Spider Web Sugar Cookies

Oh boy, here she goes again.  Making those cookies that she doesn't even really love, just for the sake of impressing some kids.  Yup, shameless I know ;)  I saw this spider web cookie cutter at Sur la Table for a buck and I knew that, combined with the pinwheel technique I learned back in July, we could make a winning time waster combination.  

The technique is almost exactly the same as the pinwheel technique, except you don't drag in and out, only out.  So in fact these are even easier to make than the 4th of July pinwheel cookies.  So easy that Taylor was easily able to make these alongside me.  In fact the white and black one pictured right next to the black one is her creation.  So if you have an hour to spare, here's how you go about making these spooky treats...

Repeat, repeat, repeat

I also added a bit more white frosting to my black to make a gray icing which turned out really nice.  I wish I would have made more in the white/gray color combination.

I passed these out after Taylor's soccer game and they were a hit.  Even the Coach came by for a cookie :)

You can see the original pinwheel cookies I made for the 4th of July here. You can also see a video tutorial in this post, and I give some tips I've discovered along the way that has helped me work with royal icing.

Oh, and by the way...the spider web cookie is now on sale for a 49 cents at Sur la Table!   If you don't feel like picking up the spider web cutter, you can easily just make round cookies and the spider web effect would still be just as cool.  Linking up with Heather for Life Made Lovely Monday.

Are there any other spooky fun treats you plan on making for Halloween this year?  I'd love to see some other ideas.  Leave a comment and a link if you're up to something fun.

Martha Didn't Lie: 4th of July Pinwheel Royal Icing Cookies

Thank you for visiting!  This tutorial is no longer available here, but you can find it at my new blog For The Love Of, by clicking here.  Thank you and enjoy!

Video Tutorial - Royal Icing

I made a video yo.  Try not to laugh ;)  I wanted to share with you my real life experiences working with royal icing, and instead of publishing a photo tutorial, I thought a video might be helpful.  Yes, I know there's hundreds of videos out there, but for those that read my blog, now you don't have to waste time scouring You Tube.  I have no idea if anyone is even interested in learning how to use royal icing, but for this amateur cook and baker, it has always been something I wanted to learn to do.  I consider conquering royal icing my personal climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  A little dramatic?  Maybe.  But you know I always err on the side of the dramatic.

Here's the recipe I use. 
Royal Icing (adapted from Williams Sonoma recipe)
3 egg whites at room temp
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
a few drops of vanilla extract for flavoring (optional)
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer with the whisk attachment and mix until combined. 

I tried the bagged royal icing from the cake shoppe that you just add water too but didn't like the taste or consistency as much.  The important thing about this recipe though is you have to add bits of water to it at the end to get the right consistency.  I explain this in the video though.

Before we move onto the video, I just wanted to say thank you very much for all your thoughts and prayers about our kitty Zach.  We've looked at both the local Long Beach and Orange County animal shelters since we live right on the border, but no sign of him.  Sure are a lot of cute kitties there though :(  I printed up fliers at work last night so we will hang those in the neighborhood today.  I'm still holding out hope though.  On facebook a few friends told me they lost their cat for days and they finally did come home.  Kimmie lost her cat once for almost 2 weeks before she finally came home.  So there's always hope right?