By: Mindy Cohrs from Mindy’s Bakeshop
Holiday season is upon us and, like any normal human being, my mind is stuck on one thing and one thing only: PIE. Pie is sort of like the beloved mascot of the holiday season. It’s the one thing that we all look forward to at the end of the day, am I right? That silver lining that makes too much family time totally worth it. And no matter how much turkey you’ve managed to put away, there’s always room for a slice of your favorite.
These cookies are an homage to my favorite food at the dinner table. They make super sweet host gifts for the person slaving over a hot stove to cook your ham and green bean casserole and, bonus, they act as the perfect dessert alternative for all those opposed to pie. Make these and celebrate the holidays with me in the most festive and delicious way possible. Yay cookies!
To make them you’ll need:
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Rolling Pin
- Pie Slice Cookie Cutter from Cookie Cutter Kingdom(I used a 3” but any size will work!)
- Pie-crust color glaze (I used Americolor Ivory mixed with just the tiniest bit of Warm Brown)
- Pie-crust color royal icing, piping consistency
- Cherry filling color glaze (Americolor Tulip Red with a touch of Maroon)
- Cherry filling color royal icing, piping consistency
- White royal icing, piping consistency
- Piping Bags
- Small Petal Tip (I used Ateco #102)
- Small Star Tip (I used Ateco #13)
Begin by rolling out your dough on a lightly floured surface to about ½” thickness. Cut out cookies with pie slice cutter, bake, and allow to cool completely before decorating.
While your cookies cool, make your icings and transfer them into piping bags. Since these cookies don’t have a lot of intricate piping I like to use tipless bags for everything except for the whipped cream swirl and crust ribbon. Just snip the tip to the desired size and you’re ready to go!
Start decorating by outlining your cookie in your crust-colored piping consistency royal icing. Make the bottom of your pie slice stand out by going over it a few times and giving it a little extra definition.
Using your flood consistency icing, fill in the top crust part of the cookie and let dry for about 1 hour. Tip: dry your cookies in front of a table fan for a shinier finish!
After your top crust has had time to set up a bit, use your cherry-colored flood icing to flood the filling part of your pie slice. Now take your piping consistency filling-colored icing to make 2 small “vents” on the top of your cookie. Do this by squeezing your piping bag until a nice dot forms. Stop squeezing and pull to form a tear-drop shape. Let filling dry for about an hour.
Now come back with your filling-colored piping consistency royal and add the cherry details. Pipe small, misshapen dots in a random pattern, some bigger and some smaller, all over the filling section of your cookie to make it look realistic.
Next, take your crust-colored piping consistency royal and place it in a piping bag fitted with your small petal tip (I used Ateco 102.) Starting at the bottom right corner of your crust, pipe out a ribbon by moving your hand in a back and forth motion going in the direction of the opposite corner. Practice a few times on a piece of parchment to get the hang of it!
Last, but certainly not least, place your white piping consistency royal icing in a bag fitted with a small star tip (I used Ateco #13) and pipe a small rosette on the top of your pie slice. Let them dry overnight or at least 6 hours before you package.
Pro-tip: Make these cookies your own once you’ve gotten the hang of them! Love blueberry? Use a deep, dark royal blue instead of the red. Lemon meringue fan? Sub out the red filling for yellow and opt for spikes of white royal instead of a top crust. These cookies are totally customizable!