cookie madness

so as i continue along this crazy cookie journey, i come across all sorts of fun gadgets that would make some really cool designs.  there's an airbrushing system that i could use with various stencils to create fun patterns that would be a huge pain in the ass to attempt by hand.  and then there's something called a kopykake, which basically takes any design and projects it down onto a cookie or cake so that it can be easily recreated in frosting.  oh, but wait - there's also edible ink printers, which will print out any image on edible paper.  you then peel the backing off and apply it to wet frosting.  that's how bakeries are able to put photographs on cakes and such.

my favorite cake and candy supply shop actually offers that last one as a service.  for $10, they'll take your printed sheet and photocopy it onto the edible letter-sized paper.   i tried it out once a long time ago, for amber's baby shower cookies.

what's holding me back from picking up these fun cookie making toys?  well...each one of those things is a minimum of $200.  yikes.  so i'm just debating whether or not i'd actually be able to make the purchase(s) worth it.  i don't know.  WWYD?

i was asked to make some cookies for a bridal shower, which is always fun.  she showed me a couple of pictures for inspiration, and one of the cookies in the photos had a "quilted" design.  since i hadn't had a chance to try this technique out yet, i decided to go for it.

one of my favorite cookiers offers a tutorial for quilting, but it involves the use of that kopykake i mentioned earlier.  hmph.  so i poked around the internet a little more until i found another one that showed me how to do it without any fancy equipment.  i sat down with an edible ink marker and a ruler and got to work.

first, draw lines to create the design.

then, fill in every other diamond with frosting.

let them dry for a bit, and then continue working - going in order so that the newly filled shapes aren't touching each other.  this is what will create that "quilted" looking line.  this is after a couple of rounds.  also, next time i'll avoid the black marker.  i kept thinking the edges looked kind of grayish.

when they were all done, they looked like this:

i added some pink dots for a pop of color.  cool, right?  i was pretty proud of these.  most other cookiers use royal icing, which has a totally different texture and offers much more precise-looking designs.  but it tastes like butt and i don't love how hard it gets.  personally, i think the frosting i use is key in making the cookies taste good.  i don't know, i'm biased.

i got creative with my cutters again for the next set of cookies - a bouquet of flowers.  this is just a floral cutter with a palm tree trunk wedged into the bottom:

this tip is usually used for grass, but i thought it might work for the stems of the flowers.  because my frosting was a bit on the thin side, the lines melted together.  but i think it still worked out.

next, i plopped on big dots of pink frosting.  kinda looks like m&ms, huh?  and you still can't really see what i'm trying to accomplish here.

but then i took some stiffer frosting and a narrow tip and drew on little swirls.  then i was inspired and found a wide, narrow tip and added a ribbon onto the stems.  better, right?

along with the cakes, rings and plaques, i think this made for a pretty cool bridal shower cookie presentation.

hmmm.  maybe i don't need that kopykake after all.  heh.