I am sure that everyone is beginning to make all of their cookies and other edible holiday gifts and I just wanted to share some of the behind the scenes photos of our Sweet Treats photo shoot and development for our current December issue.
It was Christmas in July at Everyday Food and as you can see from the photo above, I did a little bit of baking. Hundreds and hundreds of cookies were baked, iced, glittered, sugared, dusted and anything else I could think to do to the poor things. I have to admit, I could decorate sugar cookies all day. I love playing with sprinkles and icing and colors and paintbrushes. I feel like I am in elementary school again and it's time to finger paint.
1 A gathering of equipment and wrappers for the various baked goodies!
2 I was making fudge, cookie dough/cookies and fruitcakes all at the same time...it started to get a little crowded
3 These are different sets of cookie cutters and some of the many luster dust colors that I used.
4 Cookies at various stages of drying and decoration. The royal icing will harden enough that you can touch the surface after an hour or so but it needs to dry overnight before you can decorate with luster dust or package them to give away or mail.
5 I love luster dust. It mimicks powdered eyeshadow in texture and richness of color, but you can decorate your cookies with it! And a little goes a very, very long way. You can brush it straight onto the cookie, or onto the dried royal icing.
6 One of many trays full of cookies in various shapes and sizes. I did a variety of decorating combinations so we could pick and choose exactly what we liked and wanted to use.
7 More cookies!
I probably chopped and macerated about five pounds of dried fruit for fruitcakes and used about ten different jars of jam and jelly to make the jam stars and diamonds. Truffles were rolled in five or six different shades of gold dust and as many different brands of cocoa powder as I could find in order to get different shades of brown truffles.
The trick to the holiday photo shoots is to have enough of the finished cookies, truffles, etc. in enough shapes, sizes, colors, shades and flavors that we can play with them and combine them in different ways on set until we come up with something that we love.
Below are before and after pictures from when I was developing the recipes and the final photo that you will find in the December issue. I have added some reminder tips for when you make these at home.
1 When I first started working on these I found that they fit nicely in egg cartons for easy transport or as a cute "green" gifting idea...
2 These fruitcakes are loaded with delicious golden fruit with just enough flour to hold it all together! Use any combination of dried fruit and nuts that you like.
3 These were my first run so that I could see if I liked the dough.
4 The cookies will be sturdier for hanging if you ice them with the royal icing. Try adding tiny amounts of food coloring to small bowls of the icing to make different colors.
5 These decadent chocolate truffles are rich and tender. Make sure to measure the chocolate for the recipe by weight and not volume for proper texture.
6 I found that different brands of cocoa powder tend to be different shades of brown. Pour a small amount of each cocoa powder into separate bowls and coat the truffles in the different types to achieve the effect above.
7 I LOVE chocolate and all things minty during the holiday season. Crushed peppermint candies are melted into this fudge to lend a subtle minty flavor.
8 Add the peppermint candy to the top just before you give these guys away. This way the peppermint candies on top will not melt in the refrigerator.
9 A beautiful assortment of jams and jellies give these cookies a bit of a stained glass effect.
10 These cookies keep well in an airtight container and are pretty sturdy if you need to transport them. Make sure that you pinch the edges of the diamonds or the points of the stars together to form a nice, tight seal so there is no chance of them opening when you bake them.
The holiday baking rush is upon us and should be a fun and exciting time for everyone. If you have any questions related to holiday cookies, candies or any other sweet treat....don't hesitate to ask. We are here to help and one of us will have an answer!
From: samylovr | 12/14/09 at 10:18 pm
In all your holiday cookie baking did you find a recipe from Martha Stewart that was a chocolate drop cookie with a white chocolate toping and peppermint candie sprinkled over the top. I made them and loved them, now I can't find the recipe. Help!
From: hong | 12/15/09 at 1:20 am
Look so rich and delicious. Room must be filled with wonderful smell. Let’s sniff the aroma.
From: Amber Atteberry | 12/15/09 at 9:16 am
My mother has asked for a new candy thermometer for Christmas; however, she is looking for a specific feature. She is tired of fussing with the ones that clip on the side of the pan. She has asked me to try and find one that stands in the bottom of the pan. I can find oven thermometers that stand up all day long, but not candy thermometers. Is all the searching I'm doing for nothing, or does such a thing exist and I am just having the hardest time finding it? HELP! Thanks!
From: Heather Meldrom | 12/15/09 at 2:34 pm
Hi Amber,
I have never seen a stand up candy thermometer and could not seem to find one when I did a quick search. My guess is because so many candy recipes require stirring across the bottom of the pot in order to prevent burning/scorching and a stand up thermometer would just prohibit you from doing this.
I know that the traditional candy thermometers often are bulky and do not want to stay clipped to the side of the pot. I did find a digital thermometer where only the probe portion clips to the pot and the bulk of the thermometer stays out of the way. This model from Williams-Sonoma seems a bit more stable and likely to stay put while you work.
From: Heather Meldrom | 12/15/09 at 2:40 pm
Hi,
I could not find a drop cookie recipe in our archives which matched your description but there is this recipe from Living magazine which was published last December which seems very close to what you are looking for.
Hope this helps!
Heather
From: Mariela | 12/23/09 at 6:04 pm
Most of us have sweet memories attached to making holiday cookies (pardon the pun). It's no wonder the tradition continues to be so popular. Great post and pics!
From: Gail | 3/18/10 at 12:33 pm
Help! What changes do I make to your easy cake recipes for High Altitude (7000'). Can your send reply to my email address.
Thank you,
Gail
From: Joyce Potter | 2/26/11 at 11:41 pm
I have a lot of squash to use up and was wondering if I could substitute that for pumpkin in my recipes. Thank you.