Mini 3-D Barn Cookie
I wanted an excuse to make a gingerbread house in July, but I didn't feel that gingerbread lent itself to the heat of summer so my mom made a batch of sugar cookie dough instead and I created a barn template. This adorable red barn is replete with piles of hay, a fresh coat of red sanding sugar, and hens pecking for grain.
Recipes and templates are provided.
What you will need:
Cookie: Sugar Cookie Dough - one recipe yields approximately 4 barns (see BAKE)
Icing: Royal Icing (see BAKE)
Decoration: 1/4 cup dark wafer chocolate, 1 cup red sanding sugar, 1/2 cup white sanding sugar, shredded wheat
Colors: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue liquid gel colors
Miscellaneous: 2 half sheet pans, parchment paper, pastry bag, coupler, pastry cones, barn templates, turntable, 8-inch (or larger) cardboard round or flat serving plate for the barn base.
How to:
1.Prepare the Sugar Cookie dough. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper.
2.Cut out the cardboard barn template using the templates provided.
3.On a lightly floured surface, roll out the sugar cookie dough 1/4 -inch thick. Chill for 5 minutes. Place the cardboard templates on the dough and run a paring knife around the edge of each template. You will need 1 base, 1 front, 1 back, 2 sides, 4 roof pieces, and 2 chickens (we used a clover canopy or pastry cutter). Carefully slide a metal spatula under each cookie and transfer it to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart.
4.Bake the cookies for 10 -15 minutes or until lightly colored. Let them cool completely on their pans.
5.Prepare a batch of royal icing.
6.Reserve 1 cup royal icing. Prepare the colored icing: approximately 1 1/2 cups red, 1/2 cup royal blue, 1/3 cup yellow, and 1/3 cup green, 1/3 cup orange. Place approximately 2 tablespoons of each color into separate pastry cones.
7.Melt the dark wafer chocolate in a small glass bowl and pour 2 tablespoons of it into a pastry cone. Keep the chocolate warm on a heating pad or a pan placed over a hot water bath.
8.With a small offset spatula spread a thin layer of red icing onto the barn sides, front, and back. Immediately sprinkle red sanding sugar over the top of each. Shake or dust off any excess sugar.
9.With a small offset spatula spread a thin layer of blue icing onto the 4 roof sections. Immediately sprinkle white sanding sugar over the top of each. Shake or dust off any excess sugar. With a small offset spatula spread white icing onto the small chickens. Immediately sprinkle white sanding sugar over the top. Shake or dust off any excess sugar.
10.Spread the remaining green royal icing evenly over the base.
11.Cut a small hole in the dark chocolate pastry cone and pipe thin vertical lines, 1/4-inch apart, on top of the front, back, and sides. Pipe square hay windows on the front and back (see photo).
12.Place the reserved untinted icing into a pastry bag with a coupler and a #44 flat tip. Using the photograph as a guide, pipe 2 vertical lines and one horizontal line on the front and back of the barn. Pipe a window frame around the hay windows. Pipe a white z on the front barn doors. Pipe chocolate door handles.
13.Cut small holes in the tip of the red, orange, and white pastry cones. Using the photograph as a guide, finish decorating the chickens. Pipe white feathery wings, orange beaks and legs, and red cockscombs and wattles. Set aside.
14.Place the remaining red royal icing into a pastry bag with a # 8 round tip.
15.Adhere the sugar cookie barn base to the center of the base with a dot of royal icing. Pipe royal icing around the perimeter of the base. Adhere the front of the barn to one side of the base. Pipe royal icing up both edges of the front. Adhere the sides of the barn to the front and the base and again pipe royal icing on the exposed edges of the sides. Adhere the back in the same manner.
16.Pipe royal icing around the top edge of the barn. Pipe royal icing along one long edge of an upper roof panel and place it on one side of the upper roof. Attach the other upper roof panel so that it adheres to the first. Pipe royal icing on the exposed long edges of the upper roof panels and attach the lower rook panels flush with the upper panels.
17.Attach the chickens to the barn corners with dots of royal icing.
18.Sprinkle shredded wheat on the ground around the barn.
19.Pipe additional hay, grain, and blades of grass with the remaining yellow, orange, and green icing.
