MOON CUTTER
Oddly, the moon, though one of the simplest cookies in this book, was particularly difficult to get right. I went through at least 12 different color combinations before I was satisfied. The golden moon needed the navy outline to give it that feel of midnight sky.
All four cookies in this group remind me of summer. When you make the Banana Split, personalize it with your favorite ice cream flavors!
MOON
beginner 
intermediate advanced
MAKES 24
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch moon cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
1½ cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: lemon yellow, whitener, royal blue
2 plastic or parchment paper piping bags (here)
2 #1 tips
Large paintbrush
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 24 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make yellow lining and flooding icing; outline the moon and paint in. Mix 1 cup royal icing in a small bowl with lemon yellow gel to make yellow for the moon. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency, add a little whitener, and cover with plastic wrap. Using the lining icing, outline the moon along the edge of the cookie, making an indent for the lips and chin. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a large paintbrush and the flooding icing, paint in the moon. Let set until hard, 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- 3. Make blue lining icing and re-outline the moon; draw in the eye. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Mix ¼ cup icing in a bowl with royal blue gel to make blue to re-outline the moon. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Re-outline the moon and draw a half circle for the eye. Draw a few short lines perpendicular to the eye for the eyelashes. Let set for 1 hour.
BAT
beginner intermediate advanced
MAKES 24
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch moon cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
1½ cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: super black, bright red
2 plastic or parchment paper piping bags (here)
2 #1 tips
Medium paintbrush
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 24 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make black lining and flooding icing for the bat. Mix 1 cup royal icing in a bowl with super black gel to make black. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining black icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap.
- 3. Outline the bat and paint in. Position the cookie so that the arc of the moon is the top. Using the black lining icing, outline the bat, excluding the claws, following the edge of the cookie along the wings, and making three scallops along the bottom of each. Reserve the black lining icing. Using a medium paintbrush and the black flooding icing, paint in the bat. Let set until hard, 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- 4. Re-outline the bat and make details. Using the reserved lining icing, re-outline the bat. Draw the ribs on the bat’s wings by piping lines from the tips of the shoulders to the scallop points at the bottom of each wing. Make claws by drawing three short lines on either side of the body.
- 5. Make red lining icing and make the eyes. Refresh the royal icing on medium low speed for 30 seconds. Spoon 2 tablespoons icing into a bowl and mix in bright red gel to make red for the eyes. Thin to lining consistency and spoon it all into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Make two red dots for the eyes. Let set for 30 minutes.
WATERMELON SLICE
beginner intermediate advanced
MAKES 24
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch moon cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
1½ cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: bright red, whitener, teal green, leaf green, super black
4 plastic or parchment paper piping bags (here)
4 #1.5 tips
Assorted paintbrushes
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 24 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make lining and flooding icings: pink for the watermelon and white for the rind; make green lining icing for the skin. Spoon ½ cup royal icing into each of two bowls. Cover one with plastic wrap. To the other bowl, add bright red gel to make watermelon pink. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1.5 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency, add whitener, and cover with plastic wrap. To the second bowl, add whitener gel to make bright white for the rind. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1.5 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Mix ¼ cup royal icing in a bowl with teal green, leaf green, and whitener to make green for the skin. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1.5 tip.
- 3. Outline the watermelon and rind and paint in. Outline the skin. Position the cookie so that the moon’s arc is the bottom and the face is the top. Using the pink lining icing, outline the pink part of the melon, making a jagged line along the top of the cookie. Let set for 5 minutes. Using the white lining icing, outline the rind, butting the line (see here) adjacent to the pink up against it and leaving ⅛ inch along the bottom edge for the green skin. Using a medium paintbrush and the pink flooding icing, paint in the watermelon. Using a small paintbrush and the white flooding icing, paint in the rind, taking care to keep the white icing from spilling over into the pink and using enough icing so that the colors are level. Using the green lining icing, outline the green skin, butting the green line up to the white line as closely as possible. Let set until hard, 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- 4. Make black lining icing for the seeds; draw in. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Mix ¼ cup icing with super black gel to make black. Thin to lining consistency and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a #1.5 tip. Turn the cookie so that the jagged side is the bottom and, holding the tip against the cookie at a 45-degree angle, draw seeds by squeezing the bag then pulling away quickly to make the shape of teardrops. Let set for 1 hour.
BANANA SPLIT
beginner intermediate advanced
MAKES 24
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch moon cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
3 cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: chocolate brown, electric pink, neon green, bright blue, lemon yellow, whitener, super black, bright red
11 plastic or parchment paper piping bags (here)
11 #1 tips
Assorted paintbrushes
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 24 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make the lining and flooding icings for the chocolate and mint ice cream scoops. Spoon ¼ cup royal icing into each of two bowls. Cover one with plastic wrap. To the other bowl, mix in chocolate brown gel to make brown for the chocolate ice cream. Thin to lining consistency and spoon 2 tablespoons into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. To the second bowl, mix in neon green and bright blue gels to make mint green for the mint chocolate chip ice cream. Thin to lining consistency and spoon 2 tablespoons into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap.
- 3. Outline the chocolate and mint scoops and paint them in. Position the cookie so that the moon’s arc is the bottom and the face is the top. Using the brown lining icing, outline the top of the chocolate scoop, stopping where it meets the banana and the strawberry scoop. Do the same with the mint green. Let set for 5 minutes. Using the flooding icings, paint in the chocolate and mint scoops, thinning out the icing where it goes behind the bananas, bowl, and strawberry scoop. Let set for 2 to 3 hours.
- 4. Make light yellow and pale pink lining and flooding icings for the bananas and the strawberry scoop; outline and paint in. Spoon ¼ cup royal icing into each of two bowls. Cover one with plastic wrap. To the other bowl, add a tiny toothpick each of lemon yellow and whitener gels to make pale yellow for the bananas. Thin to lining consistency and spoon 2 tablespoons into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. To the remaining bowl, add a toothpick of electric pink gel to make pink for the strawberry ice cream. Thin to lining consistency and spoon 2 tablespoons into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Using the pale yellow lining icing, outline the bananas on either end of the cookie. Using the pink lining icing, outline the strawberry scoop to the tip of the cookie. Let set for 5 minutes. Reserve the lining icings. Using a paintbrush and the yellow flooding icing, paint in the bananas, thinning the icing at the bottom where the bowl overlaps. Using the pink flooding icing, paint in the strawberry scoop in the same way. Let set for 3 to 4 hours.
- 5. Make gray lining and flooding icing for the bowl; outline and paint in. Mix ½ cup royal icing in a bowl with a toothpick of super black and a drop of whitener gel to make gray for the bowl. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Using the gray lining icing, outline the silhouette of the ice cream bowl including the foot of the bowl. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a paintbrush and the gray flooding icing, paint in the bowl. Let set for 2 to 3 hours or until hard.
- 6. Re-outline the bananas. Make lining icings: pink to re-outline the strawberry scoop and dark brown for the chocolate; make super dark brown lining and flooding icing for the fudge. Using the reserved pale yellow lining icing, re-outline the bananas. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Spoon ¼ cup icing into each of three bowls. Cover two with plastic wrap. To the remaining bowl, mix in chocolate brown gel to make darker brown to re-outline the chocolate scoop. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. To the second bowl, add electric pink gel to make darker pink to re-outline the strawberry scoop. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. To the third bowl, mix in chocolate brown and super black gels to make super dark brown for the fudge sauce. Thin to lining consistency and spoon 2 tablespoons into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap.
- 7. Re-outline the chocolate scoop and draw details. Outline the fudge and paint in; draw in the chips. Using the dark brown lining icing, re-outline the scoop of chocolate ice cream. Draw a few squiggles on the scoop to give it texture. Using the super dark brown lining icing, outline the fudge on the strawberry scoop, making an irregular line along the top to make the whipped cream look realistic and a more exaggerated curvy line on the bottom to mimic drips. Draw in the chips on the mint ice cream. Let set for 5 minutes.
- 8. Paint in the fudge. Make bright pink lining icing to re-outline the strawberry scoop and draw details. Spoon ¼ cup royal icing into a bowl. Add electric pink to make bright pink to re-outline the strawberry scoop. Spoon it all into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip, re-outline the strawberry scoop, and draw in details. Using a small paintbrush and the super dark brown flooding icing, paint in the fudge. Reserve the bright pink lining icing. Let set for 3 to 4 hours.
- 9. Make white lining icing for the whipped cream; make dark gray for re-outlining the bowl. Spoon ¼ cup royal icing into each of two bowls. Cover one with plastic wrap. To the other bowl, add whitener gel to make white for the whipped cream. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. To the remaining bowl, add a toothpick of super black and a drop of whitener gels to make darker gray to re-outline the bowl. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip.
- 10. Top with the whipped cream and re-outline the bowl. Make the cherry. Using the white lining icing, squeeze some whipped cream above the hot fudge. Using the darker gray lining icing, re-outline the bowl. Let set for 30 minutes or until dry. Using the reserved bright pink lining icing, make a cherry on top of the whipped cream. Let set for 2 to 3 hours or until dry.
CONNECT THE COOKIE TO ITS CUTTER!
Can you figure out which cookie came from which cutter? The answers are below.
