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| 'Eye' got candy |
I have been wanting to do a step by step tutorial for long now but kept pushing it off for lack of time. Today, I decided to stop procrastinating and get down to it. Today, I am going to show you'll something that is very simple to make and so versatile in its uses. I came across this idea a long time ago, but it wasn't until I got an order for them that I got down to doing it. This is a great exercise that you can indulge in, come summer, with your kids as they will have a good time making them and an even greater time playing with them, of course, most of them will end up in their tummies before going on dessert projects :)
So without further ado, here they are. I have used them on smiley cookies, but their applications are endless. After all, a couple of baby blue eyes can up the aww factor of almost anything.
First, lets get started with the basic recipe for the icing. I use royal icing as it sets hard and lasts for a long time, some, almost a year if stored properly. I used the basic recipe found on Joy of Baking and tweaked it a little to suit me. You can experiment with the host of recipes available online once you get comfortable with it. I prefer to use meringue powder rather than raw egg whites as many debate the factor of raw egg whites containing food-borne pathogens such as salmonella. Better safe than sorry right. Here's the recipe for the Royal Icing:
Ingredients:
- One cup icing sugar
- 3/4 tablespoon Meringue powder
- One teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup warm water
- Food colouring in baby blue and black
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| Blue-eyed treats |
Method:
- Whisk the sugar and meringue powder.
- Add the vanilla extract and the water, bit by bit, whisking as you do so.
(Even though the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of water, you might need much lesser depending on the consistency, so add a little at a time)
- Beat the mixture on medium speed for about 5 to 6 minutes. You will notice that the consistency is runny at first, but stiffer as you beat.
- You can test if the icing is ready by using the ten second rule. You do so by lifting the whisker and letting the icing drop back into the bowl in ribbons. If the surface of the mixture becomes smooth in 10 seconds, you are good to go. If it is quicker than ten seconds, the icing is too runny and you need to add more icing sugar and if it is much longer, add a bit more water.
- Divide the icing in batches and colour them accordingly. You will need more white, a little less blue and much lesser black.
- Fill them into your individual piping bags. I use butter paper, roll them into cones and pipe away, but you can use various icing tips available. Make sure it has a small round opening for this recipe. Here's an example of a good tip from Wilton.
- Line your counter with butter/parchment paper and start piping like so:
Leave the candy eyes on the counter-top to dry. They might take anywhere from 4 hours to a day or so depending on the humidity of the area you are in. Once they are completely dry, peel them off carefully and store them in an airtight container. To attach them to cookies, dab a tiny dot of royal icing on the backside of the cookies and stick them where you want.
For instance, for the smiley face cookies, flood the cookies with your choice of coloured royal icing, once they dry, attach the eyes, pipe out smiles, a nose and eyelashes if you please and there you have it, a smiley face cookie.Experiment with consistencies according to your design.
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