l a a i c e p s y p a r t y t c c e e j o r p
l a a i c e p s y p a r t y c t e c p r o j e
MAGIC WANDS The Good Witch of the North and the queen fairy agree that these star wands are magically delicious. The pixies at your party will love them, too. Send the sparkly pink wands home as party favors, or let the child ren decorate their own with royal icing and sanding sugar. They are sure to cast a spell on all who hold them. WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Cookie: Sugar Cookies (page 48)
Decoration: pink and/or white
Icing: 1 recipe Royal Icing
sanding sugar, 6- or 8-inch lollipop sticks for magic wands, and ribb on for decoration (1 to 2 feet per wand, depending on whether a knot or bow is tied)
(page 15)
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Bake the cookies and let them cool completely. Prepare the Royal Icing. Keep the icing covered with a damp cloth.
2
Prepare the colored icing: approximately 1 cup light pink, ½ cup medium pink, ½ cup neon pink.
3
To prevent breaking when decorating, hold the cookie, not the lollipop stick. Spread a thin layer of colored icing over the entire cookie. Immediately pour w hite or pink sanding sugar over the top or dip the cookie into a bowl of sanding sugar,
Colors: pink liquid gel colors Miscellaneous: half-sheet baking pan, pastry cones, star cookie cutter
pressing gently to adhere. Shake or dust off any excess sugar. 4
Place 2 tablespoons of each color icing into separate pastry cones. Cut a small hole at the tip of each pastry cone. Pipe dots or lacy borders around the edge of each cookie, write the initials of the bir thday fairy, or make a design of your own. Let dry overnight.
5
Tie a bow with long trails around the handle of each wand.
Kids’ Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse
PLAIN+SIMPLE Pretint the cookie dough with a
few drops of pink food coloring. Cut out with a star cookie cutter and sprinkle sanding sugar on top—no need for royal icing.
PLAIN+SIMPLE Pretint the cookie dough with a
few drops of pink food coloring. Cut out with a star cookie cutter and sprinkle sanding sugar on top—no need for royal icing.
The Enchanted Tea Party
SUGAR COOKIES
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SUGAR COOKIES This basic sugar cookie dough is strong enough to be cut into any shape, and the cookies are durable enough en ough to stand up to a lot of decorating. de corating. Make mask-shaped cookies for your Halloween party, a cookie card for the birthday boy or girl, pirate faces for your little buccaneer, or magic wands for your fairy princess. Yield: approximately 24 to 30 wands, 12 masks, 20 pirate faces, or 4 cookie cards Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have all ingredients at room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed, cream: 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter ²⁄ ³ cup sugar
Add and thoroughly incorporate: 1 extra-large egg ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
On a piece of wax paper paper,, sift sif t together: 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
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Kids’ Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse
On a lightly floured board, roll the chilled dough out to ¼ inch thick. Slip parchment paper under the rolled dough and transfer it to a half-sheet pan. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut out shapes ( see below).
If making magic magi c wands: Cut out stars using a star cookie cutter (2 inches i nches to 3 inches across; larger stars need longer handles). Ar range the stars 1 inch apar t along the long sides of the cookie sheets. Carefully insert lollipop sticks into the hollow created between two points of the star about ½ inch deep. If making a mask: Using the mask image on page 165, cut out a cardboard template. Place the template on the dough. Cut out the mask by running a paring knife around the edge of the template.. Carefully slide a metal spatula under template the cookie to transfer it to the cookie sheet. Arrange the masks 1 inch apart apar t along the long sides of the cookie sheets. Carefully insert Popsicle sticks into the bottom left side about ½ inch deep.
If making pirate faces: Cut out circles using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. Arrange the circles 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. If making cookie cook ie cards: Using a paring knife or a pastry wheel, cut out 4 x 6-inch rectangles. Using the small end of a #12 round tip or any round cutter approximately ¼ inch in diameter, cut 2 circles out of the left side of each cookie, 1 inch from the top and 1 inch from the bottom (make sure the holes line up). Using a cookie cutter cut ter,, cut out a heart, circle, or small shape of your choice from the center of half of the cookies. Carefully slide a metal spatula under the cookie to tr ansfer it to the cookie sheet. Arrange the cards 1 inch apar t on the cookie sheets.
When we mention half-sheet pans, we are referring to 12 x 16-inch 16-inch baking ba king sheets sheet s (aka jelly roll pans) pan s) that have a 1-inch rim around all four sides. A pan that is missing a lip on at least one edge is a cookie sheet. When working in the chocolate method or baking cookies, either type of sheet pan will work, but for baking cakes you must use a rimmed pan.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
The Enchanted Tea Party
Kids’ Buttercream This classic, no-fuss buttercream is a sweet sen sation with children, and I have to admit, it is the one frosting I will lick off my fing ers. Kids’ Buttercream is surprisingly versatile: It makes a yummy filling or icing, tints beau tifully, and is perfect for piping
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Kids’ Buttercream This classic, no-fuss buttercream is a sweet sen sation with children, and I have to admit, it is the one frosting I will lick off my fing ers. Kids’ Buttercream is surprisingly versatile: It makes a yummy filling or icing, tints beau tifully, and is perfect for piping borders or simple shapes. sha pes. However, However, we don’t use this icing for delicate piping applications because it has a dense and slightly grit ty texture that tends to break (instead, try Kaye’s Buttercream, page 11, 11, or House Buttercream, page 13). —Liv Meringue powder can be found at baking supply stores and in some supermarkets. Kid’s Buttercream can be stored in the refrigera tor in an airtight container containe r for 1 week.
Yield: approximately 3 cups
In the bowl of an electric mixer at mediumhigh speed, beat until creamy: 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsa lted butter at room temperature
Add all at once and beat at low speed until smooth: 4 cups (1-pound box) sifted confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon meringue powder 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon salt
Add and beat until light and creamy: 2 tablespoons milk
Kids’ Chocolate Buttercream In a bowl, combine 2 to 3 ounces melted, body temperature (100°F) semisweet chocolate per 1 cup Kids’ Buttercream. Mix until smooth and completely blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl to prevent the chocolate fro m hardening and causing unmelted flecks in the buttercr eam.
Matt’s Fudge Icing My uncle Matt’s delectable fudge icing had to be included, once again, in our recipe collection—it’s that good! We love it on our Sour Cream Chocolate Cake (page 89) or atop any of our cupcakes. When I use this at home, my son will eat just the fudge and leave the cake. Matt’s Fudge Icing can be stored in the refrigera tor in an airtight container containe r for 2 weeks. To use the chilled icing, bring it to room temperature and beat at medium speed in the bowl of an electric ele ctric mixer until smooth and a nd creamy. To To speed up this process you can lightly reheat it in a double boiler before beating. —Liv
Yield: approximately 2¼ cups
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Kids’ Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse
In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together: ¼ cup sugar 2 large egg yolks ¾ cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Remove from the heat and whisk in until melted: 8 ounces finely chopped semis weet chocolate 3 ounces (¾ stick) uns alted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together:
Remove from the heat and whisk in until melted:
¼ cup sugar 2 large egg yolks ¾ cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract A pinch of salt
8 ounces finely chopped semis weet chocolate 3 ounces (¾ stick) uns alted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
Whisk in
Whisk until the mixture is slightly thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon (175 to 180°F on a candy thermometer).
¼ cup light corn syrup 2 tablespoons sour cream
Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour to overnight.
Royal Roy al Icing This amazing icing is the “glue” that holds gingerbread houses together and is the colorful frosting that you find on decorated cookies. You can tint it, pipe with it, spread it with a spatula, adhere candies or sanding sugar to it, or thin it with water to create smooth flooded designs (see pages 144– 144– 45).
Yield: approximately 4 cups
In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip to stiff peaks: ¼ cup meringue powder ½ cup cold water
Add and mix at low speed with a paddle at tachment, until combined: 4 cups (1-pound box) confectioners’ sugar
Continue mixing at high speed for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the icing is stiff.
Add and mix on low speed until combined: ½ teaspoon strained fresh lemon juice
Cover the bowl with a damp cloth while you are working with or coloring batches of icing, or immediately place it in an airtight container or a pastry cone; otherwise, other wise, a hard crust will quickly form as it dries.
Note: If you are making a gingerbread house or other assembled three-dimensional cookies, I recommend adding an extra tablespoon of meringue powder and an additional cup of confectioners’ sugar. This will firm up the frosting, making your structure even more stable. —Liv
The 1, 2, 3s: Getting Started
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