I need to get reacquainted with my best friend, the black-outlined cookie. Every time I make one...or see one...it's automatically my favorite.
These 4th of July cookie "cakes" came about when I was searching through my cookie cutter stash for some clever patriotic shape to decorate.
Pumpkins? Not quite right.
Butterflies? Hmm...maybe.
Armadillos? Promising...
CAKES?!? Now, why didn't I think of that before?!?
I just love that little star on the top of the cake. I think this would be DARLING as a birthday cake cookie, too. Actually, have you heard of STAR BIRTHDAYS? My aunt clued me into these. It's when the age you are turning matches your birth date. For example...if you were born on the 24th of a month, the year you turn 24 would be your star birthday.
Y'all...let's make star birthdays a thing.
OK, back to the 4th of July.
You'll need these recipes: perfect every time cut-out cookies & royal icing
To make the star cake cookies, you'll be putting to shapes together, like this:
Cut out tiered cakes and small stars...
...use the star cutter to cut out where you want to place the star on the cake...
...place the star in the cut-out and freeze for 5-10 minutes before baking.
(You DO freeze your cookies before baking, right?)
For the double-decker cookies, you'll put those together just like these double-decker valentine cookies.
(The stars on the blue cookies are just sugar pearls.)
For the star-topped cakes, just outline with a #2 tip and black icing.
Before filling a black outline with another color, you'll want to let it dry for at least one hour to prevent bleeding. {I use AmeriColor Super Black.}
After an hour, fill in the outline with thinned white icing. Let the icing dry for at least one hour.
Again with the #2 tip, go over the outline of the star and pipe "bunting" across the cake. Fill in the bunting with red and blue icings. (Piping consistency icing is fine here...flood icing in tiny spaces has a tendency to collapse.)
Place small star sprinkles on the bunting with tweezers, or place on and nudge gently into place with a toothpick.
Let the cookies dry overnight.
Happy birthday, America!!!
May your fireworks show not be rained out, may your sparklers not burn your fingers, and may none of your fireworks be duds.
