Customer Reviews

Cookie Craft: From Baking to Luster Dust, Designs and Techniques for Creative Cookie Occasions

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

What a gem of a cookie decorating book! Many books have been written on this subject; some OK and others are great---add this to the "great" list! Bakers and writers Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer have turned out quite the encyclopedia of cookie design and here's why.....

Visually, the photography is sharp, clear, and very detailed; this is necessary in any instructional book that needs to show you how it's product is to turn out. And instead of one page and one cookie, the cookies are grouped into a category and photographed all together on that page. Each cookie stands out alone, but as a finished photo, each category of cookies is lovely.

On the opposite page of each grouping of cookies, they have made a outlined, numbered chart that describes how each cookie was decorated, step-by-step, so that you can't make a mistake. How much more could a cookie baker ask for other than having Valerie and Janice make them for you?

Peppered throughout the book are sidebars and hints on all the little things that you can do to make your cookies just that much more perfect, along with all the trials and errors they've had over their years of baking, to help you avoid the same problems.

Then, to make your cookie experience even easier, they made cookie templates that you can zerox and enlarge in order to make the shapes and designs you see in the book. This is a wonderful part of their book, but for myself, I don't have the time and patience to do that, so in addition, they have listed some sources for cookie cutters. My personal suggestion for a great cookie cutter company would be "Fancy Flours" at "www.fancyflours.com". This company literally has hundreds of the most unusual and adorable cookie cutters, and they have every single one used in this book as well.

As a little sidenote, in Chapter 7, they teach you how to make cookies for construction pieces like houses, sleighs, gift boxes, etc. It is an excellent chapter and is worth the price of the book all by itself. It details what type of dough to use to withstand the weight of the project, how to construct each piece, etc.

The book is sectioned as such:

CHAPTER ONE: COOKIE CRAFT INSPIRATIONS

COOKIE CRAFTS for HOLIDAYS and SEASONS
New Year's
Winter
Valentine's Day
Winter Into Spring
Easter and Spring
Mother's Day
Father's Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving and Autumn
Christmas
Hanukkah

COOKIE CRAFT for CELEBRATIONS
Showers and Weddings
Milestones
New Baby or Baby Shower
Kid's Celebration and Sports
Girlfriends
Pets

CHAPTER 2: INGREDIENTS, SUPPLIES, and EQUIPMENT
Flours, icings (thickness, thinness, etc), cookie sheets, cookie cutters, color charts, how to use your supplies

CHAPTER 3: COOKIE CRAFT PLANNING
Designing cookes (it even has a suggested sheet to use and mark your notes), color palettes, organizing your work area, cleaning up

CHAPTER 4: COOKIE RECIPES for CREATING BLANK CANVASES
Rolled Sugar Cookies
Coloring Dough
Rolled Chocolate Cookies
Rolled Nutty Cookies
Rolled Gingerbread Cookies
How to cut the dough, how to roll it out, etc

CHAPTER 5: PRE-BAKING DECORATING TECHNIQUES
Imprinting an Unbaked Cookie
Creating Windowpanes
Making Holes or Cut-Outs
Adding Dimensions to Cookies
Painting with Egg Tempera and Using Eggwash
Sugaring A Cookie or Attaching Add-Ons

CHAPTER 6: AFTER BAKING DECORATING TECHNIQUES
Royal Icing Recipes (how to's, the consistency needed, etc)
Piping and Flooding (the quintessential skill for cookie decorating)
Decorating Techniques
Using Fondant

CHAPTER 7: SIMPLE TO SHOWSTOPPING COOKIE CRAFT CONSTRUCTION
Multi-Cookie Creations
Stand-Up Cookies and Cookie Pace Cards
Cookie Messages
Party or Shower Favors, Cookie Boxes
Double-Sided Cookie Pops
Halloween Haunted House Luminaria (awesome!)
Santa's Sleigh Centerpeice
Baking Cookies for Construction

CHAPTER 8: FREEZING, STORING, WRAPPING, and SHIPPING

CHAPTER 9: COOKIE CRAFT EVENTS
Bakesales, parties, cookie swaps, etc

RESOURCES
Suggested sources for cutter, baking supplies, etc

This is a very sweet book of knowledge, hard work, and creativity; you will be very happy with this as part of your baking library, thanks to Valerie and Janice!

If after this endeavor, you would like to go to the next level of cookie creations, I would highly recommend "Creative Cookies" by Toba Garrett; the dimensions of this art are boundless, and Ms. Garrett will instruct you as she is a Master Cake Designer and Sugarcraft Artist.

I was lucky enough to see the authors demonstrate this book's cookie decorating techniques at a store in Brooklyn on Sunday, and I bought two copies--one for me and one for a friend who always does a holiday cookie swap. I read it the same night, and immediately bid on three lots of cookie cutters on Ebay! I'm hooked, and I can't wait to try all their tips for cookie decorating. One of the smartest makes your cookies come out evenly, which has been a problem in the past. You just use two thin pieces of wood and roll your rolling pin along them to produce a perfectly even dough for cutting. The book is full of resources and fun ideas, but what captured my imagination was all the gorgeous color photographs! I think this is an amazing gift for any baker on your list, and you could make it extra special by topping your package with a fun cookie cutter. This isn't just a holiday book, either--reading it makes you think of all kinds of cookie "occasions". I'm planning to make cookies with my niece over Thanksgiving, and I can't wait!

This is a beautifully bound book full of color pictures of beautifully decorated cookies. It's giving me tons of great ideas for the holidays. There are also a lot of helpful hints--(e.g., how to keep your cookie cutters from rusting, how to roll out the dough to a consistant thickness) as well as detailed instructions for really cool party favors, centerpieces -- all made from cookies. The instructions break it down really simply, so it looks doable too. This is going to be the holiday book of choice for this year!

I just saw this book in a store yesterday, and had to bring it home with me- wow! It's beautiful, the cookie designs are beyond adorable, and the directions are broken down in such an easy way that anyone can make the beautiful designs. I'm already plotting the various cookies I plan to bake up as holiday gifts. (I think even my impossible-to-impress Mother in Law is going to be bowled over with these designs.) I'd recommend this gorgeous book to bakers of any and all experience levels. And anyone who likes to bake will love to receive this as a gift to add to their collection, too! Happy cookie making.

I needed a special hostess gift for a friend who bakes and also loves to add creativity and fun to food presentation. I was so glad to find "Cookie Craft" as the perfect book to give her (very reasonably priced too considering all the recipes, photos, patterns and tips inside.) My friend was so excited to thumb through the pages. She immediately planned out numerous cookies she wants to bake for the Holidays (Hanukkah included which is a nice plus). My friend was also keen on making cookies for some grown-up occasions as shown in the book which I never would have thought of-- an upcoming bridal shower and a "girl's only night." As someone who will be a guest at these parties too, I can't wait to see how these cookies turn out and how the other people react. We tend to think of cookies as a child's treat, but as my friend pointed out--watch who eats the cookies at a party--it is definitely the grown-ups too!

I highly recommend "Cookie Craft" for anyone who wants to entertain with special and unique cookies throughout the year.

I don't write reviews too often, but this book definitely moved me to write one. I have some time off after moving and wanted to teach myself a new skill, and my family loves sweets, so... cake/cookie decorating it is! Comparing to icing cakes, cookies are a breeze (at least to this novice.) The designs in this book are cute without being too twee, and are relatively easy to do. I made the wedding cakes and hearts, and both turned out great, despite NEVER having done it before! The cookie recipe is even good, and I was a little suspicious (I've just made the vanilla sugar base cookie.) Basically, be prepared to buy a little equipment (Amazon sells a great selection of cookie cutters, actually!) and spend some time. If you're making cookies for an event, start a day or two beforehand, or even make extra dough and freeze it for whenever you have a free weekend!

I can't recommend this book enough. I checked out probably 5-6 cookie books, I was totally unimpressed with the rest. This is the one to have! (Love the recipe for Royal Icing too. It worked great and I can use those pasteurized liquid egg whites - no ordering online if I don't want to!)

I am an experienced cook with some professional training looking for all of the great shortcuts an expert in making spectacular looking iced cookies could give. This book is fantastic, from not one but two experts who've combined their years of practice into one very well illustrated and succinct compendium of all the right facts. The illustrations are superb, and the pictures not only beautiful but they've made them informative too. Royal icing is carefully explained, pros and cons of different approaches. Book contains well written step-by-step time-organized instructions on how to set up for decorating. Buy this book if only to thank the women who wrote it for doing so many others of us the favor of sharing their hard-earned knowledge. I own a couple of hundred cookbooks and this is one of the best. Well done ladies !

These authors did their homework and put together a great collection of the best tried and true decorating and baking techniques. I'm a huge Martha Stewart and Food Network fan, and I've read or seen my share of commentary on sugar cookie "best practices" that seem to contradict what you've heard in other books and magazines (e.g., stick cookies in the freezer before baking / pop them immediately in the oven; only use Silpats to evenly bake your cookies / Silpats aren't worth the money; cool cookies on the tray to avoid breaking / remove immediately to avoid burning). What this book does differently is that it explains why something works for them and yet also acknowledges that the authors have tried other equipment or methods you may have heard of and tells you why they feel their method is the best. I love the no nonsense and to the point commentary in each section that explains their point of view (e.g., when to use wax paper vs. parchment paper, what are the best types of cooling racks, how can you safely remove intricately-shaped cookies, how long baking prep should take). They've organized their tips into super-helpful tables and checklists, and also provide tips on how to cut down on prep time. I would have liked to give this one 4 1/2 stars. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I don't think designs and decorating techniques are as strong as the baking tips sections. Some of the designs are gorgeous (e.g., winter, Valentine's) while others seem very basic (1 or 2 colors, basic decoration) or are poorly executed (uneven piping) in the photographs(e.g., New Year's, Christmas). You also have to remember that this book covers decorating essentially one type of cookie --- you're not meant to get a bunch of great recipes or varied ingredients or flavors in this book.

I am a pretty decent cook but NOT a baker -- I have never used a piping bag before nor have I ever made icing. Under a fit of curiousity and inspiration, I bought this book a few weeks ago and LOVE it! After reading the book and purchasing some suggested supplies, I did one test run of cookies and then a few days later made leaf and pumpkin cookies for my daughter's entire class. They loved them and they looked fabulous. The authors make cookie making and decorating as simple or complex as you would like for it to be. My designs looked a lot more complex than they were, thanks to the authors of this book who made it easy to get started. Couldn't recommend a better book for beginners, and the more complex designs (like a standing cookie sled centerpiece!) will challenge and inspire those who have been decorating for years. Since I'm a visual learner, the only negative is that I would have liked for the authors to provide a picture depecting the consistency of flood and piping icing, instead of a written description. However, I easily found pics online that answered my question.

Edit: I'm adding this comment one year later after purchasing this book. I've been decorating cookies this whole while and this book has become my cookie bible. The sugar cookie and chocolate/cocoa dough recipe in this book are the only two cookie recipes that I use. The chocolate sugar cookies taste almost like brownies. Yum! And the royal icing recipes work like a charm. I love how they give all the different recipes for icing depending upon if you use liquid eggs, powder egg whites, etc. I still find massive inspiration within these pages. I've bought several cookie books since this one, and though great for ideas, this is the only one that is my go-to for every cookie I make.

I picked this book up in a local store the other day. Everything is simple, and easily followed- the authors bring this art to anyone's level. Every cookie is beautifully pictured, with an accompanying caption on how it was made. It has great ideas for virtually every holiday/occasion. The authors include great tips on storage, shipping, tools, etc., as well as a few simple cookie recipes to use in your baking.

I'm buying one for every relative this christmas. I would recommend for anyone who loves to bake!