Easy Pumpkin Cookie Tutorial!

Let's make some pumpkin cookies!!!

  After I posted the  mustache jack o'lantern cookies I had a lot of questions!
Most of them asked how I made the segments on these pumpkins.
So I made a little tutorial for you!

For these cookies I used 2 consistencies of icing: 
1. Piping icing, which is somewhat like toothpaste, stiff but stretchy  2. 10-second flood icing.
Flood icing is regular royal icing that has water added to thin it out. When you cut through your bowl of icing with a knife or spatula,  the line you make will eventually disappear. However many seconds it takes for that line to fade completely,  is how many 'seconds' your icing is called.
Here we go!

Using piping icing and a number 2 tip, outline your cookie.

Then draw curved lines dividing your pumpkin into 5 sections.
Make sure your dividing lines touch your outline where they start and stop.





Fill alternating sections with flood icing.

Poke any big air bubbles with a toothpick and set aside to dry for a bit.

(Y'know...long enough to fold some laundry...watch a little tv....eat a huge piece of cake and take a nap...whatever floats your boat)

When the first bit has dried, fill in the rest!

Fill these enough to cover your line that divides your sections.

So...that's it really!

You could stop there and move on to the stem....or....

You can make them SPARKLY!!

If you choose to add sparkles,

let your first sections dry a bit longer-I wait a few hours.

You'll need to be able to pick up your cookie and handle it without crushing your icing.

I used orange sanding sugar, but white would be pretty too.

Place your cookie on a paper plate or paper towel.  You'll want 

something to catch the extra sugar and help get it back into your bowl when you're done.

Fill your empty sections with icing and wait about a minute or so.

Grab a spoon, fill it with sugar, and sprinkle over the wet icing.

Or....dump it on, pour it on....whatever.

Just cover all the wet parts.

Carefully pick up your cookie and let the extra sugar fall onto the plate.

Sparkles!!!

Now we just need a stem!

Pipe the outline with a number 2 and fill with flood icing.

Use whatever color you'd like....black, brown, green...

Leaves are made with piping icing and a number 68 leaf tip.

For large pumpkins like these I like 3 leaves.

First one side,

Then the other.

Middle leaf last so that it lies on top.

Let 'em dry 8 hours or overnight.

That's it!!!!

You can do it!

I know you can!

You don't have to stick with orange either....

It's Halloween!

Go Crazy!!

Here are some other pumpkin and fall tutorials to have fun with!!

Chevron Pumpkin Cookies

Fall Leaf Cookies

Pumpkin Cookie Makeover-Sugarbelle

3D Pumpkin Cookie-Cookie Crazie Pam

Fall Pumpkin Wagons-Ali Bee's Bakeshop

Cherry Pie Cookies.....and a Tutorial Too!!

Would you like some pie?

Best thing about a pie cookie is that you can eat the WHOLE thing! (You don't have to share!!)
I've always loved cookies that look like food.
Ever since I first saw Ali Bee's pie cookies, I've wanted to make these myself!
I've done chocolate cream and pumpkin, but I hadn't yet tackled fruit pies.

Want to make your own?

Tutorial Time!

Bake round cookies using your favorite recipe and mix a batch of royal icing.
Thin some of your icing to a 20-second consistency and color it a 'fruit' color. I used dark red for this cherry pie, but you could make blueberry or apple too!
(I almost always refer to Sugarbelle's color chart when I mix a custom color!)

Pipe a circle about 3/8 of an inch inside the edge of your cookie.
The space you leave will be how thick your 'outer crust' will be.

Make some cherry shaped blobs with some space between them. (highly technical, I know)
These are all different sizes and shapes. Some the size of peas...all the way up to the size of a dime.
Set that cookie aside and let it dry about 20 minutes or so.

Then....do the same thing all over again.

Make some cherry shaped dots, let dry, repeat until full.

Let those dry!

Now the Crust!!!

The top and side crust are both made with piping consistency ivory icing.

I used a 301 tip for the lattice strips.

Its a small flat tip, kind of like a basket weave without the grooves.

I've seen it called a 'calligraphy' tip, but I've never actually tried it for writing.

First one direction...

....then the other.

Easy-peasy.

I liked that the lines are all bumpy like a real pie!

Now, how you feel the edges of a pie should look really depends on your family.

Some people just fold it over on itself, others make a little ruffle.

My grandmother used a fork to crimp the edges of her pies, 

so that's what I wanted to re-create.

This is a 101s petal tip.

I held the cookie in one hand and made a smooshed ruffle,

making sure that the crust met the filling.

Then set it down veeeeeeerrrrrrrry carefully.

Let it dry really well.

Overnight would be best.

Look....it's a pie!!!

But....hmmmm.

It still looks a bit....raw.

When my grandmother baked a pie it was all shiny and golden.

They never looked pale like this!

Nothing a little painting can't fix!

I can never remember if she used milk or an egg-wash,

so I used Vodka!!!!

(heh-heh)

Mix a bit of vodka (or water, or vanilla extract) with a bit of warm brown food coloring...

...and paint it on just like you would before you would bake a pie.

No need to be careful.

Just get your brush wet and brush over all the crust!

That's better!!!!

But now comes the real debate.

Do you prefer whipped cream or ice cream on your pie?

Or both?!