one. Yum. It was really, really tasty, so when she suggested serving them at the Happy Hour, I pulled out my little cake plate and said “Absolutely.”

Here’s how we made sparkly Chex. You could probably find an easier way, like just spooning melted butter over the lot of them, stirring and adding sprinkles. Or maybe use a Ziploc bag and shake. But I’m sticking with the integrity of Maeve’s original and showing you this way. I was a bit more hurried though, and dabbed the butter and sprinkles on a bunch at a time, rather than work with the Chex individually with greater detail.

how to make rainbow sparkly Chex

you will need:

Chex ® cereal

baking tray

wax paper

cooling rack

pastry brush

butter

sprinkles

Line the baking tray with wax paper and top with the cooling rack (the cooling rack isn’t necessary, it’s just handy to catch leftover sprinkles so you waste less. Cover with a single layer of Chex cereal. Melt the butter (I worked with a couple tablespoons at a time, then just kept melting more as needed) in a microwave-safe dish. Working with a section of the Chex at a time, use the pastry brush to dab butter on the Chex, then immediately sprinkle with sprinkles. Let dry on the tray for an hour or so, then serve.

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glittering rainbow cookies and a Sprinkle Bakes Cookbook GIVEAWAY

meaghanmountford — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:13:20 +0000

Sprinkle Bakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist, by Heather Baird, published by Sterling Epicure, May 2012.

I can’t possibly rave enough about the talent bestowed upon Heather of Sprinkle Bakes. In fact, I’ve raved before, when she guest posted for me HERE, wherein I mention one of favoritest cakes, the red velvet homage to Poe. Sweets are the vehicle through which Heather creates art, in such a unique and beautiful way specific to Heather but appealing to all. Her work is wholly original and stunning, and her book, Sprinkle Bakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist, represents this fusion of art and baking precisely, or “artful baking,” as she calls it. She provides lessons in sculpture, drawing and color theory as they apply to baking, and Sprinkle Bakes inspires the reader to go beyond the basics with their own creativity and imagination.

The book covers the basic equipment you need as well as a rundown of how to craft your blank canvas: cookies, cakes, icings, candy pastries and more. You learn how to paint, pipe, sculpt and build. You’ll make Queen of Hearts cookies, candy nesting bowls, pink peppercorn macarons, a glittering cookie tree and a gorgeous book cake. But more importantly, you’ll learn basic skills and witness artistic genius that pushes you to truly find your inner artist. And then get in the kitchen to let it out.

I made these sparkly, colorful, glittering cookies which Heather made into a glittering cookie tree (p. 236). I skipped the tree and pretty much just ate them. They are yummy, delicate, crumble-in-your mouth cookies, so it’s best to just pop them whole right in there. I was afraid I’d have none left to photograph because I ate seven before I even pulled out the camera.

Glittering cookies

from Sprinkle Bakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist, by Heather Baird, published by Sterling Epicure, May 2012.

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup corn starch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

colored sanding sugars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Beat together the butter and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed, mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture just until a soft dough forms. Roll the dough into teaspoon-size balls and place on a baking sheet. Put each color sanding sugar in its own small bowl. Drop the balls into the sanding sugar, turning to coat. Reshape if necessary and return to the baking sheet, spacing the balls 3/4 inch apart. Chill sugar-coated dough balls in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Bake until the tops are slightly cracked but still pale (the bottoms will be pale golden), 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

THE GIVEAWAY!!