Decorated Cookies (Twenty to Make)

Sept 10

Most of us enjoy a cookie, but add some sugar paste and a splash of imagination and they become something quite different. Here are twenty ideas for decorating cookies and bringing your celebration table to life

This is not a book of cookie recipes; there is just one at the beginning so you can get started right away without having to comb through your recipe books. There are ideas for different flavours however, and instructions on cutting out using cutters. On the last page are instructions on making faces, as many of the ideas use these. Each project contains a page-sized photo of the item, often with another variation beside it. The facing page tells you what equipment you need to own, the ingredients and quite detailed instructions. These do not feature staged photos, but I think that most of the projects are simple enough for a sugarcrafter who has mastered the basics to tackle. The challenge is going to be making them look as perfect as the pictures in this book! Choose from pirate, flower, butterfly, Easter duck and bunny, the inevitable teddy bear, Halloween witch, wedding cake, new baby and christening, and various Christmas project to name a few. All are detailed and quite gorgeous; eating them would be a shame but if you are like me you just hate to waste good food...a lovely and inexpensive addition to any sugarcrafter's library.

OCT/NOV12

An essential tool for bakers, this book includes instructions for making the cookies themselves (though ready-made cookies are also fine), notes on the equipment needed, and each project is accompanied by clear, step-by-step instructions and complete materials and tools lists. A great source of ideas and inspiration for anyone keen to make and design decorated cookies of their own.

Nov 10

If you love baking cookies, then this great little practical craft book by Lisa Slatter will provide you with plenty of inspirational ideas on how to decorate them.

Decorated Cookies starts with an essential recipe for making your own cookies and outlines the equipment you'll need to create iced designs. The book then goes on to explore a wide variety of different cookie shapes, styles and designs you can create for all number of occasions, including Christmas, children's parties, weddings, new babies, Halloween, winter, romance or any other occasions.

The designs are all very eye-catching and impressive, but there are step-by-step instructions provided to help you achieve the same effect on your cookies. Several of the designs, such as for the pirates, teady bears or clown cookies, involve making faces and there's a useful page at the back of the book with some excellent ideas on how to create realistic faces on cookies. It covers things like making a nose, eyes, cheeks and ears and is ideal for anyone wanting to decorate cookies with face designs.

It's hard to pick a favourite design, and we're keen to try lots of them, but favourites include the Summer Sunflowers, Magical Butterfly, Winter Cheer, Christmas Spirit and Fairy Castle.

Lisa Slatter lives with her family in Buckinghamshire, UK. She is the Deputy Head of the Knightsbridge PME School of Cake Decorating in Enfield, UK. Lisa is a City & Guilds qualified Sugarcraft Teacher and an Accredited Demonstrator for the British Sugarcraft Guild. Teaching the art of sugarcraft both nationally and internationally, she has won many awards for her work and is a regular contributor to Cake Craft & Decoration magazine. Sugar Flowers is Lisa's second title in the Twenty to Make Series, Decorated Cookies, published in June 2010 was her first.