Pug-Face Cookies

Over time I've collected a lot of cookie cutters. Quite a lot, actually. Some I use fairly frequently (plain circle shapes, various heart shapes) and some I use only occasionally, like this big teddy-bear head:


My sister gave it to me a bajillion years ago. Thank you, sis! Recently, I realized that the teddy bear's head is pretty much the same shape as a pug's face:

So I made a batch of Sugar Cookies (recipe at the end of this post) and cut them out using the teddy bear shape. That was Day One.

On Day Two, I wanted to ice them with dark brown icing. But I had no brown food coloring in my pantry, and I didn't want to mess around with creating a brown out of blue/purple/yellow or some other ungodly mix of colors. That never seems to turn out well.

A quick search on Google found me a recipe for Chocolate Royal Icing (see end of this post).

Next, I figured out what parts of the cookie to ice. I rejected this version for being too dark and mean-looking:

This one looks better!


Next, I fitted my pastry bag with the smallest-aperture tip and piped all the lines in, including filling in the eyes and nose. Then I added a little more liquid to thin the icing, and "flooded" the ears, using a toothpick to pull the thinner icing around inside the ear shapes:

Voila! Pug cookies!


Pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs pugs!

Pretty cute, huh? And they taste delish.

So, why did I make pug cookies, anyhow?

The answer to that question will be revealed tomorrow!

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Sugar Cookies
(original recipe from Glamour magazine, mid-1970s)
(these cookies are under-sweet, because they are to be embellished with decorator's sugar or icing)

1/2 C. butter
3/4 C. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg, room temperature
1-3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

With electric mixer and a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg, then beat again. In a smaller bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the sugar mixture and beat until just blended. Form into a flattened ball. Wrap, and chill dough one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out half the dough to 1/8" thick. (Keep remaining dough in fridge.) Cut dough with cookie cutters and transfer to lightly greased baking sheets, spacing cookies 1" apart. Sprinkle with colored or flavored sugar (or bake cookies and ice later). Bake 7 minutes or until edges barely turn golden brown and cookies are firm to the touch.

Makes about 40 two-inch cookies.

Chocolate Royal Icing

1 lb. confectioner's sugar
1/3 C. unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbsp. powdered egg whites
7 Tbsp. warm water

In a large bowl, stir together sugar, cocoa, and egg whites until well blended. Add warm water, a tablespoon at a time, and beat with electric mixer until smooth. For a thinner icing, add more water, one tablespoon at a time.