We made some desserts for a baby shower last weekend. Not only were they delicious, they were beautiful. All decked out in pink and purple frosting with some dark chocolate and sprinkles for contrast, the dessert platter turned out really nice. All of these treats would be a beautiful addition to a shower or wedding dessert bar with the frosting tinted according to the event color scheme.
The pretzels were very simple to make, simply melting white or dark chocolate as directed on the package, and then coating the pretzels with the melted chocolate and letting them dry on wax paper. The white chocolate was tinted light pink and we sprinkled the goodies with white or multicolored sprinkles before the frosting was set. The little checkerboard pretzels are super easy and the pattern really holds the frosting nicely. If you're in a hurry, these are definitely the way to go.
The cookies are a favorite and very simple recipe. The frosting is simple to mix and tint as well, and very fun to customize for any occasion or holiday. I like to make a batch at Easter with a mix of pretty pastel frostings. Warning.... they disappear fast! Of course this can be a good thing if you don't want sweets in your house too long.
Here's the recipe:
Melt in Your Mouth Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened
1/3 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. corn starch
1 c. flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the frosting (recipe below) for immediate use after the cookies are baked.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the softened butter and sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the corn starch and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend with mixer or hands until thoroughly blended.
Roll dough into 1" balls and press down in the center with your knuckle or a spoon to make an indent to hold the frosting.
Bake about 12 minutes.
Icing
1 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. melted butter
food coloring to tint, if desired
Mix these three ingredients well in small bowl and thin with a few drops of milk at a time to thin. I like to load the frosting into a disposable bakery piping cone for ease in filling the centers of the cookies after baking. You can also use a plastic food bag with one of the corners snipped off.
As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, pipe the centers with the frosting to fill the indention. The heat from the warm cookies will help the frosting to settle smoothly. Cool before stacking on top of each other so the icing hardens a bit.
Enjoy these tasty and beautiful treats!
