Enliven this season's dozen with more than a dip in pastel dye. Using the simple technique of decoupage, paper cutouts in different patterns and designs are adhered to humble eggs. 

Martha shows them made of paper, but we know they can be as edible as the egg and twice as real looking.

• For laying flat on the egg, adhere with water on the back.
• For realistic butterflies with wings 'floating', use roayl icing for the body and adhere to egg with royal icing.

Blowing out an egg How-To
1. Pierce both ends of a raw egg using the tip of a sharp craft knife. Twist knife gently in holes to widen them slightly, with bottom hole a bit larger.

2. Poke a straightened paper clip into the larger hole; pierce yolk, and stir.

3. Hold egg, larger hole down, over a bowl. Insert the tip of a rubber ear syringe (available at drugstores) into smaller hole. Blow air into egg to expel its contents. Rinse egg with warm water; drain. Blow air into egg again. Let dry.

Egg-shaped boxed - make them edible!
Egg mold
Coating chocolate
Pour chocolate into mold, turn to coat. Dump excess onto wax paper to remelt and reuse. Repeat this process to thicken the shell.
Fill with goodies!

Ingredients serves 8-10 1 3/4 cups cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans  2 teaspoons baking powder  1/2 teaspoon salt  2 1/2 cups packed sweetened shredded coconut  6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans  1 1/2 cups sugar  3 large eggs  1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk  Seven-Minute Frosting Piped Spring Flowers

ROYAL ICING Meringue powder replaces egg whites in some recipes, especially those that aren't cooked.  It's available at wilton.com or well-stocked  cooking stores. If you would like to tint the icing, add gel-paste food coloring. RECIPE|Meringue Powder|Flavorings

Instructions
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 9-inch egg-shaped cake pans, tapping out excess flour. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup coconut in a medium bowl. 
  Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and almond extract, and beat until incorporated. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with coconut milk, and ending with flour mixture. 
  Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans on wire racks for 30 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; let cool. 
  Trim flat sides of cakes with a serrated knife to create an even surface. Dab some frosting in the center of a serving platter or cake stand. Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on top of frosting, and spread 1 cup frosting on top. Top with remaining cake layer, flat side down. Spoon 1/4 cup frosting into a piping bag fitted with a small star tip, and reserve. Working quickly, spread remaining frosting over entire cake. Pipe a tip 18 decorative garland around circumference of cake with reserved frosting. Press piped spring flowers gently into the frosting to decorate if desired. Mound remaining coconut around cake. 
  Using a wooden skewer as a guide, cut cake into slices about 2 inches thick. Cut each slice in half vertically, and serve. 

12" Cardboard trays|Drop flower tip 2D|Coloring|
 

Page 28: cookie cutters tree 1101 or 1601 
and reindeer

Page 44: Cake ring (many choices of sizes)

Page 54:  (pastel sequins and many others)
  Sprinkles
  Nonpareils
  Aspic cutters

Page 58/59:
  Christmas cookie cutters
  Edible Glitter
  Dragees (edible silver balls)
  Brushes
  Spatulas
  Rolling pins

Page 60: Coarse sugar
Page 64: Edible Glitter (every color!)
Page 106:
  Tiny rolling pins, guide rings
  Mica-Powder (edible petal dust)
  3" round cutter

Page 114: Floral wire

Page 120: Food coloring

Page 140: Baking sheets, Perfect fudge

Page 149:
  Alphabet/Letter cutters
  Disposable Decorating bags
  Decorating tips
  Fine sugar

Page 155: Doilies(paper or glassine)

Page 157: Personalized Printed Labels (Lolypop tags) ideas too...

Page 176: WINTER BARK: swirled milk and white coating chocolate hint: they melted, swirled and poured onto wax paper. Then they layed a sheet of wax paper over it and pressed flat. Chill and remove wax paper. This is how it became so smooth.

Page 180: Chocolate covered Oreos mold

Page 216: Marzipan
 

JANUARY 2008

Food Coloring, Page 113: Baker's Preferred Teal, Violet, sky blue, royal blue, tiny square cakes
Food coloring,  Page 133 to 138 by Americolor: Forest Green, Dusty Rose,

Helpful Hints and cookie icing recipes(also see HINTS link)

tip For the best results, measure your flour by weight instead of volume. (1 cup of all-purpose flour equals 4-1/2 oz.) If you don’t have a scale, be sure to use the proper technique when filling your measuring cups.

Lemon-Rosemary Christmas Trees
For the Cookies:
15 oz. (3-1/3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the Icing: 
1 large egg white (see note at right)
6-1/2 oz. (1-1/2 cups plus 2 Tbs.) confectioners' sugar; more as needed
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Decorating sugar or edible dragees (optional)
Make the cookies:

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt. With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest and rosemary. Add the egg and vanilla; continue beating until well blended and smooth, about 30 seconds more. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix until the dough is just combined; don't overmix. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions.

Roll one half of the dough between two sheets of parchment to an even 3/16-inch thickness. Slide the dough and parchment onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line four cookie sheets with parchment.

Using a 3-1/2-inch (or similar) Christmas tree cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and arrange them 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. Press the scraps together, reroll, and cut (if the dough becomes too soft to handle, chill until firm). Repeat one more time and then discard the scraps. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake two sheets at a time until the cookies' edges are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating and swapping the sheets' positions halfway through for even baking. Cool the cookies on racks.
 

Make the icing: 
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white, sugar, and lemon juice until smooth. If not using immediately, transfer the icing to a small bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the icing to prevent it from drying out.

Decorate the cookies:

Spoon some of the icing into a small pastry bag with a small (3/16 inch) plain tip. (Or use a small plastic bag and cut a tiny bit off a bottom corner of the bag.) Pipe the icing onto the cookies to outline the rim. (If the icing is too thick to pipe, put it back in the bowl and stir in water, a drop at a time, until it pipes easily but still retains its shape. If the icing is too thin, add confectioners' sugar, 1 tsp. at a time.)

If using decorating sugar or dragées, apply them while the icing is wet. Once the icing is completely dry and hard, store the cookies in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

This seven-inch flake, prettier than a gingerbread house or a gingerbread man, is big enough to share -- but who really wants to? Sanding sugar atop piped royal icing gives it an icy sheen.

To outline a cookie
 Spoon some of the icing into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain tip and outline the rim of a cookie with the icing. (Practice first on a piece of cardboard or waxed paper. If the icing is too thick to pipe evenly, put it back in the bowl and stir in water, a drop or two at a time, until it pipes easily but still retains its shape.) Scatter sprinkles or sparkling sugar over the icing, if you like. Set the iced cookies aside to dry.

To coat an entire cookie with icing
 Have ready a small clean artist’s brush (one that you use only for food). If you want to use colors, set out a bowl for each color, portion the icing into the bowls, and stir drops of food coloring into each until the desired shade is reached. Outline the rim of a cookie with the icing as described above and let harden slightly. Dampen the brush in water and  spread a small amount of additional icing in an even layer within the cookie’s border. Decorate the cookie with sprinkles, sparkling sugar, or edible dragées, if you like. Set the cookie aside to dry. Brushes

Once the icing is completely dry and hard, store the cookies in airtight containers at room temperature for two to three days or in the freezer for longer storage.

The cutter |

Box for 7" snowflake & other cookies