Diamonds and pearls are usually given in jewelry boxes for Valentine’s day, but this year I’m giving them in cookie tins! These faux precious stones are made of sugar and entirely edible.
The jewels came from a favorite online baking supply shop (here). They’d catch my eye every time I browsed the edible decorations section and I’d always wondered if they were as pretty in person as they were in the pictures online. Boy, are they ever!
The large jewels are $15 for eight, or you can get sixteen clear diamonds for the same price. I think they are lovely, well packaged and worth every penny. That said, they also sell the molds inexpensively so I ordered a couple to see if I can make them at home. I’m eager to see how they turn out!
Tiny 2mm dragees were used to create the illusion of “prongs” for the jewels. I was able to place them with my fingers, but a pair of sugar-crafting-dedicated tweezers might allow for easier and more precise placement.
The clear diamonds are my favorite. They bring just enough bling and look great with any color frosting or fondant. The larger stones are best displayed on white because their color looks truer and brighter on a stark background.
The sugar cookie recipes are from the SprinkleBakes book and are my top pick for decorating. They hold their shape well and are slightly sweet; a perfect vehicle for the sweetest frosting your heart desires (though I’ve been known to eat a stack of ’em plain)
I used fondant on these cookies, and if you’re a fondant hater then I’d suggest you try Satin Ice brand ready-made fondant. It’s soft, marshmallowy-tasting and not overly sweet. I bought it on Sweetapolita’s recommendation and I’ve been hooked ever since. If you’ve tried Satin Ice and still don’t like fondant, then you probably just don’t like fondant. You might find rolled marzipan a more pleasing alternative.
Vanilla or Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Yield: Approximately two
dozen
This recipe is a great blank canvas for whatever cookie art you’re dreaming up. To make the chocolate version, omit the almond extract, replace 1 cup of flour with 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and blend it with the flour in step 3.
Vanilla Sugar Cookies
1/2 lb. (two US sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
- In a stand mixer fitted with the
paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together until just
incorporated. Do not over-mix at this stage, or the cookies may spread
while baking. - Add the egg and vanilla and almond extracts.
Mix again on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl
intermittently as needed. - In a medium bowl, whisk together
the flour and salt. Add to the butter and egg
mixture. Mix on low speed until a dough is formed and there are no
longer any streaks of butter in the mixing bowl. The dough will often
clump around the paddle attachment while being mixed. This is normal and a
good sign that your dough is the right consistency. If your mixture does not come together and is crumbly, add ice cold water 1 tbsp. at a time until the dough clumps. - Line a baking sheet with parchment
paper. - Turn the dough out onto a sheet of
wax paper and top with a second sheet. Roll dough into an oblong
disc between the paper with a rolling pin. Transfer dough – wax
paper and all – to a large cookie sheet. Wrap the dough tightly onto
the cookie sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. - Remove top sheet of wax paper and
roll dough a little thinner. It should not be sticky. You may
dust the surface lightly with flour if it is sticky, but not too
much! You don’t want streaks of white flour baked onto your pretty sugar cookies. - Roll dough to a ¼-inch to ½ -inch
thickness. - Cut out desired shapes from the
dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Be careful not to stretch
the cutout shapes or they will be distorted after baking. - Refrigerate the cutouts for 30
minutes. This will help the cookies maintain a crisp shape during baking. - Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the cookies for 15 to 20
minutes. - Let cool on the baking sheet for 5
minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Decorate the cookies when completely
cooled.
Jeweled Heart Sugar Cookies
Yield: About fifteen 4-inch cookies
I used a large 4 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter to cut the smooth-edged heart-shaped cookies. A slightly smaller scalloped heart-shaped cutter was used to cut the fondant. If you don’t have a smaller sized heart cookie cutter to cut the fondant, you can use the same one that you used to cut the cookie dough.
1 recipe Vanilla Sugar Cookies, baked into 4 1/2-inch heart shapes
1 recipe Chocolate Sugar Cookies, baked into 4 1/2-inch heart shapes
3/4 lb Satin Ice ready made fondant, white vanilla
Pink gel food coloring
Pearl dragees
2mm silver metallic dragees
An assortment of edible jewels
4-inch scalloped heart-shaped cutter
Fondant quilting tool or toothpick
- Divide the fondant in half and tint one portion with a little of the pink gel food coloring. Knead both pieces of fondant well. Roll out one piece of fondant with a rolling pin to 1/4-inch thickness on a confectioners’ sugar-dusted work surface. Keep the other piece covered or sealed tight in a zip-top bag for later use. Cut heart-shaped pieces from the fondant with the scalloped cutter. Cover them with plastic wrap so they stay soft and don’t dry out. Brush a baked cookie’s center with a little water using the artists’ brush. Place a fondant heart on top and press gently.
- With a quilting tool or toothpick make perforated lines that intersect on the fondant’s surface (It should look quilt-like). Use a piece of thick craft paper as a straight-edge if you have trouble keeping your lines straight.
- Place pearl dragee on the “x” where each line intersects. Press it into the soft fondant with your finger.
- Place a jewel in an upper corner of the heart and press it firmly into the soft fondant. If the jewel doesn’t want to stick, brush a little water or corn syrup on the bottom to adhere. Place 4 evenly spaced 2mm dragees around the small jewels, and 8 (2 per corner) for the large jewels. Press them in with a fingertip.
- Repeat with remaining fondant and cookies.
- Store in an air-tight container.
Beautiful! Love these.
Your photos are so inspirational!
These are stunning, and look delicious!
Wow, these cookies are so stunning! Love these edible jewels, I'll have to head to my baking store and see if I can find them!
Can I just say these are gorgeous?! They are so awesome that I literally have nothing else to say ( * o * )
xx
oh my goodness, your desserts are always the most beautiful things ever! and the edible jewels just take it over the top! amazing!
These have reached Alice in Wonderland levels of cuteness, and intricacy. I want to write "Eat Me" on them! Beautiful work, as always.
Wow! I don't think I could eat such beauties!:)
I love these – gorgeous!!!
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these are so pretty! I have also always wanted to use edible jewels. You have used them in such a tasteful way – this is so elegant and pretty!
So pretty! A great Valentine's Day treat.
Cheers,
Rosa
OMG 😉 it's so lovely!!!
Wow! These are so pretty! What a lovely design!
FoodNerd x
http://www.foodnerd4life.com
all cookies are good but i like jweled heart sugare cooky most.
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Absolutely stunning, Heather!
Have you ever tried Fondarific? It is WONDERFUL tasting fondant. The coffee flavor on a chocolate cake is my favorite. They have many flavors and colors. Give it a try and see what you think. It's the only fondant I use now.
http://fondarific.com/
Loved seeing your hand in one photo – it showed the scale of how lovely and large these cookies are and the scale of the jewels! I've often wondered about those! Such a pretty idea – those quilted bejeweled hearts are so special!
Absolutely gorgeous! And you are so right about Satin Ice! I love it…and it smells fantastic!
Amazing! I totally want some of those jewels ASAP, and the molds, too, but I can't find them on the website 🙁
Congratulations, your job is stunning!
Picture perfect! I'm with you – I could eat a stack of those myself 🙂
So lovely!! I ordered candy jewel molds over a year ago, and I've still not used them. What can I say? They scare me… These cookies are so beautiful, though…maybe I'll finally give them a go!
These are the prettiest cookies that I ever did see!!!!
I love sprinklebakes! I've been reading for months and have finally started up my own little foodie blog. Would love it if you (and your readers!) took a look. xxx
http://www.sophie-denise.com
@slambertrussell
Oh. My. Word. These are so beautiful and elegant!
Sugar cookies are always a favorite at my house. These are just gorgeous, not sure I could bring myself to eat them 🙂
These are fabulous! Loving the idea, Heather!
Beautiful! By the way, do you know what kind of filling is used to make sandwich cookies like you'd find in Oreos and such? I want to know what that filling is called (it's not fondant) and how to make it! Also I saw your book at JoAnns Fabrics today, nice job!
Too beautiful to eat. By the way my boyfriend has bought me your book as a Valentine's gift – I can't think of a sweeter present!
Oh gosh these are so adorable! Wouldn't want to eat them as they're too pretty!
You know, you could have a food truck selling just these and you would make people very happy while making a ton of money.
the end
Beautiful cookies, I love the sugar gems and will have to try them out. For an application like this I'd use homemade marshmallow fondant – cheaper than the purchased and is pretty darn tasty. You just need to make it a day or two in advance.
Cheers!
Hello! Been following your blog for a few weeks now and LOVE it! So inspirational, keep up the great work.
Those jewels are gorgeous. I've made some bu they never turn out as good looking. Such a beautiful touch on those lovely cookies.
So pretty! I almost wouldn't be able to eat one.
Almost. 😉
SO pretty! The jewels are such a nice touch!
Wow these are so pretty and sweet. I have seen the sugar jewels before, but love the way you have used them. Good luck with the mould I look forward to seeing how they work out.
http://www.paperthreadsugar.wordpress.com
Olá…
Que aspecto divinal e delicioso ;)… Adorei :)… Bjokas…
http://nacozinhadaleonor.blogspot.pt/
Wow, this is really nice. I'm not much of a baker but this recipe looks fairly easy and I wanted to give it a try. Just one question, after you place the fondant onto the heart shape cookies, do you still need to bake them in order for them to set in? Thanks
You put the fondant on after the cookies are baked, so there's no additional baking after you apply the fondant. Does that help?