Rose Water Cookies
Large, custom-decorated sugar cookies make lovely favors for weddings and showers. Fancy bakeries and mail order companies offer cookies that look like little works of art—and cost about as much. You can save money and add a personal touch if you make them yourself. Baking the cookies ahead of time and freezing them, well wrapped in plastic, then in zipper-lock bags, will save you some last minute preparation time. And if you want an impressive look without an exorbitant amount of effort, consider using chocolate transfer sheets. These are sheets of plastic that have been imprinted with a design made of colored cocoa powder. To use them, you melt chocolate and spread it thinly over the design; when the plastic is peeled away the design appears on the surface of the chocolate. You can wrap long strips of chocolate around a layer cake or, before the plastic has been peeled off, you can cut the chocolate into decorative shapes with a cookie cutter or a knife. The chocolate shapes can then be used to decorate cakes, cupcakes, or cookies. Chocolate transfer sheets are generally about 12 by 18 inches; they come in dozens of color combinations and designs and cost between three dollars and eight dollars per sheet. The technique for using them is fairly simple and quite fun—especially when you see the results.To decorate wedding cake cookies using chocolate transfer sheets:
1. Bake and cool the cookies (recipe below).
2. Make the rose water icing (recipe below) and tint if desired to coordinate with the transfer design.
3. Melt 12 ounces white chocolate in a bowl set over (not touching) gently simmering water.
4. Lay a transfer sheet on a clean cookie sheet, design-side up. Pour the warm, melted chocolate over the sheet and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer. (Note: The chocolate must be warm in order for the design to transfer properly.) Make sure to completely cover the design.
5. Let the chocolate set until firm, but still flexible. The surface of the chocolate will look dull rather than shiny. This should take about 30 minutes; to speed the process, you can place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator.
6. Using the wedding cake cookie cutter, press the cutter into the chocolate, making sure to press firmly and evenly so that the cutter will cut completely through the chocolate. Cut the shapes as close together as possible; you should be able to get eight wedding cake shapes from one sheet.
7. Let the chocolate cool completely. Carefully (using an inverted cookie sheet if necessary) flip the sheet of chocolate over and peel the plastic from the surface, then flip it back again onto a sheet of parchment paper so the design is down and the plain side is facing up. Carefully remove the excess chocolate from around the wedding cake shapes. (This chocolate can be re-melted and used again.)
8. One at a time frost the cookies see tips for frosting cookies with buttercream and place each frosted cookie onto a chocolate wedding cake shape. Use the palm of your hand to gently and evenly press the cookie onto the chocolate; when you lift the cookie, the chocolate layer should adhere.
9. If you like, you can use buttercream or royal icing to pipe a border or other designs onto the cookies. Cookies decorated with royal icing can be placed in cellophane bags, once the icing has hardened. Cookies with buttercream decoration should be stored in airtight containers in a single layer.
Rose Water Cookies
Makes about 11 wedding cake cookies
The rose water in these cookies gives them a lovely, subtle hint of roses; more of a scent than a flavor. However, if you prefer, you may omit the rose water and increase the vanilla to 1 teaspoon.
Beat with an electric mixer:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Add and mix completely:
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons rose water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add and mix just until completely incorporated:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm. Preheat oven to 350º. Roll dough out on a lightly floured counter to 1/4-inch thickness and cutwiht your favorite Ann Clark cookie cutters, then transfer cookies onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until very lightly browned around the edges. Let cookies cool slightly on cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate, if desired, before serving.
Rose Water Icing
Beat 1 cup softened unsalted butter with 3 cups confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon rose water until smooth.
My favorite shapes for Rose Water Cookies include the Wedding Cake cookie cutter, the Butterfly cookie cutter, and the Dove cookie cutter.
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