Help with Decorated Holiday Cookies

ElizabethB

ElizabethB

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Lafayette, LA. US
You have all heard me say that I am not a baker. I have spread my wings a little with a Carrot Cake, Everything Lemon, Lemon Cake and a dark Chocolate Cake. I want to try decorated Holiday cookies. I have watched numerous YouTube videos. I think I can get the Royal Icing for piping and flooding. The cookie recipe of choice is a sugar cookie, primarily because it does not spread and lose it's shape when baked. I would like a cookie recipe with flavor. I would love a recipe with warm spices that does not puff up and spread. I found pumpkin spice, cranberry spice and apple spice recipes but they all puff and spread. I plan to use Holiday cookie cutters, I want the cookies to hold their shape. I know the cookies can be frozen after baking, can they be frozen after icing and decorating? This is something I have to do in advance so freezing is important.
You are all such amazing, talented chefs. I am counting on your expertise.
:thankyou:in advance.
 
Thank you Backbay
I am not adverse to ready made dough. I really want to make scratch cookies. The Holiday dough does give me an idea. Maybe I can add warm spices to a basic sugar cookie recipe. Thank you for the inspiration.
 
ElizabethB said:
You have all heard me say that I am not a baker. I have spread my wings a little with a Carrot Cake, Everything Lemon, Lemon Cake and a dark Chocolate Cake. I want to try decorated Holiday cookies. I have watched numerous YouTube videos. I think I can get the Royal Icing for piping and flooding. The cookie recipe of choice is a sugar cookie, primarily because it does not spread and lose it's shape when baked. I would like a cookie recipe with flavor. I would love a recipe with warm spices that does not puff up and spread. I found pumpkin spice, cranberry spice and apple spice recipes but they all puff and spread. I plan to use Holiday cookie cutters, I want the cookies to hold their shape. I know the cookies can be frozen after baking, can they be frozen after icing and decorating? This is something I have to do in advance so freezing is important.
You are all such amazing, talented chefs. I am counting on your expertise.
:thankyou:in advance.
Click to expand...
I'm at your service, my decorating skills are legendary,
1605508868969.png
The only biscuit I ever make for Christmas is the very forgiving Florentine,
1605509085011.png
it ticks all the boxes for me ( my wife is the artist)
1605509162885.png
 
ElizabethB said:
The cookie recipe of choice is a sugar cookie, primarily because it does not spread and lose it's shape when baked. I would like a cookie recipe with flavor. I would love a recipe with warm spices that does not puff up and spread. I found pumpkin spice, cranberry spice and apple spice recipes but they all puff and spread. I plan to use Holiday cookie cutters, I want the cookies to hold their shape.
Click to expand...
I have to admit to not knowing exactly what a sugar cookie is, but for Christmas biscuits my go-to recipes are either gingerbread or spekulatius - they both have those lovely warm spicy flavour that just remind me of this time of year. Mine do spread out a little bit so probably not what you're looking for in terms of consistency (looking at the pictures in the link above), but I'm sure you could incorporate some of the ingredients into your sugar cookie recipe.

My gingerbread recipe uses 1 tsp of ground ginger and 0.5 tsp of mixed spice per 250g of flour (though I prefer a stronger taste, so I actually double the amount of spices). My spekulatius recipe uses 0.5 tsp of ground cloves, 0.5 tsp of cinnamon and 0.25 tsp of ground cardamom per 250g of flour. Both recipes also use brown sugars rather than white (dark Muscavado for the gingerbread, and Demerara for the spekulatius) which I think is also important for the flavour...though I would have thought that changing the type of sugar would probably affect the consistency of the biscuit.
 
ElizabethB said:
Thank you Backbay
I am not adverse to ready made dough. I really want to make scratch cookies. The Holiday dough does give me an idea. Maybe I can add warm spices to a basic sugar cookie recipe. Thank you for the inspiration.
Click to expand...

I'll try to get my mom's recipe. We made cookie-cutter cookies every year, as a kid. We kids did the decorating.

CD
 
I'm no great cookie cook but here is my basic recipe for biscuits that hold their shape: Recipe - Tangy Dodgers with Lavender

Instead of lavender you can add spices to the basic mix.

Oh - and Hemulen, I discovered that this is one recipe where I used the whole tangerine/satsuma/clementine as you did in your delicious cakes.
 
I have done more research. A basic sugar cookie/biscuit is used for it's stability. It does not puff or spread. It maintains it's shape and size. I think I can achieve a spicy cookie by adding warm spices; cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. There are thousands of YouTube videos on piping, flooding and decorating holiday cookies using a basic Royal Icing. I will try a batch. If they taste good I will cut, bake and freeze the baked cookies. Take them out of the freezer 3 days ahead of time, defrost and decorate. Wish me luck. I am a crazy person. I am not a baker or decorator so I decide to tackle a complicated, decorated cookie. :hyper: Someone find a straight jacket. :laugh:
 
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