Some of the people I love the most live too far away for frequent visits. My favorite way to connect with them — besides phone calls and Zoom sessions — is to bake for them. These sweet Deep Blue Sea cookies carried my hugs and kisses far and wide.
“Between me and thee lies the deep blue sea.” Kasha
The shortbread cookie’s blue and white “coat” is made of a combination of homemade white marshmallow fondant mixed with white sculpting chocolate. I used a fluted flower-shaped cookie cutter to create the stripes and give it a tropical look. In order to make fish that are both coming and going I flipped the cookie cutter over and used it “backwards”. A good way to create a variety of little fishies swimming together in my imaginary ocean.
Cookie specifics
Shortbread. These fish are made of shortbread. The combination of European butter and vanilla bean makes this shortbread cookie one of the yummiest cookies I make. It’s buttery, crumbly and light. And because it has so few ingredients, I always have what I need on hand to whip up a batch.
Shapes
tropical fish cookie cutter
Sizes
This tropical fish cookie cutter is 2½ inches tall and 3 inches wide. This is my favorite size for decorating and eating!
My Own Recipes
I developed this Shortbread recipe over the course of several months in my quest to duplicate the taste and texture of a shortbread cookie from a now-closed bakery in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Once I perfected the recipe, it became a cookie that I now bake for many occasions throughout the year.
Icing & Frostings
Homemade Fondant and Sculpting Chocolate: I make my own fondant because commercial fondant is practically inedible. Homemade fondant is made from marshmallows and water and is delicious. Mixing it with white sculpting chocolate makes it even more tasty and the perfect way to cover a cookie.
Royal Icing: The accents and embellishments were made with vanilla-flavored Royal Icing.
Cookies
Shortbread: flour, butter, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt
Icing & Decorative Embellishments
Royal Icing: confectioners’ sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, pure vanilla extract or almond extract, cream of tartar, food coloring
White Sculpting Chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, vanilla
Homemade Fondant: sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, gelatin, water, vanilla extract, food coloring (optional)
Plate, Box or Bag?
Bags. I wrapped the cookies individually in clear, food-safe bags, secured with a twist tie. This also makes the cookies stackable without causing damage to the decorations. Then I packed them into zip-lock bags to keep them as fresh as possible during their long journey to my favorite people in other states.
Mailing. I sent them Priority Mail through the U.S. Post Office and used a box provided by the Post Office plus lots of bubble wrap. They were greatly appreciated by all.
What I’ve learned...
These cookies were made with the best ingredients I could find and baked in a small batch of two dozen. I’ve experimented with less expensive ingredients, but have come to the conclusion that flavor is best when I use the best. Why spend all this time baking and decorating if taste and texture are just so-so? Decorating the cookies takes time, but it’s an enjoyable process for me and I know that those who receive them appreciate that. Life is just better when you can share something you love with someone you love. Don’t you agree?
NOTE: Background illustration in the following slides was based on a free illustration downloaded from Seabed Vectors by Vecteezy:
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