Shelly Kaldunski - The Art of the Cookie

RECIPES Shelly Kaldunski

PHOTOGRAPHS Maren Caruso

ALL ABOUT CREATIVE COOKIES

There are cookies, and then there are special cookies. These are the cookies that you press into festive shapes, pipe frosting onto with artistic flair, or cover in colored sugar crystals, as you may have done when you were little. The child in every home baker still enjoys exploring the many ways that cookies can be made into little works of edible art.

In these pages, youll find recipes and ideas that will help you tap into your creative side, inspiring you to craft cookies that delight the senses well before they are devoured. The book begins with five basic cookie recipes featuring different flavors: vanilla, lemon-buttermilk, brown sugar, chocolate, and gingerbread. These favorites become the canvas for a wealth of decorating ideas: brightly hued flowers sprinkled with sanding sugar, colorful squares inspired by the designs on ceramic tiles, and circles adorned with whimsical polka dots of various shades and sizes. Next come recipes for classic cookies that take on a modern twist. Chewy oatmeal lace drizzled in chocolate and caramel, shiny meringue piped into spirals, and elegant vanilla spritz made into sandwiches with a chocolate center are just a few of the offerings.

Confections this lovely and delicious beg to be shared. Present them on an elegant platter or cake stand for a welcome contribution to any event, whether its a winter holiday party, an open house, Mothers Day tea, or a , or tuck them away in a care package for your favorite college student or a friend in need. With such gorgeous offerings, your friends and family may protest that youve gone to too much trouble, but the truth is that cookie decorating is easily doable with the help of a few basic kitchen tools and ingredients, along with some handy how-tos and illustrated techniques, all covered here.

COOKIES AS ART

The recipes, decorating ideas, and tips in these pages are designed both to inspire you and to show that you dont need a painters hand or endless hours to create stunning cookies. Even the more ornate creations should not be intimidatingthe recipes will guide you step-by-step through the process and the more complicated recipes come with illustrations that highlight specific techniques. Dont be surprised if you find yourself coming up with your own ideas on how to shape, ice, adorn, and package your cookies. Remember to have fun, and the decorating will come easily.

GIVE A LITTLE, GET A LITTLE

HOSTING A COOKIE EXCHANGE An exciting way to share, and maybe even show off, your eye-catching creations is through a cookie exchange party. Guests bring their favorite homemade cookies to display and exchange, and each person at the party goes home with samples and recipes. Cookie exchanges are a winter holiday party classic, and they also make enjoyable activities for other occasions such as birthdays, brunches, and showers.

A cookie exchange party has all of the makings and charm of a potluckand is as easy to host. Two to three weeks before the date of your get-together, send invitations or an e-mail with the basic information: time, place, and an RSVP request. Since a cookie exchange might be new for some guests, briefly explain in the invitation that each guest should bring one to two dozen cookies to sample and exchange, along with enough copies of the recipe to share.

Let guests know that this is a chance to sample and talk about a wide range of recipes, whether new or familiar. You can let your guests choose a type of cookie, or you can suggest a theme, such as flowers for an outdoor garden party, goblins and ghouls for Halloween, or a winter wonderland of stars and trees for Christmas.

Depending on the occasion and time of day, consider offering a few savory snacks and appropriate beverages, such as coffee, tea, sparkling water, or wine. On the day of the cookie exchange, set up a table that can accommodate everyones offerings, and have ready jars, boxes, bags, or colorful papers and string that guests can use to take cookies home.

HANDLE WITH CARE

Most cookies will travel well if packed properly but keep in mind that delicate cookies that break easily, or those that require refrigeration, are not good candidates for shipping. Here are some helpful tips for packing up cookies to send in the mail:

Wrap cookies individually in plastic wrap.

Line the bottom of a metal tin or sturdy plastic container with a layer of crumpled waxed paper.

Pack the spaces between cookies with crumpled waxed paper.

Select a carton large enough to hold the container with a few inches of space on all sides.

Wrap the container carefully with plenty of packing material.

THE COOKIE ARTISTS TOOLKIT

Like artists, cookie crafters like to stock an array of supplies. Look for these supplies in a supermarket or specialty kitchen shop, or purchase them online.

COCONUT Sweetened, toasted, or dried, shreds and flakes of coconut contribute texture, shape, and flavor to cookies as a topping or as an ingredient.

DARK CHOCOLATE PEARLS Pearls, as the name indicates, are round confections rather than shaped like the candies sold as chocolate chips. Common sizes are inch (6 mm) and inch (12 mm).

DRAGES These tiny beads, often used sparingly as an accent, add glamour to any cookie. They are commonly available in silver and gold. Made of sugar, they have a coating that contains a trace amount of metal. Although drages are considered nontoxic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends removing them before serving.

FOOD COLORING Dyes of various colors and forms (liquid, powder, and gel-paste) are used to tint icings and frostings. Gel-paste food colorings come in a wider array of colors and are preferable to other forms of food coloring because they blend easier. A small amount of food coloring goes a long way, so be sure to start with just a drop or two to mix in before adding more.

JIMMIES These small candies come in colors from orange and yellow to a mixture of hues in a single package. White and milk chocolate jimmies are the classic versions.

LUSTER DUST Adding a metallic sheen to decorations, luster dust is a powder that is mixed with a flavoring extract and then applied with a clean, small paintbrush. The most common colors are silver and gold. Other colors, from subtle to bright, are also available.

NONPAREILS With the help of tweezers, these tiny beads of sugar can be arranged on iced cookies to make an infinite number of designs. They are available in a rainbow of colors.

NUTS Nearly all nutsalmonds, pecans, pistachios, walnutsadd flavor and texture to cookies. They are often toasted beforehand to bring out their distinctive flavor and character before being used in dough or as decoration.

SANDING SUGAR Perhaps the simplest of all decorating supplies are colored sugar crystals. Their chunky, unrefined form reflects light. They are the perfect choice when you want translucent, unsaturated colors and confections that sparkle.