Special Cookie Equipment

• plastic wrap, offset spatula, a rolling pin, Hammer Song tin sheep cookie cutter, cookie trays, ruler

MISE EN PLACE–SUGAR COOKIES

• Measure the flour, salt and baking powder, and combine in a separate bowl. Measure the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine the egg, brandy and vanilla. Set aside. Spread three pieces of plastic wrap on a clean surface. Lightly spray three cookie trays.

MAKE THE COOKIE

• Cream the butter and sugar until very smooth. Add the egg, brandy and vanilla mixture, and beat well until very light in color. It’s important to dissolve the sugar well at this point. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix well, until just incorporated. Turn the dough onto the counter and gather it up into a ball. Knead it a little until smooth, and divide into 3 equal pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic and refrigerate until firm, overnight if necessary.

ROLL AND CUT THE COOKIES

• Take out one piece of cookie dough and unwrap it. Generously flour your work surface. Cut a piece of plastic wrap and lay it over the cold dough. The plastic wrap will prevent the dough from cracking and will create a very smooth surface that will bake nicely. With your hands, begin to move the dough to soften it a bit. Starting in the center, roll the dough outwards, adjusting the plastic wrap as needed. If the dough cracks, just push it back together, and continue rolling. With every turn, lift the dough and keep the underneath well-floured. This will ease the cut cookies and keep the shape intact. Roll the dough no more than 1/8 of an inch. NOTE: Rolling the dough to 1/8” is a standard thickness for cut cookies. Take the time to measure the thickness, as this will help them bake evenly, and will produce a lovely, crunchy texture. Rolling it to ¼” will give you a thicker, chewy cookie and change the baking times.

LIFTING THE COOKIES ONTO THE TRAYS

• Press the cookie cutter thoroughly into the dough, ensuring that you haven’t missed any edges or corners. Using an offset spatula, lift the cookie off the surface and transfer it to a lightly sprayed tray. If the cookie sticks to the surface, run the spatula underneath the cut dough. An offset spatula is the tool that will make a huge difference in your finished cookie, as there will be less distortion; the dough will stay cool, and there will be less breakage.

BAKING THE COOKIES

• Once you have a full tray, slide it into a preheated oven. Set the timer for 7 minutes and add one or two minutes at a time until you have the desired time. Try to minimize browning the edges as best you can while at the same time, baking the cookie until they are firm to the touch. Cool them on the tray. The cookies will pop off easily, then let rest on a cooling rack

ICING SPECIAL ICING EQUIPMENT

• Two medium sized mixing bowls, assortment of hobby brushes, pastry bag, a coupler and a #1 tip, gold dragees, a pair of tweezers.

MAKING THE ICING

• In a medium bowl, measure 1 c. confectioners’ sugar. Add the egg white, a few drops of lemon juice and stir until smooth. It’s finished when the consistency is drops off the spoon very slowly and doesn’t melt into itself easily. It needs to move through the tip easily or spread with a nice opacity. If you feel the icing is too stiff, loosen it with more lemon juice. If you want the icing stiffer, add more sugar. Divide the icing into three bowls. Add just a tiny, tiny drop of petal pink in one bowl. You want a soft, pale pink. It’s easier to add more than to try to dilute the colour. Add black to another bowl and leave the third bowl white. Stir vigorously until the colours are evenly blended.

DECORATING THE COOKIES

• With a dry brush, paint the petal pink over the body of a cooled cookie, excluding the feet, ears and head. Paint all the sheep with the petal pink icing. If the icing isn’t spreading nicely, wet the brush a little and continue. Let dry. Prepare the Luster Dust–Oyster by combining 1/8 tsp of vodka or other grain alcohol with a tiny amount of Luster Dust. Paint over the petal pink icing. Apply a second coat if desired. Let dry. With the black icing, paint the feet and ears black. Use a smaller brush to control the small spaces. Fill the pastry bag with the white icing, and pipe loops along the back of the sheep. Pipe an eye and fill in the heart with white icing. Use a small brush to push the icing into place, if needed. Mix 1/8 tsp of vodka or other wood grain alcohol with the Disco Dust–pink. Paint the heart in 2 or 3 coats. Finally, add one gold dragee over the white icing of the eye.

NOTE: It’s mind-boggling how much cookie decorating equipment is available. Again, I shop first at www.fancyflours.com. You’ll never be short on resources for decorating supplies–they are abundant. For the purpose of this recipe, the specific colours and glitters are listed above.