Cookie Creations

The following guest post was written by Elizabeth, from Following the Trails to Heaven.  Thank you Elizabeth! 

Cookies bring out the child in everyone and a smile to any event.  Everyone loves a good tasting cookie that looks just as pleasing to the eye, as to our tummies.  They are easy to bake and decorating them to suit your needs is fun to do. 

I'm not a stand out baker or anything, so if I'm able to pull these off, believe me you can too.  This is a quick tutorial with links to get you started :-)

Let's talk supplies

You don't need to break the bank in this area.  But there are the essentials for making your decorating time easier and faster.

You'll need:

• an assortment of tips, piping bags (disposables or reusable ones; Wilton sells both kinds and you can find them in most craft stores, including WalMart), couplers, a few of these squeezable bottles and a variety of food coloring.

More on tips.  For outlining your cookies a #3 tip is going to be essential.  For details and finer touches, #1 and #2 tips are more commonly used.  #4 tips and tips with a scalloped edge are great for fun dots and swirls. 

Finding a good cookie & royal icing recipe

The cookies are going to be eaten, so we want them to taste good.  I've tried several recipes and trust me, these are always good!  Here are my to go to favorites!!  Bridget @ Bake at 350, Amanda @ I am Baker, and Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker.   These ladies are amazing!

Bridget's advice and recipe for Royal Icing is, in my opinion, one of the best.  She gives easy to do details on how the icing should look, it's consistency, some tips, and provided great pictures for us visual learners.

Follow these simple tips in getting working the dough. 

1.  Divide your dough in half and wrap each portion tightly with Saran wrap and chill them for at least one hour.
2.  Roll out your dough onto the actual parchment paper, using a bit of powdered sugar instead of flour.  The parchment paper makes it so much easier to transfer your nicely cut shapes onto your baking sheets.
3.  Lastly, chill your cut out cookies on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes in the refrigerator.  This helps the cookies maintain their shape and it does make a difference.

They are baked and ready for the icing

It helps to have an idea of what you want the cookies to look like.  I make a quick sketch on some paper and jot down the colors I want to use before I even start baking.

Using a #3 tip outline your cookie according to your set design. Just keep a constant pressure on the bag and release right before you complete the outline. If there are peaks on your edges, take a toothpick and gently press them down.

Use that squeezable bottle filled with your runnier icing to 'flood' the cookie. 

Just fill in towards the edges, but don't over fill (flood).  Over filling equals a big icing mess!  Trust me.  The icing will run a bit anyway, and you'll be helping to fill in the empty spots next.

Depending on how big your cookie is, you'll use either a toothpick, a butter knife, a clean popsicle stick, or whatever you have handy, to spread out the icing.

Some air bubbles may appear after a few seconds, just pop with the toothpick.

After this stage the icing needs to harden before you can decorate.  I'd give them at least 10 minutes.  Since I work with several batches I start outline first, then begin to fill (flood), ending with the spreading.  By the time I make my way around, the first cookies are ready for decorating.

The cool, creative part is the decorating.  These are just a few samples of what you can create, especially for those special sacraments feast days.

and other fun stuff

The possibilities are endless!  Think dragons for St. George,  candles for Candlemas, lilies for St. Joseph or for Our Lady.  I hope this tutorial has helped to inspire you to try some out and I hope to see some of your samples soon.

Thank you Jessica, for inviting me here to share! 

May God bless each of you ladies who contribute your talents and time here at Catholic Cuisine.  I, and my family, have benefited greatly from this site.  May God reward you for your kindness and efforts!

♥ All Glory and Praise to God ♥

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Pure White Punch for Celebrating the Sacraments

This past January our family celebrated the Sacraments of First Confession and First Holy Communion for two of our daughters, immediately followed by our new baby boy's Baptism.

I wanted to make a white punch to serve along with the Baptism and First Communion Cakes at the reception, since white is a symbol for purity.  I ended up modifying a recipe for White Holiday Punch from Food.com, cutting back on the amount of ice cream.  It was perfect!

Pure White Punch

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 tablespoon almond extract
6 (2 liter) bottles carbonated lemon-lime beverage
2 (½ gallon) carton vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Over medium heat, mix the sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat, add the evaporated milk and almond extract.   Chill until you are ready to serve your punch.  (I did this step the night before the big day.) 

When you are ready to serve the punch, combine the milk mixture and lemon-lime drink (I used 7-up) in a punch bowl.  Add the scoops of ice cream, and stir to break up the ice cream, incorporating it into the punch.

Note:  This makes a lot of punch, enough to fill my little punch bowl about 6 times.   It would have been easier to have a much larger bowl, but instead I just filled it with one liter of 7-up at a time, adding 1/6th of the milky mixture, and then finishing it with 1/3 of a carton of vanilla ice cream.  

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"My First Holy Communion" Party Favors

In addition to the Baptism Favors, I also made First Holy Communion Lollipop Favors for the Cake Reception following the girls' First Holy Communion and the baby's Baptism.  For these I used the Girl Communion Candy Mold (a boy version is also available), along with Lollipop sticks, white and pink candy melts.

You can see an example of how the multi-colored candies are made in this post.  I poured the melted white chocolate into the center of the mold first, let it harden in the fridge, and then finished the lollipops by filling the mold the rest of the way with the pink candy and adding the lollipop stick.   It would have been helpful to have more than one mold, but since I really couldn't make very many at a time (due to a little one who loves to be held) I made them four at a time over a three day period as I had little bits of free time.

I packaged the candy shells in Clear Treat Bags, tying them with Pink Curling Ribbon. I made similar tags to the Baptism favors, some reading "My First Holy Communion...Deo Gratias!" and some that were customized with "God Bless (Child's Name)"at the top, and the date of the First Holy Communion on the bottom.  I just used scissors to cut the circles, which really didn't take long, but I would love to purchase a 2" circle punch for the future.  I cut the 2 1/2" scalloped backgrounds using my Cricut, Winter Woodland Cartridge, and gold card stock.

Here is the link to my document for the "My First Holy Communion" tags, which I printed out onto white card stock, in case anyone would like to use them in the future:

My First Holy Communion - Girl

My First Holy Communion - Boy

I was planning on making a couple dozen Cross Lollipops as well, but ended up running out of time even thought they are quicker to make and also take less of the melted candy. These would be a great option if you need a lot of favors.

I wasn't sure how I was going to display the lollipops, and started looking for a styrofoam block.   I wasn't able to find anything, and wasn't about to spend $8-10 dollars for one from Walmart, so I ended up cutting down a shoebox (from a cute pair of new boots), to make it shallower, wrapped it in gold wrapping paper, and then punched holes in the top with a hammer and nail.  The lollipops didn't stand up completely straight, but I thought it worked well enough, especially since it didn't require purchasing any more supplies.  :)

Here are a few other First Communion Themed Candy Molds available:

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First Holy Communion Cake and Link-up

As I mentioned in the Baptism Cake post, this past Friday my brother-in-law flew in to offer a traditional Latin Mass during which our two daughters received their First Holy Communions!  Afterwards we had a simple cake reception in the parish hall.

For the girls' First Communion Cake I ordered Costco's Chocolate Cake with chocolate mousse and iced with white buttercream.  (Normally I would have opted for the white cake, but I wanted to have a little variety, since the Baptism Cake was already white.)   Since I wanted to make a white Bread of Life Cake Topper, using my Communion Candy Mold, I needed a contrasting color frosting to place it on.  (I didn't think it would look that great placed on white frosting.   Originally I had planned to make my own cake for my daughter, frosting it soft-pink and placing the chalice on top, but since my options at Costco were limited to white or chocolate, I decided to have them decorate the cake with their "Bouquet" design (which is the same one I had chosen for our last First Communion) with Pink Roses and place the topper into the center of the roses standing up.   Didn't it turn out pretty?!   I also had them write "Adoremus in Aeternum Santissimum Sacramentum" which translates to "Let us for ever adore the Most Holy Sacrament."

Now it is your turn. If you have made a cake for a First Holy Communion reception, we'd love to see it! Please add your link below.



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Stained Glass Cookies

The following recipe was submitted by Lisa, from Catholic Missionary Family. Thank you Lisa!

Stained glass cookies could be used on a number of occasions. The circle with the cross reminds me of a host, so it would be great for a Eucharistic feast day or a first communion party or the cross with the heart could be used for the Feast of the Exhalation of the Cross or the "T" with a blue in the heart could be for Theotokos (A Marion title in Greek meaning God-bearer). The "J"s are for Jesus.

I'm sure people far more creative than I could create a heart with blue and red rays for Divine Mercy, or a heart with a crown for the Sacred Heart of Jesus... really the possibilities are endless. So, next time you need a creative religious treat, come up with something fabulous and then send it to me, sound good?

Here's how you make them!

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 stick of soft butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
Jolly Ranchers (4 candies of 3 different colors)

Let's start with the fun part... the smashing of the Jolly Ranchers!

Step 1: Place 4 candies of the same color in a plastic bag.

Success. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let's move on to the dough.

Step 2: Pound them. We did this in the basement because it was nap-time.

Step 3: Cream the butter and the sugar together.

Step 2: Add the egg and vanilla.

Step 3: Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Step 4: Then mix it in with the wet ingredients.

Step 5: Roll our the dough to a standard 1/4 inch thickness.

Step 6: Using cookies cutters, cut out various shapes with shapes inside of them. We also used a knife for smaller shapes, like the heart in the cross. Place your cookies on a baking sheet LINED WITH PARCHMENT PAPER... just wanted to make sure you knew that this is important.

Step 7: Fill your inner shape with a layer of crushed up candies. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes. Once the candies are melted, the cookies are ready, thus the huge span of cooking time. DO NOT LET THE CANDIES START TO BUBBLE!!!... just wanted to make sure you knew that this is REALLY important. If they start to bubble they will taste like burnt sugar, not good.

Step 8: Let them cool and enjoy!

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Little Lamb of Jesus First Holy Communion Novena Treats

Little Lamb of Jesus First Holy Communion Treats and Novena

It has been a blessing to make our final preparations for First Holy Communion during the Easter Season.  So many of the symbols that coincide with the season are also applicable to First Holy Communion.  There are so many different foods, treats, and candies that can be made.  Many of the ideas from the Good Shepherd Garden Parties can be used as well.  I just wanted to share this idea that can also be used a long with a lovely First Holy Communion Novena that is free to download online.  It is called the Little Lamb of Jesus First Holy Communion Novena with St. Therese of Lisieux.  We are enjoying this immensely!  If you have a lamb cookie cutter, this would make the perfect simple treat to accompany the final days of the novena with your child.

I found this lamb cookie cutter last year but it is still available!

Instructions:

{Follow Rice Krispies Treats recipe on the box}

Ingredients Needed:

3 Tbsp. Margarine or Butter

1 Package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows or 4 cups miniature marshmallows

6 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal

Writing Icing for decorating

Spread Rice Krispies on to cookie sheet for best cutting with cookie cutters.  Use Icing to decorate  treats upon cooling:

We also cut out a chalice and host (free hand) for our special First Communicant to decorate!

God Bless all the precious children making their First Holy Communion!

A beautiful excerpt from Day 4 of the Novena:

"When you receive your First Holy Communion you will carry Jesus with you in your heart.  He carries you on His shoulders, a Shepherd with His little lamb.  That is the strength of Jesus with arms like steel to lean upon.  He is a special friend in all the fun and not so fun times in your life."

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Bread of Life :: First Communion Candy Molds

I just realized that I never did get around to posting about the last of the Easter Symbol Candies that I included in my children's Easter Baskets.   Originally I had planned to save this candy mold to make for on top of a cake to celebrate our my oldest daughter's First Communion later this year.  However, after trying it out when I was making all the other candies, I decided it did tie in nicely to Easter as well. 

We used two quotes to go along with this "Bread of Life" Candy - one explaining the symbols of Bread and Wine/Wheat and Grapes and the other explaining the IHS symbol, both from ICC Religious Education. 

Bread and Wine/Wheat and Grapes: Because of the bread and wine they produce, the symbols of wheat and grapes are often used to designate the Eucharist. Bread is the basic food of every culture and of every age in human history. Made from the toil of human hands, the many grains of wheat are transformed and become one to nourish and sustain us. A meal, in which bread is broken and shared, becomes a means of bonding human beings together. This is the sign Jesus used to describe Himself as the "Bread of Life." Following His command, in faith we take and eat this Bread, His Body, and become one with Him."  From ancient times wine is associated with banquets, joy and celebration, a gift of God to gladden our hearts. The grapes, like the grains of wheat used for bread, are fruits of the earth and give of themselves in order that we might celebrate and be glad. This sign which Jesus used for His Blood, speaks to us of giving and of sacrifice in order that we might enjoy the benefits of His love in the banquet which is the foretaste of heavenly joy.

IHS: IHS stands for the first three letters of the name Jesus in Greek.

For my first attempt, I used a few different color candy melts:  White, Green, Yellow, and a mix or Red and Light Blue to make a Burgundy for the Grapes. 

This took a little time, as I patiently waited for each color to set.    I did have a little trouble getting all the air bubbles out of the beads around the top of the chalice, but poking a toothpick through the chocolate (searching for each bubble to pop) was a quick and easy solution.   

As you can tell from the pictures, I didn't do the best job on keeping the colors exactly where they were suppose to be, but I still thought it turned out lovely! 

Another, much easier, variation would be just to use all white Chocolate.   To make the next chocolate literally took just a couple minutes to fill the mold and shake the air bubbles out.   

Be sure to put a little extra chocolate at the top of the chalice to prevent breakage, and also be sure to let it set completely before removing it from the mold.

I think this solid white one would look so pretty on top of a soft-pink frosted cake for my daughter.   

Here are some of the other Communion Themed Candy Molds that can currently be found at Amazon:

You can find other ideas and recipes for celebrating First Communions in the archives! 

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