As I’m sure you already know, Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away. Holla! 3-Day weekend! (Do cool people still say “holla”? Did I just out-date myself?) Anyways, Memorial Day typically marks the beginning of the summer season.
If you’re looking for an easy, summer-themed cookie idea that promises great results every time, I have the perfect suggestion– fondant impression mats. Wilton has this great sea life mold that offers a variety of nautical designs all on a single mat. These impressions are ideal for cookies because the molds themselves are relatively shallow and have a flat back surface. Just attach them on a cookie to add instant color and dimension.
Before I continue, I should preface by saying I had never handled fondant before. I have always wanted to though, because it looked like a lot of fun, just like playing with Play-doh. Because I was a first-time fondant user, I relied heavily on the tips by Marlyn of Montreal Confections. She has an amazing YouTube channel of detailed tutorials on using fondant as well as other sugar mediums. It’s worth spending some time checking out Marlyn’s sugar artistry in action.
Okay, let’s get to it. To make these cookies you will need:
- Basic sugar cookies
- Piping and flood royal icing
- Fondant (I used Wilton’s pre-made white fondant)
- Vegetable shortening
- Corn starch
- Americolor food coloring gels
- Sea life fondant mold
Begin by outlining then flooding sugar cookies with royal icing in the color of your choice. I used one drop of Americolor teal to achieve the light blue color below. I went with round cookie cutters for this batch, but any shape would do. After all the cookies are flooded, set them aside to dry for a few hours.
Now comes the fun part…
With a fluffy, food-only paintbrush, lightly dust the fondant molds with corn starch. This will prevent the fondant from sticking to the mold and will make removing the finished shape really easy.
TIP: Make sure not to leave any clumps of corn starch in the mold or it will leave a bad impression on the fondant. (Leaving bad impressions is never good.) Just a light dusting will do, like it’s barely even there.
Next, grease your palms and fingers with shortening to prevent fondant from sticking to your hands. Then, roll a small piece of fondant into a ball and place it in the mold.
Press the fondant down firmly into the mold with your fingers, pushing it into all the nooks and crannies. Level off the top and remove any excess fondant by gliding your thumb across the top of the mold. (If fondant is sticking to your thumb, grease your thumb with more shortening.) Make sure you can clearly see all the top edges of the mold before moving on to the next step.
Bend the mat back to remove the fondant piece.
You should be left with a nicely defined sea life accent. Remember to dust the mold with corn starch before beginning the process again with another shape.
To color your fondant, simply add a few drops of food coloring gel and knead the fondant until the color is well incorporated.
I should also mention, for the coral and ocean wave molds, I found it was a lot easier to get fondant into those molds if I rolled the fondant into thin tubes first. (shown below)
After making all the fondant accents you desire, leave them out on a flat surface for a few hours to dry and harden up a bit.
After both the cookie bases and the fondant had time to set and dry, it’s time to assemble the pieces. I first planned out a few combinations by laying out fondant pieces on the cookies. Then, when I was happy with my combo choices, I used the same royal icing to attach the fondant to the top of the cookies.
Below are just a few finished cookie examples I came up with. After allowing them time to set they should be ready to party! Easy peasy for realsies.
GIVEAWAY TIME!
If you would like to try these cookies for yourself then you are in for a treat! The awesome people at Wilton are giving away a Summer-themed prize pack to one lucky winner!
The prize pack includes:
- One Sea Life Fondant and Gum Paste Mold
- One Summer 3-pc. Cookie Cutter Set
- One Extra Fine Tip FoodWriters Edible Color Markers
To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below. (Those viewing this in an email or blog reader will need to visit the actual blog post by clicking here. The widget may not appear if you are on a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet.) Please allow a few moments for it to appear. Bonus entries are available for following along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Open to U.S. residents only.
