Christmas 2007 Cookie Train
- 1 batch Cookie Cutter Cookie Dough (Plain: https://cookpad.com/en/recipes/147715-mama-s-golden-recipe-basic-cut-out-cookies?ref=search)
- 1 batch Cookie Cutter Cookie Dough (Cocoa: https://cookpad.com/en/recipes/147715-mama-s-golden-recipe-basic-cut-out-cookies?ref=search)
- 1 Icing
- 1 Sugar decorations
- 1 Assorted candies for decoration
- 1 Homemade sweets for decoration
- Since I only have a limited amount of time to make this, I spread the work out over several days.
- I planned things out so I just needed to do a little bit every day.
- On the first day: Develop the design and create the patterns.
- Match the pattern that you plan to use for the train to the size of the baking sheet that you will use.
- I prepared the dough while considering how much of it I needed.
- I made the cocoa dough rather dark.
- Freeze the dough.
- The train is made up of these pieces: 8cm square sides, 5cm wide main body (the front and back walls are 5cm high), and a 7cm x 10 cm roof.
- I cut windows in the wide panels.
- The chimney is a 3 cm diameter cylinder.
- The front engine body is a 4.5 cm diameter cylinder.
- The very front part is a trapezoid with the sides being 3.5 cm and 5 cm, with a height of 2.5 cm.
- The freight cars are 8 x 5 x 5 cm.
- Day 2: Defrost the cookie dough until it is easy to work, roll it out, and cut out the shapes.
- Place the cut out shapes on pieces of plastic wrap and cover with another piece of plastic wrap.
- Place in the freezer.
- I made candy cane shapes from the leftover cookie dough.
- Day 3: Place the cut out dough train pieces on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in the oven.
- Bake the decorative cookie parts at the same time.
- Make the royal icing.
- Mix dehydrated egg whites with powdered sugar and add some water (probably just a few drops).
- I made the icing rather still so that it could be used as adhesive.
- Day 4: Using a knife, repair and adjust the pieces that have become warped or puffy in the oven.
- At the same time, carefully shave off the edges of the cookie pieces so that they are at a 45 degree angle, so that it's easy to stick them together.
- Put the royal icing into a piping bag and use it to stick the cookie parts together!
- Set them aside and leave to dry completely.
- Day 5: Line up the cookies on atray and use icing to draw on snow.
- Load up the freight cars with candies and chocolates...and it's done.
- Here's what it looks like from the side.
- Here's what it looks like from the front looking down.
- I sprinkled the tray with red and green decorative sugar crystals.
- I also added snowflake shaped sugar sprinkles.
- I decorated the inside and outside of the freight cars with snacks and sweets.
- Postscript: After disassembling the train, break up the larger cookies into appropriate sizes and place in an air tight container.
- I gathered up the leftover pieces and fragments, moistened them with fresh cream (or milk), add melted chocolate and form into balls..
batch, batch, icing, sugar, decoration, decoration
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/147711-christmas-2007-cookie-train (may not work)