Flower Cookie Bouquet - Spring

Great Spring / Easter cookie bouquet idea!!!

I placed dry foam inside the clay pot to position cookies. Used green tissue paper to create greenery effect.

For cookie recipe see my previous post (here). How to decorate your cookies (here) - This link will take you to the icing recipes and techniques.

Valentine's Cookie Bouquets

Need more valentine ideas? Here are a couple of pictures I took at a cake club meeting. Note that I did not baked or created these cookie bouquets - Kelle did. The cookies shown below are iced with buttercream!! I was impressed, since we try not to use buttercream on cookies due to its soft consistency. However, these turned out just great. I want to bring to your attention, that buttercream won't have that shiny finish as color flow (see color flow recipe here). The buttercream recipe is Colette Peter’s.

Kelle’s mom’s cookie recipe:

• 1c butter


• 1 1/4 c granulated sugar


• 2 eggs


• 1 tablespoon of milk


• 2 teaspoon vanilla


• 1 1/2 c flour


• 1 tablespoon baking powder


• 
  
  1/4 teaspoon of salt
  
  Tip: you can add about 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg for 1 batch
  
  I had posted instructions for creating cookies on a stick HERE. It should apply to this recipe. Bake at 400 degrees Farenheits for 8 - 10 mins.
  

Colette Peter’s Buttercream recipe:

• 2 cups butter (unsalted - room temperature)


• 1 cup milk (room temperature)


• 4 pounds of powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)


• 3 teaspoons vanilla


• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Add all ingredients to bowl and mix them until all are incorporated and the icing is smooth. Fill a piping bag with buttercream. Pipe buttercream icing onto cookies (for outline). Pipe more icing to fill the outline.

I had posted color flow / royal icing recipes and “How to Decorate your Cookies” previously HERE. These might be helpful.

Heart cookie cutters recommended

How to Decorate your Cookies

Once you have your baked cookies, there are endless ways to decorate your cookies. Let your imagination fly!!!

For shiny smooth decorating (see the picture below), you can use COLOR FLOW. Check the Color Flow RECIPE by cliking here, check the Color Flow TECHNIQUE by clicking here.

You can also use the same color flow technique by watering down your Royal Icing recipe. The result will be similar to color flow, just opaque (i.e., not a shiny finish).

You can also use star tip decoration. I use royal icing for cookies because the buttercream doesn't really dry as well and can make the cookie soft. Also, royal icing and color flow work best if you want to wrap the cookie in plastic bags.

Cookie Bouquet ideas: Click on the links to see pictures

Flower Cookie Bouquet
Hallloween Bouquet
Valentine's Day Bouquets
Rose Bouquet

Color Flow Icing Technique: How to Decorate Your Cookies

OUTLINING

**Use full strenght color flow to outline pattern.**

1. Fill a decorating bag with tip 2 with full strength color flow.


2. Touch surface, sqeeze and lift your decorating bag filled with full strength color flow icing and drop icing string to form pattern outline. Stop, touch the surface and pull away. Blend lines using a damp decorators brush softly.
   
3. Let outline dry a few minutes until it crusts.

If using a different outlining color than the filling color, let the outlinign dry for 1-2 hours to prevent bleeding of colors.

FILLING IN

**Use thinned color flow (Click here for "Thinning Color Flow" directions)**

1. Use a brand new decorating bag (or parchment bag), that means, no whole or coupler.
   
2. Fill the bag with thinned color flow.
   
3. Push the icing to the tip.


4. Cut a small opening at the tip of the bag.


5. Begin filling along the outlines first and let the icing blend by itself. Do not stop filling before completing the piece.


6. Once you finish filling, very quickly push icing to the unfilled edges with a toothpick.
   
   
   



7. Pierce bubbles with toothpick.
   
8. Color flow dries very quickly with a shiny pillow effect.


9. Let decoration air dry thoroughly at least 48 hrs. If this is used on top of cookies, it will dry overnight.

Cookie pictures: Halloween Bouquet

Links to:
Cookie Recipe and step-by-step instructions
Color Flow Icing Recipe: Cookies Glaze
Thinning Color FlowRoyal Icing as Color Flow: Coming Soon

Thinning Color Flow Icing

In order to fill outlines you need to thin the color flow icing. To do so you must add water until you are able to spoon out a small amount of icing and let it drop back into the bowl. Then do the 10 second rule: when it takes a full count of 10 for the icing to sink back into the mixture and disappear completely, the icing is ready.
Other recipes will tell you to add the water with few drops at a time. Please do that because it is easier to fix a not very thinned icing than to fix a very thinned icing. I usually start with 2 teaspoons for a whole recipe then continue with few drops at a time.

Links to:
Color Flow Icing Recipe
Color Flow Icing Technique: How to decorate your cookies
Cookie Recipe and step-by-step instructions
Royal Icing as Color Flow: Coming Soon

Color Flow Icing Recipe : Cookie Decoration

Full strength consistency. Yields 1 3/4 cup

1 lb sifted pure cane confectioners' sugar (4 cups)
2 tablespoons Color Flow Icing Mix ( I use WILTON Color Flow Mix
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon water.

Make sure all utensils are grease free. ** Tip: boil egg beaters to remove grease. **

• Mix all ingredients starting at slow speed (stay at slow if using a stand mixer) and increase to medium (if using a hand mixer).
  
• Mix for 8 minutes.
  
• Stir in desired icing colors (I use Wilton gel colors to keep full strength consistency).


• Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth to avoid drying. Color flow dries pretty fast.

Links to:
Cookie Recipe and step-by-step instructions
Color Flow Icing Technique: How to decorate your cookies
Thinning Color Flow
Royal Icing as Color Flow: Coming Soon

Cookies: Halloween Bouquet

Links to:
Cookie Recipe and step-by-step instructions
Color Flow Icing Recipe: Cookies Glaze
Color Flow Icing Technique: How to decorate your cookies
Thinning Color Flow
Royal Icing as Color Flow: Coming Soon

Cookies: Cookie Dough (Roll-Out Cookies) Recipe

Recipe:

1 cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1 tspoon vanilla
2 tspoon baking powder
3 cups flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.



2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed.



3. Add egg and vanilla and mix.



4. Add baking powder then one cup of flour. Mix at low speed.



5. Add the rest of the flour one cup at a time and continue mixing.



6. The cookie dough will be dry and stiff, so try mixing with the electric mixer and finish by hand (if the dough is too dry then add 1 tspoon of water and mix).



7. Do not chill dough so it won't loose its freshness and consistency. It is best if this dough is used right away.

You can divide dough into 2 halfs and roll them separately.

On a floured surface roll each portion into a big circle and 1/8 in. thick. I use dowel rods on the side of the dough and under the rolling pin, to be able to tell whn to stop. The cookie dough will be as thick as the rods.

Dip cookie cutters into flour before you cut the cookies ( I recommend Comfort Grip cookie Cutter by Wilton). Cut your cookies.

Insert the cookie stick (I used Wilton Cookie Sticks on picture below) by placing your hand on top of the cookie. Wiggle the stick in half way through the cookie. Use your hand to guide the cookie stick.

**Double Click on Pictures to Enlarge**

Lift the cookie with spatula. Check to see if cookie stick is showing on the other side of the cookie, if so, cover up with dough.

Bake cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet on top rack of oven for 6-7 minutes, or until cookies are lighlty browned at the edges.

This recipe makes about 20-24 average sized cookies. For the cookies made in the Cookie Bouquet picture, it makes about 12-13 cookies.

NOTE: the cookie dough can be tinted with Wilton Icing color. Knead small amounts until desired color is reached.

CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Blend into dough 3 ounces of melted unsweetened chocolate.

LINKS
Flow Icing Recipe: Cookies Glaze
Color Flow Icing Technique: How to decorate your cookies
Thinning Color Flow
Royal Icing as Color Flow: Coming Soon