Easter cookie charms and brownies

This can be a  fun project for kids or anyone looking for a little creative outlet.  No stress.  Don’t like what you painted?  Pop it in your mouth and try again!  When you are through, you will have a collection of beautiful cookies.  Use them to decorate a cake, cupcakes, or brownies.  Or, simply arrange them all on a plate to enjoy the cheerful array of colors. (For a minute or two, as they are sure to be quickly consumed.)

Use an egg-shaped cookie cutter to cut out rolled sugar cookie dough, bake, cool, frost with royal icing, and then get out the paint brushes and food safe colors and let your inner artist go to town.  You can get a vast array of colors at any store that sells cake decorating supplies.  Powder colors, which you will have to mix with water, and gel colors work  equally well.

In the above photo (upper left to lower right): Easter egg cookie charms; a brownie decorated with green tinted buttercream frosting, sprinkles, and an Easter egg cookie charm, and brownie eggs – made by attaching a cookie charm with a dab of frosting to a brownie cut with the same cookie cutter. 

These cookies above were cut using a mini cookie cutter.  A full-size cutter would be great for making cookie favors that would look beautiful in cellophane bags and wrapped with a bow.

Experiment, have fun.  It’s spring!

There will be ample Sweet Muse fudge brownies available for sampling, and gourmet brownie gift tins and individual brownies in a variety of flavors will be available for sale. Sweet Muse will also be featuring Easter and spring cookie charms to celebrate the new season and warmer weather.

Among the other vendors participating at the event will be Fretzels by Jill, offering delicious gourmet chocolate covered pretzels, and Gourmetibles, the candy that thinks it’s a cookie.

It’s an event guaranteed to please all sweet tooths and satisfying even the most persistent chocolate craving. More information is available at Chocolate World Expo.

If you go, please stop by and say hello.

You can purchase ready made sugar cookie dough from the store or make your own and cut out fun shapes with cookie cutters. If you don’t have cookie cutters in the shapes you want, you can use a knife to cut out shapes or letters. Plastic caps or small tin cans can also work to give you various sizes of circles (nice for a fun polka dot cake).

Decorate the cookies with colored sugar and then bake, or bake and then frost with royal icing. Ice the cookies in various shades or try swirling two colors of icing together to create a pretty design. If your inner artist is inspired, frost the cookies in white and paint your design using powder or gel paste food colors.

Once your cookies are done, they can be added to the cake. Use letters to spell out “Happy Birthday” on the top of your cake rather than writing it in icing, or stick the cookies to the sides and top to make it fit the occasion. A plain white cake becomes perfectly adorable with new baby cookies “sprinkled” all over it. Dress up a summer cake with flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, and ladybugs.

I dressed up some cupcakes from a local bakery for St. Patrick’s Day by placing shamrocks on top. I much prefer decorating with cookies than using standard sugar decorations because the cookies are prettier and much yummier.

Rachel opened the box and showed off the Toffee Bar Crunch Fudge Brownie that was on top. Each Buddy Box includes two 3×3 inch brownies, individually wrapped with an inspirational quote inside. The idea is that you can share one of the brownies with your buddy, though I’ve heard reports from many people that after trying the first brownie, the urge to share is significantly dampened. Adding four Cookie Charms, miniature hand-decorated sugar cookies, to the Buddy Box creates an especially delightful gift.