sugar cookies – star wars characters

star wars cookies 1

I recently overheard people talking about a dessert I’d baked, and they said something to effect that probably anyone could do something like that with the right equipment. I mostly agree with them; there are no sneaky tricks up my sleeve. I followed a recipe, with a few tweaks to get the flavors I wanted and with the experience to know what pitfalls I might encounter. (Not that that ever stops me from finding new mistakes to make.)

star wars cookies 6

But they are wrong in one important aspect, and that is that what sets some bakers apart is a high capacity for tedium. Sugar cookies decorated with royal icing are the best example. The whole process takes forever.

star wars cookies 2 vader

I prefer to divide the work up between four different days, mixing up the dough on one, rolling the dough and cutting shapes on another, then the big day of baking, outlining, and flooding, and finally adding the details after the flooded icing has dried. This time, I only had a few days between receiving these Star Wars cutters as a gift and having dinner with a couple of young Star Wars fans.

star wars cookies 5 stormtrooper

I’ve used royal icing a handful of times previously, but so intermittently that I wasn’t learning from my mistakes. I have found that it’s imperative that I draw a map of my plan for each shape – first the outline color, then the flooding, then each layer of detail. Maybe more experienced decorators don’t need this, but for a newbie like me, it makes the process less intimidating. (Each photo set shows essentially what my hand-drawings do, as far as the steps to decorate each cookie.)

star wars cookies 4 yoda

This was probably my most successful attempt at royal icing – and the most time-consuming, because there was a lot of detail in these designs. I did learn a few things along the way, and I can only hope that it will make me better at this in the future. Still, I suspect that this is one of those baking endeavors that will always require a generous tolerance for tedium – and that, for better or worse, is something I have.

star wars cookies 3 yoda

One year ago: Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Two years ago: Roll-out Sugar Cookies (comparison of 4 recipes) (coincidence, I swear!)
Three years ago: Roasted Kale
Four years ago: Rice Pudding

I used the first recipe listed in my sugar cookie comparison.  I’m not confident enough in my royal icing skills to offer any sort of tutorial. At this stage, I’m still referencing Annie’s tutorial for instructions.

star wars cookies 8

Comments

  1. Did you use the recipe recommended in your comparison post?

  2. bridget says:

    branny – Oops, I meant to mention that. I used the first recipe listed in the comparison post, titled simply “Roll-out Sugar Cookies”. I’ve updated the entry to include this as well.

  3. Melissa says:

    The boys loved these! I couldn’t even finagle a bite for myself. At cookie time, I’m coming back for your icing recipe, I’d say you are a decorating pro after seeing these and the wedding cookies! (And some people should put their baking where their mouth is 😉

  4. These are wonderful! I did a batch at Christmas that looked like the work of a three year old. Royal icing is tough. And I agree with Melissa, there’s a bit more to it than a recipe and the right equipment!

  5. I’ve wanted those cookie cutters forever. I like how you decorated them.

  6. The cookies look great. Royal icing is one of the things I just don’t have the patience for…