CNY Special - Maneko Cat Cookie
Chinese New Year is around the corner and this year I hope to make it extra special for those of you who want to make something cute and yet at the same time simple. This Maneko (招财猫）cat cookie was inspired by a book I saw - seriously cannot remember the name of the book sorry guys, and it is 100% edible using royal icing and isomalt.
Before I start a project I always plan ahead. Planning is the key to creating beautiful pieces, so I always have the end in mind before starting any new projects.
For the Maneko template, I found it on Pinterest - for those of you who are interested - you can refer to this link. Otherwise, you can use the printable image found in this blog post too. I am using a 9cm x 11cm cat print out as a template.
Here are some of my notes and plans before I start!
Elements to create:
1. Maneko in sugar dough cookie
2. Fish
3. Bells at neck
4. 3D Ingots
5. Base of Maneko in sugar dough Cookie
Colors to create, use and their consistency ( I used myfavour colors from www.sugarsmithinc.com)
1. Golden yellow (bell and ingots - stiff)
2. Orange (orange - stiff)
3. Green (orange - stiff)
4. Brown (orange - stiff)
5. White (flood - cat)
6. Red (Stiff - cat collar and fish accents)
7. Black (stiff - cat accents and collar)
8. Orange Red (fish body)
I really like this brand as the colors which are produced are really long lasting and for someone like me who does not want to eat the cookie and just want to keep them as showpiece.
I always feel that a good sugar dough recipe is the key to making beautiful iced cookies. too soft and it is difficult to cut the shape out, too hard and its dry to eat. If your cookie is oily, some times the oil might seep out to the royal icing and affecting the shelf life of your cookie. So here's my favourite sugar dough recipe and I hope you like it!
There are various recipes out there for Royal icing and I think this is my favourite. It dries really quick and since there are no other flavouring in it, the color is really white.
Cookie dough recipe
Butter. 63g
Icing Sugar. 63g
Vanilla Essence 2g
Egg. 25g
Flour. 138g
Using a stand mixer combine butter and icing sugar until smooth ( do not over beat, the mixture should not be white or fluffy).
In a bowl combine vanilla essence and egg.
Add flour and egg mixture in alternate until a dough is formed.
Royal Icing Recipe
Icing Sugar 250g
Wilton Meringue Powder 12.5g
Water 32g
In a stand mixer combine all the ingredients and beat until it is thick and corse. Add water to your desired icing consistency.
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