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EASY AND ADORABLE DECORATIONS

EASY AND ADORABLE DECORATIONS

These cookies can be hung on the tree if you remember to poke a hole at the top with a skewer before baking. If making as tree decorations, use icing that sets firm and non-sticky sweets.

For a ‘leather-look’ fabric for gingerbread people to wear, try thin sheets of aam-papad tinted with a quality food colouring powder (such as Bush). Lay aam-papad sheets on greaseproof paper and paint on powder with watermoistened brush. Let dry before using. To cover a whole cookie surface, simply cut out with the same cutter you used for the cookie! If it doesn’t cut through, press to leave an imprint; then cut out shapes with kitchen scissors, as lightly with icing so it sticks; else brush on light syrup. ‘glue’ on candies, too, with dots of icing.

COOKIE PEOPLE

Why stick to gingerbread men ? Represent the veriety in humanity with a mix of sugar, spice and gingerbread folk! And let your children dress them up-prehaps a fruity saree for one doll? –and add candy decors. Keep some chocolate icing (see recipes in ‘Small Wonder’, in our November 2005 issue) handy to pipe on hair, shoes faces- fudge is new black in cookie land. Use chocolate curls, teensy savouries and biscuits for hair and accessories.

SANTA ON THE MOON!

It’s the season to see Santa claus in everything ! So maybe you can use your half-moon cutter to frame his face? One Santa cookie is covered in aam-papad and trimmed with a coconut beard, cap brim and pom-pom –paint syrup on areas where grated coconut should stick, sprinkle it on and tap off excess later. Out other Santa wears a red jelly hat with sugar paste bobbles and Mentos pom-pom; coconut flakes curl in his beard!

For traditionalists who prefer to keep their crescent, there’s an “aam-papered” moon winking a candied ‘blue moon’-brush with syrup, and press on a galaxy of silver balls and tiny star candy and some crystalline sugar…



CANDY CANE-IN-A-SELEIGH

Q: When does a candy cane go extra fast? Ans: When it’s on sleigh duty! The traditional peppermint cane is easy-red-tined aam-papad strieped with fine white sugar for a frosty sparkle. To turn it on its head and make a stocking, stripe with different colours and add a fringed aam-papad border for good measure. Aah-now for that sleigh: overlap thin “planks” of coloured aam-papad or icing for the base; add snipped candy bits (try jujubes or other gummy, bendy candy), fix a couple of chocolate toffee twists for reins, and a broken pretzel for runners underneath. For a modern twist, use abstract shapes in colours and a looped string of ‘shoelace candy’ for reins.

ICING

Prep About 5 minutes

Makes About 3 cups



450g icing sugar

1/3 cup warm water

3tbsp powdered meringues or 1-2 drop glycerine

1. Beat sugar, water and meringue powder (or glycerine) until blended and so stiff that knife drown through cuts clean path-about 5 minutes.

2. Keep icing covered with clingwrap so it won’t dry out till ready to decorate cookie. (Add more warm water if needed for spreading consistency.)

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