Patriotic Cookie Bouquets
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
GLAZE:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 to 4 tablespoons water
Red and blue gel food coloring
Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and milk. Combine
the flour, baking powder and salt, then gradually add to the
creamed mixture. Beat in apple pie spice and vanilla.
Cover and refrigerate dough for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
Roll out dough to a 1/4-in. thickness. With star cookie cutters, cut out shapes.
Place only five or six shapes on an ungreased baking sheet.
Place a dowel piece on top of each shape so that
at least 1-1/2 in. of dowel is on top of shape, leaving the rest of dowel
extended for handle. Top each dough shape with a matching
shape. Press edges gently to seal. Place remaining shapes on
another baking sheet.
Bake cookies at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire
racks, propping up each dowel handle so it remains parallel to the rack.
In a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup and water until smooth. Place
1/3 cup of glaze in each of three bowls. Tint
one portion red and one blue, leaving the remaining one
white. Spread blue and red glaze over tops of some of the
cookies. For a swirled design on remaining cookies, spread white glaze over the
tops of cookies, immediately place three dots of each
colored glaze on top of each cookie and swirl with
a toothpick. Set cookies aside to dry.
Refer to the photo (above left) while assembling as directed in the instructions
that follow. Using the serrated knife, cut the
floral foam to fit snugly inside the container for bouquet
base. Insert the floral foam in the container.
Cover the top of the foam with paper shred.
Insert the dowel handle of each cookie and the stick of each flag into the
foam. Serve remaining cookies separately. Yield: about 1-1/2 dozen.
Patriotic Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
1/2 teaspoon blue food coloring
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
Red, white and blue sprinkles
Directions:
Prepare cake batter according to package directions.
In a small bowl, combine 1-1/3 cups batter and blue food coloring. In another
bowl, combine 1-1/3 cups batter and red food coloring.
Leave remaining batter plain.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups with 2 tablespoons red batter, 2 tablespoons
plain batter and 2 tablespoons blue batter. Bake
at 350° for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes
out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans
to wire racks to cool completely. Frost with
vanilla frosting; decorate with sprinkles. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.
