June 8, 2011

Diamond Engagement Ring Sugar Cookies & the Wednesday Want

It's usually the little things that let me know I'm really going to hit it off with someone. One of my best friends and I have hardly anything in common and that became glaringly obvious the first time we met. Later in the conversation she mentioned she had a red KitchenAid (I'd just gotten mine at the time, and my mixer and I were, and are, I guess, still in the honeymoon stage). I knew right then things would work out- and we are best friend still, even if we're separated by miles and miles, nothing will change that. It's kind of the same with my friend Natalie. She has the same sheet pans as I do, happily lined with silpats, stacked with lids, and ready for all the baking they are meant to do. Yes, they're just objects- but they're also indicitive of a shared interest.

Natalie makes me the most beautiful cookies (this spring she made 400 butterfly sugar cookies, marbled and swirled and bigger than your hand) and so we commisioned her to make engagement ring sugar cookies for my brother's wedding luncheon. It was so fun coming over and seeing her process (I think everyone makes them differently). Her recipe is not very fussy and has fabulous results- without chilling the dough, leaving tons of space on the pan, or anything like that that I regularly do with still only mediocre results. She also has the steadiest hand and frosted perfectly smooth wedding bands (while I could only trust myself with the diamond!) I'll post the recipe soon.

It's hard to tell from the pictures but the cookies were incredibley sparkley and shiny, thanks to silver and iridescent edible glitter from ABC cake decorating.To get the white royal icing nice and white, we used Americolor White Gel food coloring (it was $5 for a huge bottle at the cake store) and added iridescent glitter for the diamond. The grey to mimic the white gold bands was made with the white coloring with a little Americolor black- silver glitter on top. We tried the Wilton black first and ended up with lavender frosting. They came out beautifully and I'm so grateful to Natalie for sharing her time and talents to help make the day a little more special. I'm also grateful she had four sheet pans so we can get them done because mine were all busy making brownies...

I think I've sharing this picture before but it perfectly demonstrates why I love love love the Nordicware lidded half sheet pans (also called jelly roll pans or cookie sheets around these parts). I had a few of these from wedding gifts, my mom had a different style, and last year we finally bit the bullet and bought a huge matching set. Now we each have four lidded pans that make projects so much easier. I think the secret is to have the same so they stack so perfectly. I have seen these at Ross and TJ Maxx occasionally but the best deal I found, when I wanted a whole bunch, was at Amazon- the four piece set- one lidded half sheet pan and one lidded quarter sheet pan (perfect for a regular batch of brownies) for a few dollars more than the big pan and lid by themselves. Pretty regularly they go on as part of Amazon's buy three get one free promotion. Now our pans can bounce back and forth and all hang out happily together.

I know matching cookie sheets, lined with silpats, isn't the most important thing in the world (or best indicator of friendship) but I love these pans- especially with a big project going on. Last week I made four large pans- that's two batches each- of cheesecake brownies (shown above) and four large pans of chocolate mint 'BYU brownies' for the reception and loved seeing them all stacked up and pretty- safely covered, protected from little wandering hands, and absolutely delicious. Do you have a ridiculous obsession with pans like I do? Please someone say yes...

10 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, those are so cute!!

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  2. Thank you for sharing these pans ... I am new to your blog and just ordered my set on Amazon. I LOVE my half-sheet pans and silpats, but had no idea that there were pans with lids. :)

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  3. I, too, have friends with similar relationships :) Those cookies are absolutely gorgeous!

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  4. LOve LOVE LOVE those cookies! I want some! Those are probably the coolest one's I've ever seen...and I love that they have sparkles!

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  5. My obsession is those little corn stabbers that hold a steaming boiled ear of golden deliciousness.

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  6. Those cookies are stunning! Just beautiful. The pans are great - I'm going to look into these!
    Thanks
    Mary
    ps I love your blog - i signed up as a follower

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  7. Those cookies look incredible! Oh and they are making me crave Natalie's cookies now!! I'm excited she is sharing her recipe :)

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  8. I am so glad Claudia had you come talk about your blog yesterday...I LOVE to blog stalk. I also love cooking and baking, so this is awesome for me! And yes, I have an obsession with various pans/appliances in my kitchen and pantry. My all-time favorite pot is my 6 qt. blue enameled Emeril cast iron dutch oven. Then there's the stand mixer, the food processor, the sheet pans (of course), the mini muffin tins, and many more. Are you into The Pioneer Woman and Tasty Kitchen, by any chance? We should talk food. :)

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  9. Those turned out great Annie! I love the sprinkles!

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