Change Your Altitude Mountain Cookies Inspired by Pier Giorgio Frassati

Well, that post title was a mouthful. Actually, that is the edited down version, believe it or not.

Anyhoo...
A. I wanted to show you this cookie set, and
B. tell you how I made a mountain range cookie from a Christmas tree cookie cutter.

The cookies were made for a college student (NOT JACK, although, I did send him just a few...why do I feel like I need to justify sending my child care packages???) who attended Frassati Catholic High School with Jack and is now off at college in the mountains of Colorado. He's an adventure-loving kid and a hiker...so I thought these cookies were perfect.

I've made Pier Giorgio Frassati cookies before, you can see them and read more about Frassati in this post. Pier Giorgio was a mountain climber and is known for the saying, "Verso l'alto," or "to the heights."

The mountains and "change your altitude" cookies were inspired by this sticker from Brass & Mint Co. Such a perfect quote!

To make the mountain ranges, I used Sweet Sugarbelle's Christmas tree multi-cutter. I love Sugarbelle's multi-cutters and have several. Remember the College Hints Cookies?

I cut out the cookies as usual, then used the bottom of the cutter to make some of the mountains a bit shorter than the others. Then, I used the side of the cutter to lop off just a bit of the sides to make them fit together more easily.

A trick to piecing together cookies is to freeze the put-together shapes for 5-10 minutes before baking. I always do this, whether pieced together or not, but if you don't, this is a good time to start.

Oh! Here's my go-to cut-out cookie recipe. I rolled these to 3/8". You'll also need royal icing. You can use any colors you'd like.

Here are the colors I used:

• Americolor Bright White
• Chefmaster Navy
• Americolor Peacock (2 shades)

Once your cookies are baked, it's time to decorate!

Use a #3 tip to outline the mountains. I like this bigger tip so that the outline will show.

Thin the royal icing with water, a bit at a time, until it is the consistency of thick glue. A ribbon of icing dropped back onto itself will disappear in a count of "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two" (or three). Cover with a damp dish towel and let sit for a few minutes. Stir gently with a silicone spatula and pour into squeeze bottles.

Fill in the snow outline first. Use a toothpick to guide to edges and pop any large air bubbles. Then, fill in the bulk of the mountains.

Let the cookies dry uncovered overnight or for 6-8 hours.

I love, love, love the messaging here for someone starting college or a new job...or you know, climbing a mountain. (Obviously, they'd be perfect to celebrate Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.) ♥