Friday Faves – the decorated cookie makes Cookie Sticks n’ Dip
I have a lot of respect for people who have the patience to work with royal icing on a regular basis. I’ve done it a couple times and always swear I’ll never do it again. Meaghan from the decorated cookie was a cookie decorator for years. Her blog is filled with all sorts of sweets including painted marshmallows! If you haven’t heard of the blog, you should definitely check out this week’s Friday Fav.
Hi everyone, and thank you to Jen for inviting me to guest post!
I was a cookie decorator at a shop for ten years before leaving to have my daughter. But I couldn’t give up cookies, so I started by blog in 2008, the decorated cookie. There I share ideas for decorating not just cookies, but marshmallows, cupcakes, and other crafty sweets. I’m also the Edible Crafts editor for CraftGossip, so I spend much of my days mining the internet for all of your crafty sweets, too. I published a book in 2007 (Cookie Sensations), and my second book will be published later this year.
These cookie sticks n’ dip are an easy, appetizer-style dessert to serve. The dipping icing won’t dry fully, so it’s best to just dip and eat. Or, add some sprinkles right after dipping.
you will need:
cookie dough
store-bought container of frosting
milk
sprinkles (optional)
step one: bake your cookies
Prepare the cookie dough according to the recipe and chill well, about two hours. Briefly knead a piece of the dough until it’s pliable, roll a ball about one-inch in diameter, and then roll the ball on the counter with your palm to form a log about 1/4-inch thick. Snip the ends so your log is 4 to 5 inches long. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake according to the recipe. Let cool completely. TIP: Your dough must be well chilled to roll the log. Keep the dough in the fridge when you’re not using it.
step two: prepare your dipping icing
In a bowl, mix store-bought frosting with milk until of a good dipping consistency. This will be about 1 teaspoon of milk per 1/4 cup of frosting. You may also use homemade buttercream frosting and thin to a dipping consistency.
step three: serve
Serve the sticks and a bowl of the icing chip n’ dip style. Serve sprinkles on the side, if desired.
Thanks again for letting me visit, and Happy Baking!
Meaghan
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I am of two minds on this post. On the one hand, my OCD really kicked in when I read that you had not followed Mark Bittman’s recipe but still decided to write about it. Seemed a bit sloppy for a nerd and an engineer. On the other hand, that is how Pasteur discovered Penicillin. Bittman is such a great cook, that I think he deserves better treatment; so I plan to do him the honor of making his recipe. I am not going to make the other two though!
Oops! Senior moment that – it was the Scottish scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming in 1928. Apparently, the Pasteur Institut ignored the work of a French physician, Ernest Duchesne, who in 1897 discovered the curative properties of the Penicillium Glaucum, a different mold than the one Fleming discovered, but in the same genus. Gotta love Wikipedia.
There are two tapioca recipes on the Minute Tapioca box. I always use the one for Fluffy Pudding, which calls for 2 cups milk and whipping the egg whites separately from the cooked milk with tapioca and egg yolk. I think you will find the pudding much improved over the basic recipe.
Also, the quality of the vanilla makes a huge difference in something like tapioca. Cooks Illustrated likes McCormick and I found this on amazon and at Sam’s Club in large bottles for very reasonable prices.
One other note: I find that CI has a sweet tooth: their recipes are sometimes too sweet for my taste, though they are a go-to source otherwise.
This is an interesting discussion. I tried the Kraft recipe today. I threw everything (except the vanilla) in the blender before putting it on the stove. I also added 1/2 tsp. salt and a bit more vanilla. I actually thought it was sweet enough already, though. However, I agree with your overall conclusion that it’s a bit boring. Well, at least it was easy. Anyway, next time I may a recipe using large tapioca. 🙂
Thanks for the comparison.