Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network August 2014 | Page 104

How do you achieve the perfect cookie
surface to decorate on? Is it all in
the recipe? Are there a few tips you
can give people for achieving a good
working surface?
If by “perfect”, you mean a cookie that
is flat on top and does not change its
shape much when baked, then both
the recipe and other factors contribute
to “perfect” results. Generally
speaking, a recipe with a relatively low
ratio of fat to dry ingredients is going
to spread less than one with more
butter/shortening (all other ingredients
staying the same). Likewise, one
with relatively less leavening (baking
powder or soda) will also rise and
spread less. Lastly, certain fats have a
higher melting point than others, and
use of these fats will contribute to less
spreading. For instance, substituting
some vegetable shortening for butter
will have this effect, as well as make
the cookie crunchier.
Then, of course, there are other
non-recipe factors to heed – like
chilling the dough so it’s less likely
to misshape when you roll and cut it;
cutting big or delicate shapes directly
on the cookie sheet or silicone baking
mat to eliminate any transfers which
can lead to misshaping; and using
guides on your rolling pin if you can’t
get an even roll without them.
What is the biggest mistake you think
most people make when it comes to
decorating cookies?
Working with icing at the wrong
consistency for the chosen technique.

In my opinion, there’s an ideal
consistency for almost every decorating
task, from outlining and flooding to
stencilling to beadwork. Small changes
in consistency can make a world of
difference in the end result.
What are some tips you think people
should remember when trying to fulfil
large cookie orders?
Have a clear, advertised cut-off date
after which you can’t take orders
above a certain size in order to allow
you enough time to plan and produce.
And hire help if you need it – which
brings me to the importance of food
costing. No one but you is likely to
accept less than minimum wage to
decorate cookies, so – if you want to
grow and grow profitably - you need to
price your product correctly in order to
be able to hire the necessary/qualified
help.
You have written a couple of books tell
us a little bit about them and where
people can buy them from.
Yes, I’ve written two books, along with
13 mini-ebooks, a brand new app,
and a 15-video (4-hour-long) cookie
decorating course on DVD. I also
have a relatively new, but growing
YouTube channel with about 60
instructional videos – and counting!
My first book was Cookie Swap:
Creative Treats to Share Throughout
the Year (2009), and it is a cookie
party book. It essentially transports
the traditional holiday cookie swap into
other times of the year by presenting
eight seasonally themed cookie
parties, along with recipe and party
styling ideas for each. My secon