Bridget's PINK and RED Christmas Cookies~MAGIC!

I'm so haPPy you stopped by!
Guess who's here?
Guess who's here on Bainbridge to spread a little COOKIE~MAGIC!
Guess who's one of my besties in the whole wide world~not just in blog-land?
Guess who I chatted and giggled with for 2 solid hours on the phone last week?
Guess who's coming to SEATTLE~Bainbridge Island in March!?
Guess who's writing her very own COOKIE book?!
Guess who I blow about a million kisses to~at least once a week~all the way to Texas!
BRIDGET!
BRIDGET!
BRIDGET!
That's who!
Delighted to have you here my friend!
***********

Hey y'all!  I'm Bridget from Bake at 350!  I'm so, so happy to be here at Blooming on Bainbridge today!  {I mean, how can you *not* be happy surrounded by the JOY that is Teresa...Blooming on Bainbridge is one of the happiest places on earth! Hi, Greg!  Hi, Doogan!!!}

My theory is that blogs are like the eHarmony of friendships.  As soon as I "met" Teresa online, I knew I had found my bloggy soul-sister.


Here's how most of our conversations go:
"YOU love ruffles?!?  I love ruffles!!!"
"YOU love the song "Let it Be"?!? I love the song "Let It Be"!!!'
"YOU love Ina Garten?!?  I love Ina Garten!!!"
"YOU love bright lipstick?!? I love bright lipstick!!!"

Well, you get the idea.  One love that we share is the love of pink and red...together.  So, I thought I'd bring a little pink & red Christmas to Bainbridge (figuratively speaking)...and show you how to decorate some at your house!

{I promise, they are easy to decorate...and you might just get a few extra goodies in your stocking of you set them out for Santa!} 

Here's what you'll need:

• ornament sugar cookies
• royal icing, divided and tinted grey, red and pink {I use Americolor gel paste colorings and swear by them!  For these I used Super Black (just a bit), Super Red, and Deep Pink.}
• disposable piping bags
• couplers and #2 decorating tips
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks
• meringue powder
• silver sanding sugar
• red sanding sugar (optional)

First, you'll use a #2 tip to pipe the top of the ornament in grey icing.  Don't worry about making it perfect, you'll be covering it in sanding sugar.

Next, use another #2 tip and the red icing to outline the cookies.  Also, section off areas you'd like to fill with different colors.

Now, you'll thin the red and pink icings with water.  You'll want it to be the consistency of a thick syrup.  Add water a bit at a time and stir gently with a rubber spatula.  Cover with a damp dish towel and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula, popping any large air bubbles that have formed on top.  Pour the icings into squeeze bottles.

Fill (or flood) the outlines with the thinned icing.  Use a toothpick to guide icing to the edges and to pop large air bubbles.

Want to get dotty?  Fill an area in one color, wait a few minutes (I usually work about 6 cookies at a time, then go back to the first cookie), then drop dots of the other color on top of the wet icing.

How about doing a little marbling?  Instead of dots, like above, pipe horizontal lines of the other color.  Then, run a toothpick up and down through the icing.

Let the cookies dry, uncovered, 6-8 hours or overnight.

I like to add sprinkles and sanding sugar after the cookies are dry.  That way your "add-ons" will go exactly where you want them, and you won't worry about smudging the icing or having it run off the cookie.

Set up a sanding sugar station.  You'll need meringue powder mixed with water (I start with 1/4 teaspoon of each), sanding sugar, a small paintbrush and a coffee filter.

Paint the meringue powder mixture onto the cookie where you want the sanding sugar to stick.  Over the coffee filter, sprinkle on the sugar.  Shake off the excess; use the filter as a funnel to put back into the container.   


In the end, you'll have a pile of toothpicks that looks like this:

And a pile of cookies that looks like this:

So, there you have it...a pink & red Christmas!

Thank you, Teresa, for letting me hang out on Bainbridge today!!!  I'm SO going to make it there in person...SOON!!! :)