COOKIE BOUQUET

Cookie Bouquet image

Three dozen shortbread cookies are decorated with royal icing and attached to lollipop sticks to create this delectable arrangement. Follow this technique, then get creative with the details!

Provided by Smart Cookie

Categories Desserts Cookies Butter Cookie Recipes Shortbread Cookie Recipes

Time 7h35m

Yield 36

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
10 tablespoons water, or as needed
2 tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon gel food coloring, or as desired
lollipop sticks

Steps:

Whisk flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add vanilla extract and mix to combine. Slowly add flour and mix on low speed until a dough comes together.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into 2 flat disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out one of the chilled dough rounds to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out flowers using cookie cutters of your choice. Re-roll the dough up to 3 times and continue cutting out cookies. Transfer cookies to a baking sheet using a flat spatula. Place cookies about 1 inch apart, fitting about 12 on each sheet.
Roll out the second dough round and repeat cutting out flowers until you have about 3 dozen cookies in total. Freeze cookies for 20 minutes to help maintain their shape.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake until the edges start to look pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on pans for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour.
Combine confectioners' sugar, 5 tablespoons water, and meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium until a thick icing forms. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired texture is reached. Divide icing among several bowls and tint with desired gel food coloring.
Decorate cookies as desired using a pastry bags and tips. Reserve any leftover icing in an airtight container for attaching the sticks. Let icing dry, 4 hours to overnight.
Attach lollipop sticks to the back of the dry cookies with royal icing. Tie together with ribbon or arrange in a gift box.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 190.5 calories, Carbohydrate 29.1 g, Cholesterol 20.3 mg, Fat 7.8 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 1.5 g, SaturatedFat 4.9 g, Sodium 19.9 mg, Sugar 19.3 g