Flower Cookies

Welcome to my fifth and final blog post! For this last batch of cookies, I wanted to do a design that was more challenging but still kept it cute and simple. It wasn't long before I found some that matched this criteria perfectly.

Daisy cookies! Edwards' praises the versatility of these cookies by saying, "Because these daises are perfect for a variety of occasions, they're a great "go-to" project when you want to make cookies and can't decide on a design" (Edwards 30). I was especially drawn to the fact that these cookies could be done in just three steps.

For the cookies to turn out exactly how they were pictured in the book, Edwards recommends using her vanilla-almond sugar cookies cut into daisy shapes, royal icing tinted egg yellow and white, and an icing tip #3. I already ran into a couple problems: 1) I would be using the leftover chocolate-hazelnut cookie dough instead of the vanilla almond ones 2) I don't have daisy cookie cutters 3) I don't have yellow food coloring and 4) I also don't have a #3 icing tip. Since I couldn't replicate the cookies exactly, my flower cookies are "inspired" by her daisy cookies.

I started by cutting out the cookie dough with the flower shaped cookie cutter I actually did have. While those were in the oven, I made the icing with the same recipe I used in my second blog. I thinned out half of the icing, dyed it purple, and poured it into a squeeze bottle. With the remaining icing, I dyed it white and carefully put it into a piping bag.

On to decorating the cookie!

On each of the cookies, I piped a white circle in the middle and outlined each individual petal as best as I could. Once that set, I took the purple icing and squeezed an even amount into each petal. Using a toothpick, I gently spread the icing until it covered the entire petal and was touched the entire white border. The toothpick also helps to remove any air bubbles.

As you can see, my cookies weren't... perfect. Although, I do still consider this a success. I made more than two cookies, but when I came back to check on them the next morning, a few were missing (due to my sisters who insisted that it was okay to eat them without asking). Of the ones that were left, this was by far the best one.
One thing I was never able to try throughout my whole experience with sugar cookies was trying different flavors of royal icing. Have you ever worked with royal icing? Do you have any advice when it comes to flavoring it?