cocktail cookies

These detailed cocktail cookies are some of my favorite decorated cookies ever.

cocktail cookies

O’ Cocktails. How I love thee, cocktail cookies. The picture above was taken for my book, Cookie Sensations, by photographer Jason Keefer. We spent several hours driving downtown to the Old Ebbitt Grill here in DC, looking for parking, setting up the shot, dodging curious tourists, and hiking back to the car in the rain. And you can’t even tell it was shot at the Old Ebbitt Grill. Lesson for next time…use my local bar for a backdrop.

But on to the post. Here’s an idea for cocktail party cookies that’s a bit simpler than going all out with actual cocktail cookies (like above: champagne, cosmo, martini, gin and tonic, and margarita). Just put out bowls of cocktail “garnish”: olives, cherries, lime slices and lemon slices.

you will need:*
1 1/2 inch circle cookie cutter (for cherries and olive)
3 inch circle cookie cutter (for slices)
cut-out cookie dough
royal icing
Americolor soft gel pastes (Red Red, Leaf Green, Electric Green, Egg Yellow, Bright White)
disposable decorating bags
scissors
couplers
decorating tips numbers 2, 3, and 4 (you may want a few of each)
rubber bands

*For tips on finding cookie decorating supplies, click HERE. Follow the links for recipes for sugar cookies and icing recipes.

OLIVES

Step One: prepare your cookies and frosting
Use the 1 1/2 inch cutter to cut out your circles and bake on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Tint about 1/2 cup of frosting with Leaf Green to desired color. Tint about 1/2 cup of frosting with Red Red. Make a frosting bag with the coupler and a 4 tip (use the directions on the box, or in my book) and fill half way with the green. Tie the top tightly with a rubber band. Do the same with another bag with a 3 tip and fill with red.

Step Two: pipe your olives
Outline a circle with green 4 tip. Let set a bit. Fill with green 4 tip. When set, pipe a red dot on top with the red 3 tip.

CHERRIES

Step One: prepare your cookies and frosting
Use the 1 1/2 inch cutter to cut out your circles and bake on a parchment paper lined tray. Tint about 1/2 cup of frosting with Red Red (if you haven’t already from above). Make a frosting bag with the coupler and a 4 tip (use the directions on the box, or in my book) and fill half way with red. Tie the top tightly with a rubber band.

Step Two: pipe your cherries
Outline a circle with red 4 tip, but don’t pipe all the way to the top. Let set a bit. Fill with red 4 tip. When set, change the tip on the red to size 2. Pipe a dot at the top of the circle and draw the stem into the center of the cherry.

Lemon and Lime SLICES

Step One: prepare your cookies and frosting
Use the 3 inch cutter to cut out your circles. Place on a parchment lined baking tray and cut in half to make semicircles. Bake. Tint about 1/2 cup each of frosting with Electric Green to make lime color, Leaf Green to make a bright green (the rind), Bright White to make white, Egg Yellow to make a bright yellow (the rind), and Egg Yellow with a few drops of white to make light yellow. Prepare 5 frosting bags, fill with each of the above colors half way and tie tightly with a rubber band. Make a lime green with 3 tip, bright green with 4 tip, bright yellow with 4 tip, light yellow with 3 tip, and a white with 2 tip.

Step Two: pipe your cookies
With the bright yellow 4 tip (lemon) and bright green 4 tip (lime), pipe semicircle. Let set. With the lime green 3 tip and light yellow 3 tip, pipe another semicircle just inside the rind and pipe across the straight edge of the cookie. Let set and fill with the same colors. When set, pipe sections on top with white 2 tip.