I think the saying goes something like that! đŸ˜‰ In preparation for this upcoming Valentine’s Day, I couldn’t resists making these box of chocolate cookies! I don’t know if I can classify these under imposter cookies, which I love to make, but I’m doing it! And while I combined a few different decorating techniques to make these, they can be beginner friendly or as fancy as you want! Let’s open this box of chocolates!
Recipes
Before we get into the decorating details, let’s cover the recipes used! Consistent with the Valentine’s Day cookie theme here, we used our amazing strawberry cutout cookie recipe, which is listed below. The secret ingredient is the LorAnn’s strawberry emulsion, which you can find HERE. We use this emulsion frequently because it is SO delicious!
For royal icing, you’ll find our go-to recipe HERE. We use this recipe every day and it’s never failed us! It’s easy to make, easy to work with, tastes great and dries perfectly.
Royal Icing Transfers
The decorating process for these started by making royal icing transfers, which serve as the chocolates. These were super simple to make! For royal icing transfers, I always use a piping consistency of royal icing so that they hold their shape. I also always use sheet protectors for transfers, so they dry perfectly flat. Pro tip: you don’t want to use parchment or wax paper for transfers because they are porous papers, and they will curl from the moisture. You will be left with royal icing transfers that won’t lie flat. However, by using sheet protectors or sheets of acetate, they will dry completely flat. Plus, you can put any design template into the sheet protector and keep it in place!
Usually for royal transfers, I’m using some kind of template design. But for these, I just winged it. I used brown royal icing to make chocolates in a variety of shapes and sizes. I then popped the sheet into the dehydrator to quick set, avoiding any craters. Then I left overnight to completely dry. Here is what they looked like.
Brush Embroidery
The first step in decorating these cookies is using a technique known as brush embroidery. It’s a simple technique but can take a little practice to get your consistency right. All you need is a small brush, cup of water and a paper towel. We have a whole post all about brush embroidery which you can find HERE as well.
You’ll start by piping a scalloped edge along the cookie. Then dip your brush in water and dry off on the towel so that it is just barely moist. You’ll then drag the icing away from the edge so create the desired look. Here is an example from another design. I find this technique to be very forgiving and always ends up looking pretty.
Once you’ve completed the brush embroidery all the way around, let that dry. It will probably only take 15-20 minutes and could be sped up with a dehydrator. You can then simply outline and flood the heart. As soon as you flood this, you will gently place your royal icing transfers right into the wet icing. You can then carefully pipe details on top of your chocolates before letting the cookie dry completely.
Super cute, right?! It’s always fun combining several techniques to give texture and interest to your cookie designs. I hope this inspires you to try these techniques and create your own box of chocolate cookies!
Strawberry Cutout Cookie Recipe
Strawberry Cutout Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227g) Unsalted Butter Chilled, Cubed
- 1 cup (200g) Granulated White Sugar
- 1.5 tsp (7.4ml) Strawberry Emulsion (I use LorAnn's brand)
- 1 Large Egg Chilled
- 2 tsp (9.58g) Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp (3g) Salt
- 3 cups (360g) All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- I bake on my favorite perforated baking mats to eliminate any chance of spread, for even baking and pretty undersides of our cookies!
- In your mixer bowl (or large bowl with hand-mixer) cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 1 minute
- Beat in strawberry emulsion and egg
- In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, salt and flour. Add to wet ingredient mixing bowl a little at a time.
- Mix until thoroughly blended
- Chilling the dough is not necessary! I have tried many different ways of rolling our dough and always come back to the old-fashioned way; a sheet of wax paper that has been floured.
- I usually divide the dough into 3 chunks and roll out each onto a floured surface and cut. In my experience, this dough works best for cookies at 1/4" thick. I use my Joseph Joseph rolling pin which does the measuring for me – genius!
- Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes, depending on size of cookie. I also suggest baking similar-sized cookies together.
- Cool cookies on cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to cooling rack.
Notes
We use this recipe a lot with our vanilla royal icing, but it also pairs wonderfully with our chocolate royal icing. You can find that recipe combination HERE. And when spring and summer arrives, THIS recipe is a must!
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