Monday, September 27, 2010

Spring Inspired Bee and Flower cookies - Daring Bakers September 2010




The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

 The cookies could be any shape or decoration, the only guide was September which is pretty broad considering that the Daring Bakers come from all around the world.

I chose Spring as my theme and made some busy bee cookies and daisies.



They are decorated with rolled fondant and royal icing accents. The bees are hand molded and hand painted with black americolour food gel and a 00 paintbrush.

Decorating cookies is great fun and the kids and neighbours loved the results, thanks Mandy for such a fun challenge.



Basic Sugar Cookies (provided by Mandy from 'What the Fruitcake):
Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies
200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
Directions
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during
baking, losing their shape.

• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an
hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and
then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.

• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in
some cookies being baked before others are done.

Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.
Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated
cookies can last up to a month.


42 comments:

  1. these are really sweet! I especially like the flower cookies. How'd you do the speckled bits in the centre?

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  2. These are so cute! Just looking at them instantly puts a smile on my face. Great job!

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  3. Wow These cute little cookies look exotic and crunchy. Lovely clicks, Linda.

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  4. I so love your cookies! So professional - you could start a business based on these! Brilliant!

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  5. I put a link to your site on my post because I love these cookies so much! I hope you don't mind.

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  6. Aww gorgeous! I'm really feeling the gorgeous Spring weather too! :D And I love the little bee on top! :D

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  7. They look amazing!! What a fun activity to have joined in with :)

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  8. Love these!! You come up with the most amazing designs!! Thank you for the ideas!

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  9. These were just the best ones - they are gorgeous.
    http://apronaddict.blogspot.com

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  10. Your cookies are so cute!! Great work!

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  11. The cutest cookies I've ever seen, so pretty :)

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  12. You've done it again. They're so sweet! Love the little bumblebees buzzing around the top of the flower :)
    Such a pro job. Beautiful.

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  13. Linda, your cookies are a winner! So perfectly done and decorated. I love the little bees! Bravo!
    Thanks for your lovely comment on mine!

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  14. your cookies are so adorable! so perfect for baby shower or any kids party!

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  15. Wow they are such beautiful cookies! the colours, the bees, the tiny flowers are all so perfect.

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  16. I think these might be the most gorgeous cookies I've ever seen! I love the trail behind the bumblebees. Fantastic work this month!
    :)

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  17. These are so beautiful - I don't know how anyone could bring themselves to eat them!

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  18. I saw these on the forum ages ago and thought "WOW ... I don't think they can get better than this!". Picture perfect and out of this world Linda! GORGOEUS!!

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  19. So neatly made and original!Excellant combination of colors and shapes.Well done!!

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  21. These are some of the cutest cookies I've ever seen! Amazing job!

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  22. I LOVE these cookies! I happen to love bees:) These cookies are perfectly beautiful!

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  23. Your cookies are gorgeous! Thanks for adding some spring sunshine to my rainy NYC day!

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  24. I love these cookies. The bees are just too cute! And the detail on the insides of the flowers...! You did an AMAZING job. Please teach me!

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  25. wow - how did you do the bees?

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  26. Amazing. They look so fantastic, I can't imagine I'd ever be able to eat one!

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  27. Ohzamygosh, these are absolutely perfect. Look at those little bee faces!!

    And by the way, I asked the other day about making rainbow lollipops from marshmallow fondant because I'm graduating from high school this year, and I really want to have a big rainbow lollipop like the lovely one you made in my senior portrait for the yearbook. Hopefully I'll be able to make it, and the picture will be what I want! ^_^

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  28. Wow.., your so clever Linda & they almost look too good to eat, more like little pieces of art. Fabulous stuff.

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  29. These are WOW! Too pretty to eat, very neatly done!

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  30. Aww... these cookies are adorable! You certainly rocked this month's DB challenge! Keep up the amazing bakes ^_^

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  31. Your bee cookies rock!! The colors are vibrant and the decoration is very professional :-)

    Sawadee from Bangkok,
    Kris

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  32. They are far too cute for words! Such pretty presntation.

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  33. I loved these cookies the minute I saw them on the Daring Baker forum, they're almost far too cute to eat! I'd definitely keep them around to admire until the last minute before gobbling them down, hehehe :)

    Thank you for taking part of the September challenge, your cookies are absolutely gorgeous :)

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  34. Wow - you're a real artist! These cookies look so cute!

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  35. They are so perfect, you are a professional !!! love the bees, so darn cute. Awesome cookies....I found your site through daring bakers.

    www.cuminandcardamom.blogspot.com

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  36. I truly adore those little bees, they are the cuttest thing! Thank you for your visit and your kind words. Big hug from Fabi in Madrid-Spain!

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  37. These cookies are gorgeous. The bees stole my heart ever since I saw them on the forum.

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  38. These were one of my favourites too, nice bold design.

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