Frosting Transfer Cookies

It is a good thing I have a day job.

We were heading down to Seattle for Gman's birthday. The theme for the party was Octonauts, a cartoon about an underwater animal group that helps other creatures and one of Gman's favorites.  I decided to use this opportunity as one of my cookie of the month decorating challenges.  I found Octonauts edible transfers on Amazon and ordered them, thinking what a fun surprise it would be for Gman.

Well, I made the sugar cookies, covered them with royal icing and let them dry (and I need to practice my piping techniques).  Then the night before we were leaving, I went about the job of transferring the little frosting disks to the cookies.  I had watched a couple of You Tube videos, read several tutorials about using edible transfers, and I figured I was ready.

20 cookies ready for their frosting transfers

First off, you use a mixture of Karo syrup and vodka to make an edible glue and I haven't used Karo syrup for about 3 years now so the two tablespoons left in the jar were pretty stiff.  I microwaved it and thinned it according to the directions on the You Tube video that made me an expert at this, and went about painting the sweet adhesive on to the cookies.  I stuck the frosting disks into the freezer for 5 minutes and brought them to the table.  They were supposed to just flick right off once they were frozen, but it was a very wet day and they were stuck.  I used a small paring knife to carefully peel a few off and get them stuck down.  It was working, but it was slow work.

My mom went on the internet and starting reading tips on how to get the transfers off easily.  One tip was to pop them into a warm oven to help dry them out.  Well, I had just had my oven on for dinner, so I threw the sheet into the oven, counted to 10 and opened the door to find the backing sheet melted and crumpled up like a Shrinky-Dink! I guess a "warm oven" doesn't mean 350°F.  Now my mom and dad were committed to this also. We cut and pulled and ripped a few apart and we managed to get 8 transfers, out of 20, on cookies.  That will have to be enough for Gman.

Dad, working hard to get a few usable transfers off the shrunk paper.
That was an 8 1/2 X 11" paper!

So, while I don't really call it a successful cookie decorating experience, I did get some useable cookies and I learned a lot!

8 cookies packed and ready for Gman.

Next time I'll stick to fish biscuits (Octonaut reference there!)

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. orange extract, or vanilla or almond
2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. corn starch
3 cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, mix well.  Sift baking powder, corn starch and flour together.  Add slowly to butter mixture.  Divide mixture in half, wrap each half in cling wrap and shape into a rectangle.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness, cut out desired shapes and place on parchment lined baking sheets.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.  Bake in a 350°F oven for 8-10 minutes, until just set but not browned.
Decorate as desired.

1 year ago:    Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder and Soft Tortillas
5 years ago:   Lobo
7 years ago:   Salmon on the Grill

August 22, 2019  Sunrise 5:59 am  Sunset 9:45 pm  Temp. H 57/ L 41°F