Yay for double-decker cookies! Hopefully, you caught Tuesday's post all about making double-decker cookies. On tap for today, I'll walk you through making these whimsical rose decorated cookies.
The small rose cookies sit upon a black and white cookie throne - dots: large and small, stripes: thick and thin, and squiggles. I can't decide which pattern I like best.
I started out with my perfect every time cut-out cookie recipe. Over the last 20 years, I've made...oh, 10,000 cookies using this recipe. It's a winner and holds up beautifully to decorating. That's especially important when making a stacked cookie like this. For double-decker cookies, you don't want a cookie that bends, breaks, or crumbles.
To Make Double-Decker Whimsical Rose Cookies...
You'll need:
- cut-out cookies in a circle, oval, or square
- cut-out cookies in a small rose (or even a small circle); this should fit inside the larger cutter. I used the small rose cookie cutter from the Sweet Sugarbelle minis set.
- royal icing, divided and tinted into the colors of your choosing (I used Americolor Bright White, Chefmaster Coal Black, Cookie Countess Neon Bright Pink, Chefmaster Deep Pink, and Chefmaster Leaf Green.)
- disposable icing bags
- coupler and icing tips: #2 and leaf
- squeeze bottles
- toothpicks
Roll the cookies to 1/4" thickness. Bake and let cool completely.
Outline the larger cookies in white icing using a #2 tip. Thin the white and black icings with water, a bit at a time, stirring gently until a ribbon of icing dropped back onto itself disappears in a count of one-thousand-three. Adjust consistency with more water or sifted powdered sugar if needed.
Cover with a damp dishtowel and let sit several minutes. Stir the icing gently, then transfer to squeeze bottles.
Working about 6-8 cookies at a time, fill in the outlines with thinned white icing, using a toothpick to guide to edges and pop large air bubbles.
Starting with the first cookie filled, add dots or lines with thinned black icing. Set aside to dry.
Outline the flower in bright pink icing. Thin the bright and lighter pink icings as described above. Fill in the flower, then add a swirl of the lighter pink thinned icing on top. (Isn't that neon pink color amazing?!? And it just takes a bit to get that bright pop of color!)
Using a leaf tip, add leaves to the flower cookies. Hold the tip so that the V in the tipis facing the sides rather than top to bottom. If looking at the tip as you're piping, you won't see the V. Practice a few times on a plate or paper towel before starting on the cookies.
Here's a better look at those leaf tips. They're pretty cool and make leaf piping a breeze. I love that they add a bit of texture to the cookies rather than an outline and flood scenario.
NOTE: If you don't have a mini rose cutter and are using a small circle, pipe the leaves at the base of the small circle once you've attached the cookies together.
Reserve some of this green piping icing (or any of the piping consistency icing you might have remaining). Pop it in the fridge either in the piping bag or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap pressed on top.
Let the cookies dry uncovered for 6-8 hours or overnight. Do not proceed to the next step...even if it LOOKS like it's dry...until the icing is completely set or the base icing will crack.
The next day, remove the reserved icing from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Pipe a bit of icing onto the back of the smaller cookies, taking care not to go all the way to the edges. Gently press onto the larger cookies.
The piping consistency icing sets up quickly, so the cookies should be ready for stacking or packaging in 30 minutes or so.
I love the pop of pink on a black and white cookie! A red flower would be so cute, too! Oh, and yellow! So many cookie possibilities!
