I love making flower cookies.
Especially these tropical hibiscus flowers.
Wanna make some of your own?
Okay!!
Bake flower cookies using a 5 petal flower cutter, but add a leaf shape before baking.
(My favorite flower cutter is actually a sand dollar cutter, but I won't tell anyone if you don't)
When you cut the bottom of the leaf shape out of the flower so that you can fit it into place,
the outline of the flower is removed.
Before I bake it, I press the edge of the cookie cutter into the leaf so that I can see the outline again.
Outline your cookie with a #3 tip and piping consistency icing.
Outline your leaf.
Let these dry.
For the inside of your flower you'll use two colors of 10-second flood icing.
I like using one color for the petals and white or yellow for the center.
Starting with your petal color, flood most of your cookie.
Leave a space about the size of a quarter in the center for your contrasting color.
Try to make the shape somewhat irregular-it doesn't need to be round.
Then quickly fill in the middle.
Now, grab a toothpick, boo-boo stick or stylus...but work quickly!
Put the tip of your tool in the center of your cookie and drag it outward toward the middle of a petal.
Make the line a little bit curved if you can.
Wipe off your tool when you lift it out of the icing.
Do this for each of your five petals.
This time you will start at the outer edge of your flower.
Place your tool into the icing at the point between your petals and draw a line inward,
ending at the center of your flower.
Repeat that five times all the way around.
That's it!
(If you have any air bubbles left, take care of those now.
Like that huge one up there on the bottom petal!)
Set that cookie aside to dry and start on your next one!
(you can take a minute or two to admire your cookie-I'm sure its gorgeous!!)
When its dry, flood your leaf and outline your flower with your piping icing.
Now, the stamen is super easy, you just have to remember to do it in two steps.
First the bottom part.....
Pipe a curved line, a little longer than half the length of the stamen,
with yellow piping icing and a #3 tip.
Let it dry!!!
Pipe the end of the stamen with the same icing and tip.
I make a bit of an arrow shape, but a curved rectangle is fine too.
Immediately cover this with sanding sugar.
By letting the bottom dry first, the sugar doesn't stick.
That gives the stamen a lovely 'pollen just on the end' look.
I hope you'll make some of your own!!!
