How to Decorate Christmas Cut-out Cookies
The Food Timeline traces the origin of Christmas cookies to medieval Europe; the tradition was brought to America by Dutch and German settlers, who baked gingerbread to celebrate Christmas. These settlers also brought cookie cutters and cake molds to the Americas, which we still use in kitchens today. Decorate Christmas cut-out cookies as a way to bond with your family members and make sweet desserts to distribute as gifts or to enjoy with coffee on Christmas Day. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 4 egg yolks
- Food coloring (red, yellow, green, blue)
- 4 small bowls
- 4 paintbrushes
- Sprinkles
- Nuts (any sort)
- Dried fruit (chopped small)
Instructions
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Use food coloring and egg yolks to make edible paint. Place one egg yolk in each small bowl. Mix three drops of red food coloring into the first bowl, stirring vigorously until completely mixed. Repeat this process with each of the remaining food coloring hues, using a new color in each bowl until you have four edible "paints" for cookie decoration.
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Designate one paintbrush for each bowl. Paint colorful designs onto the raw Christmas cookie cutouts arranged on your baking sheets. Leave space between colors on your raw cookies, or the dyes will bleed together in the oven.
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Add nuts, sprinkles and dried fruit, as desired, to your raw Christmas cut-out cookies. Bake the cookies according to the recipe directions. Let cookies cool thoroughly before serving or wrapping into a gift package.
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Tips & Warnings
To make facial features, use raisins for the eyes and nuts for the nose and mouth.
The dye will appear lighter -- more like a glaze -- after baking. For more vibrant color, use additional drops of dye in the mixing process.
Always let an adult, not a child, take out and put Christmas cut-out cookies in the oven to avoid accidental burns.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit christmas goodies image by Kathy Burns from Fotolia.com dye image by Orlando Florin Rosu from Fotolia.com
