Generous Plate: February 2010

Chinese New Year Pagoda, Year of the Tiger

I'm so busy with a 3.5 year old and a 7 month old that I often don't have time for fun. I think I've found something I can work on when they are sleeping, or for the other times that I may have to myself. This is my first large (and small) sugar cookie sculpture, probably the first of many. Inspired by my first construction and this cake, as long as I have a theme, getting the job done is fun and easy. I used Martha Stewart's cookie cutout recipe and a basic royal icing recipe with egg whites, cream of tartar (optional), powdered sugar and decorating gel colors. I like this cookie recipe for this project because it bakes hard and crunchy and retains it's shape pretty well.

I love my new Ateco turntable.

Little royal icing tigers.

Side mural.

Menacing huh!

I had so much fun making these little tiger statues. Their heads are about the size of a green pea.

5 minute candy mountain cake

My husband was about to leave to go to his bi-monthly D&D game when he got a call, "Were you going to bring food to the game?" I over heard this and quickly I thought - hey I have something in the freezer he could bring. I just happened to have some failed chocolate cakes in the freezer. I figured it would taste like really dense cake or like a brownie so I saved them. I am so Chinese, can't seem to throw anything away sometimes. Anyway, a quick icing and a cookie - voila, I have a dessert for him.

My husband came up with the theme.

House warming cookies

I have friends who recently moved away and bought their first house. They were throwing a housewarming party and I decided to make cookies for them. Since I had never seen their house, I Google mapped their address and found a picture, hoped it was their house anyway. I shrank it, printed it and cut it out. I used a knife to cut out the cookies, baked them and used royal icing to decorate. They were so excited about them that 2 of them are being shellacked and made into Xmas ornaments.