Oh-so-red and oh-so-delicious. I’ve already confessed to my passion about baking Brown Butter Cutout Cookies for Valentine’s Day (see With All My Heart). Now I’m admitting that red is my color of choice to decorate cookies for this holiday. But getting the right shade of red is not an easy feat because adding enough food coloring to get the red you want can sometimes negatively affect the taste of your cookie.
“Red, red, red is the color of my true love’s cookie...”
Apologies to the traditional folk ballad
The solution? Red modeling chocolate (from Choco-Pan) and a tiny bit of royal blue gel color to tone down the orangey hue of the modeling chocolate. I’m talking the barest of a drop because if you add too much, you get brown and that is not the color I want for my Valentine’s Day cookies. I also mixed the modeling chocolate with a bit of homemade fondant to make it more pliable and tastier. The result was a delicious cookie with a stunning red coat. There was just one more step to reach perfection. Modeling chocolate is very dull when it dries so to make them shine, I brushed each one with a mixture of corn syrup and vodka. Most excellent.
Cookie specifics
Brown-Butter Cookies. Made with brown butter, which gives them a deep, rich caramelized flavor, these cookies are unique and delicious. I especially like to make this recipe for Valentine’s Day cookies. (See The Recipes section below.)
Shapes
strait-edged and fluted-edged cookie cutters, particularly heart shapes
Sizes
Sizes range from 2 inches to 3 inches. 2½ to 3 inches is my favorite size for decorating and eating!
Icing & Covering
I think the squiggles, dots, lines, flowers, hearts, etc. all say “I love you” without words.
Cookie Recipes from This Talented Cookie Artist
Brown-Butter Cookies. Original recipe from Sugar Hero.
Icing & Frostings
Homemade Fondant: I combine modeling chocolate with melted marshallows to make my own fondant. In this case I used red modeling chocolate with a bit of gel coloring to get the shade of red that I wanted. I also embossed the fondant with a floral pattern.
Royal Icing: I used royal icing for the dots, lines, doodles and other decorative embellishments.
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
Brown-Butter: flour, brown butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, 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, food coloring (optional), various extracts for flavoring (vanilla, almond, lemon, raspberry, etc.)
Homemade Fondant: sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, gelatin, water, vanilla extract, food coloring (optional)
Plate, Box or Bag?
Plate. I arranged these elegant cookies on a decorative plate to share with my family and friends.
Bags. I also wrapped several dozen individually in clear, food-safe bags, secured with a twist tie. This makes the cookies look like gifts and also protects them if I plan to mail them.
Mailing. Of course, I mailed these sugary-dusted beauties to my family and friends throughout the U.S. I sent them Priority Mail through the U.S. Post Office and used the boxes provided by the Post Office. I’m happy to report that the cookies arrive undamaged. Much love to all my cookie buddies.
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?
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