Have you ever found something you wanted to try that looked really hard? Well, I saw a segment on a local TV show(back in Utah) about these awesome looking cookies. I always wondered how people made them look so professional. She showed some basic techniques and that’s all I needed to put this on my Creative Bucket List. Someday…..I was going to try this!
I was sitting in a meeting with ladies from church that were planning a 100 dresses event. We wanted to collect 100 articles of clothing for a battered women’s shelter so that when they were ready for their first interview, they had a dress to wear to their job interview. It was a big undertaking and as we were talking about the dessert for that event, we knew we wanted it to be nice: a sort of Thank-you for the ladies giving so much to help others in need.
My mind instantly went back to this bucket list item and decided that I would make these awesome cookies (that I had never made before) for the 100 dresses event. I told them, let me try a batch and if it doesn’t work, we can go with a plan B.
The event was in November, so I made my first attempt on Halloween cookies. I learned: I needed a smaller tip for the edges, a way to project the images if more complex and the gel food coloring. But, all-in-all….a great first attempt. Side note: I used my co-workers as my guinea pigs and they gave me the thumbs up to try the cookies for the 100 dresses event.
My friend Kirsten found the cookie cutter online (no local stores had a modest dress shape, I checked, and she could get the cookie cutter with free shipping). The 100 dresses were for job interviews, and the only shape I could find locally was wedding dresses with a sweetheart neckline. Ha ha Not the shape we were looking for!
I rolled out a fourth of the dough at a time and the last batch, I let the kids make their own shape.
Then it’s time for special royal icing. I had never made icing with a meringue powder before.
Then you pipe the edges and flood the cookies. Thank goodness my husband was willing to stay up and flood them with me because they have to sit for 12 hours to set (even better to let them sit overnight) and do the detailing the next day.
Then the next day, you pipe all the details. I took some photos with my phone at the event and didn’t realize their was a lovely child’s fingerprint on the lens until I got home. So, the photos aren’t the best but, it was such an awesome event, I had to share.
The afternoon of the event, I re-read my email and realized that I was supposed to decorate the dessert table along with the cookies. I panicked for a second then realized I could make a clothesline with dresses hanging on it. I used the cookie cutter to cut the dress shape out of scrapbook paper and used a vintage button garland as the clothesline. The apothecary jar filled with vintage thread was from my studio and I grabbed the scale to add some height. It turned out beautiful! The only stressful part was when I was getting ready to drill the holes in the bases(I had just painted and were barely dry) and found out my husband had lent out our drill to our neighbor and had to call them to see if I could get it back….because I only had an hour until I needed to leave to the event. Everything worked out and I got everything loaded up and got to the event in time to set up.
The purple/lilac colored dresses had two pearl buttons on the front and the yellow dress had a blue flower tie around the waist. They were both so pretty!
The cookies were a huge success and I am so glad that I can now cross them off my creative bucket list….although they may be off my creative bucket list…I keep making them…..must be good!
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