Awhile ago, a friend went through a difficult time acting as a caregiver to a dying relative. She told me she felt like a fish out of water since she’d had no training at being a caregiver. I told her that her presence and her patience were the best gifts she could give and to leave the other “tasks” to the many professional people who were there to help her. When I got home, I made a batch of bumblebee cookies and sent them to her with a note of encouragement.
“The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others.” St. John Chrysostom
I’ve had my bumblebee cookie cutter for many years, but never used it until now. While looking through my collection of cookie cutters, it seemed like the perfect shape for this occasion. My inspiration for the color palette and look came from some beautiful cookies made by Sweet Sugarbelle. And that’s how The Three “Bees” came to be.
Cookie specifics
Lofthouse-Style Sugar Cookies. The bumblebees are made with a delicious Lofthouse-style sugar cookie recipe. It produces a soft and chewy cookie that’s perfect for cutting out any shape, even the most delicate ones. I also decorated them with a thick vanilla-bean glaze that dries hard enough to stack but keeps its shine and glass-like appearance. The design was inspired by the bumblebee cookies at Sweet Sugarbelle.
I used piping glaze for the icing because I like the shiny finish that it has. I also used dark cocoa powder to color the black stripes and bee’s head. Cocoa powder creates a deep, very dark brown color and is much tastier than black gel color.
Shape
bumblebee
Sizes
2½ inches high by 3½ inches long. I enjoy decorating this size cookie.
My Own Recipe
Lofthouse-Style Sugar Cookie. Recipe based on several sugar cookie recipes from family and friends. My goal was to make a cookie full of flavor that would hold its shape for delicate cutouts but not end up hard as a rock. This is it!
Icing & Frostings
Chocolate Piping Glaze (for the bee head and body stripes): Using dark cocoa powder to color the glaze ensures that you have the perfect dark shade without using a lot of black gel coloring. This color was an essential requirement for my “vision” of these bumblebee cookies. An added bonus is the yummy chocolate flavor, which provides a delicious note to satisfy my chocolate lover.
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
Lofthouse Style Sugar Cookies: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sugar, confectioners’ sugar, butter, eggs, pure vanilla extract, salt
Icing & Decorative Embellishments
Glaze for Piping: sugar, water, corn syrup, food coloring (yellow for the two body stripes), vanilla extract for flavoring, dark cocoa powder for the “black” body stripe and head.
Plate, Box or Bag?
Box. To give the bumblebee cookies to my friend, I packaged them in a cardboard bakery box with a clear window on top that makes the contents visible to anyone who wants to peek.
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?
Clouds background in the following slides from Nature Vectors by Vecteezy.
Trees background in our homepage slideshow from Free Illustrator Vectors Vectors by Vecteezy.
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