I’ve just begun to play with dough-wrapping to create cool 3-D cookie effects – and I love it! But what the heck is dough-wrapping, you might ask?! Good question! It’s basically the art of creating contoured cookie pieces by baking
Wafer-papering is relatively new to cookie decorating and involves nothing more than a simple cut-and-paste technique. For the uninitiated, wafer papers are thin, translucent sheets of dehydrated potato starch, water, and vegetable oil, which come both plain and pre-printed with
In dreaming up desserts for my recent St. Patty’s Day KMOV TV appearance, I devised this to-die-for Guinness stout-laced cake. Though beer in a cake may sound more than a little odd at first take, mull over malted milk balls for
Around about mid-March last year, I caught a serious case of spring fever. No surprise really, considering the season’s painfully long St. Louis winter. Plus, there was only so much swaddling in sweaters, socks, and blankets that I could take.
A sexy hard-boiled egg? Well, that’s how my good friend described this springtime amuse bouche when I planted it atop his dinner plate last weekend. Come to think of it, there is something pretty alluring about peeling back these eggs’
Now here’s something to stout (oops, shout) about – and just in time for St. Patty’s Day! This recipe harks from my James Beard-nominated column in Sauce magazine, from the article where I put two culinary giants – food scientist
A cookie decorating technique after my own heart, stenciling doesn’t require that you be a born-again Van Gogh. With a pretty stencil, the right consistency of Royal Icing, and some practice, anyone can make gorgeous stenciled works of art. Read on
Royal icing is hands down my favorite icing for cookie decorating. The egg whites in royal icing make it faster drying than confectioner’s icing, where the liquid content is usually milk or cream, and better for fine detail work, as
Marbling is responsible for the wonderfully intricate, Italian watermark-like patterns on the various cookies, pictured right. While marbling gives the appearance of being complex, it’s actually one of the quickest and most forgiving cookie decorating techniques around. The technique looks
When asked by my editor at Sauce magazine to develop a soul-satisfying winter dish, I could think of nothing better than mac ‘n cheese. (No surprise, really. I’m a comfort food gal through and through, if you didn’t know already!)
When a box of Russell Stover’s no longer registers appreciative oohs and ahs, offer this Valentine’s project as a token of your undying love. It says something special, pun intended. What you’ll need for 1 box:(See accoutrements, second photo from
Oh, there’s nothing better than a project that lets me share my treasures and keep them too! Last year, I rescued a stack of blank vintage bistro menus from a dusty corner of a nearby antiques store. Rather than write
Another interpretation of cookie “love letters” – and a much more literal interpretation at that! The envelopes here are iced gingerbread cookies (yes, you heard me right!) and the carrying container is a dolled up papier mâché mailbox!What you’ll need
Put everyone in high spirits with these whimsical Valentine’s Day cotton candy displays. In addition to the candy, two other parts are edible! What you’ll need for 1 display: Cylindrical glass vase (choose a size that best fits your overall
We all have that certain someone for whom a box of chocolates doesn’t seem quite enough . . . that person who’s been there, done that, and seen it all! Am I right? . . . OK, now that we’ve
Tick tock. Tick tock. Before you know it, this year will be a distant point in history. If you’re spinning your wheels on New Year’s resolutions or otherwise counting the passing of time, I urge you to stop. The few
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