A new friend of mine was planning an event to congratulate everyone on her team for a job well-done and she asked me to make gold star cookies to honor them and recognize their efforts. I immediately thought that my shortbread recipe would be the perfect cookie and started planning “Operation Gold Stars.”
“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.” Henry Ford
Stars have long been used to acknowledge achievement at some level and gold stars signify the highest level of success. In order to recognize this team’s accomplishments, each star was decorated with gold icing and sprayed with edible gold mist. Then each person’s initials were added with tiny gold stars embedded in the initials to highlight the effect. Plaques and trophies are common tokens of achievement but an edible award? And not just edible, but really yummy? That’s my kind of award.
Cookie specifics
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. I chose to cover these stars with gold Vanilla Glaze, airbrushed with edible gold mist to make them shine. The white initials and lettering were done with vanilla Royal Icing, embellished with edible gold stars.
Shapes
Medium-sized stars for the cookies with initials and large-size star for the team cookie.
Sizes
3½-inch medium stars and 4½-inch large star. The dough was rolled ¼ inch thick. I always roll my shortbread cookies to at least ¼-inch — or thicker because shortbread lends itself so well to a really thick cookie.
Plaque
A larger star to match the celestial theme. The big star was covered in white chocolate dough and then embossed to give it a touch of elegance
My Family Recipes
This Shortbread recipe was developed over several months in my quest to duplicate the taste and texture of a shortbread cookie from a bakery in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The bakery no longer makes that shortbread of my childhood, so I had to figure out how to make it myself.
Icing & Frostings
White Chocolate Dough: A combination of delicate Guittard white chocolate and homemade fondant.
Glaze for Piping: This glaze/icing dries hard enough that you can stack or package the cookies without damaging the embellishments. I often use it exclusively or in combination with Royal Icing.
Glaze for Piping Recipe
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
Glaze for Piping: sugar, water, corn syrup, vanilla extract for flavoring
White Chocolate Dough: corn syrup plus delicate Guittard white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, vanilla)
Sprinkles: Wilton “Edible Accents” gold stars
Wilton Gold Color Mist: alcohol, glycerin, food coloring
Plate, Box or Bag?
Bags. These cookies were personalized and given as gifts so each one was wrapped in a clear, food-safe bag, secured with a gold twist tie. (See the image at the top of this page.) The bags protect the decorations while letting the pretty embellishments shine.
What I’ve learned...
These cookies were made with the best ingredients I could find and baked in small batches. 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?
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