Catering By Victoria’s Blog

Valentine Sugar Cookies

Soft, slightly sweet and super cute.

You can personalize your cookies with your own unique style and flare.  Create your own shapes, with a template and a sharp knife, or purchase them from the ever growing inventory of metal and plastic cutters.   This holiday season, cut-out some precious time with your favorite children.  If might be the most special memory you make.

Creating sugar cookie cut-outs with children is a wonderful time for them to find their creative side.  Depending on the age of the children you are working with, you may want to have them help with cutting out and baking the cookies, or perhaps just the decorating portion of the process.  You can assist them by icing the cookies, and allowing them to finish them with sprinkles, nuts or sugar crystals.  For older kids, help them learn a new technique with piping bags. 

We have used sugar cookies to personalize catered events and tie them to a clients theme.  They make great favors and table decorations for weddings, client appreciations and special life milestone events.  We have created cookies with company logos, color schemes and special “cause” emblems to commemorate certain events.

With the Christmas holiday rapidly approaching, schedule a time to create some fun memories in your kitchen.  Below you’ll find some easy, delicious recipes to make everything at home.  For tinting your icing, we suggest color gel, but Lawry’s food dye works also.  Additional confectioner’s sugar will need to be added  when using a water-based dye.

ROYAL ICING

6 oz. egg whites

2 tsp. vanilla

8 cups powdered sugar

Beat with an electric mixer until smooth, adding  powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.  For “RUN-OUT” technique, you will need a slightly viscous consistency.  Piping requires a stiffer consistency. Piping a “dam” around the edge of the cookie first will help keep the run-out icing contained.  Allow your run-out to dry completely before piping additional icing over it.

GINGERBREAD CUT OUTS

Classic Gingerbread Cutouts

2 stick butter, soft

½ cup brown sugar

2/3 cup molasses

2 eggs

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground allspice

½ tsp. ground cloves

¾ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups flour

Combine all ingredients.  Tightly wrap dough and chill  for 1 hour before rolling out.  Chill cookies (freezer) 10 minutes on cookie sheet before baking.  This will help them to keep their cut-out shapes more precisely.  Bake 8-10 minutes 350º.  Avoid over baking if you like to enjoy soft finished cookies.  Once cooled,  wrap cookies in stacks of 5 with plastic wrap, until ready to ice.  Finished cookies should be stored in an air-tight container.