By Vickie Liu
Orange you glad it’s summer? I am a major fruit addict, especially when the weather warms up. Therefore, it was inevitable I would make some berry cute cookies disguised as fruit. These Fruit Kebab Cookies are pear-fect for summer dessert tables, or any sweet occasion. While they might take a little longer to decorate, the effort will be worthwhile, leaving guests s-peach-less and pining for more!
Fruit Kebab Cookies
Makes: 16-18 kebabs (5 cookies each)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- Royal icing (in different colors or dyed with gel food coloring)
- Supplies: skewers or thin cookie sticks (oven-safe), zip-top bags, toothpicks
Directions:
- If using skewers, soak in water for approximately 30 minutes before baking.
- Beat butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined, then add flour and mix on low until dough forms and starts pulling away from the bowl.
- Divide dough into 2 evenly sized discs and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 F, and line baking trays with parchment paper. Roll out dough to approximately 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick, and cut out fruit shapes between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2-inches long, using various cookie cutters and techniques: strawberry: small cookie cutter | watermelon wedge: large circle cut in quarters | orange slice: medium circle cut in half | kiwi wedge: small circle cut in half | pineapple cubes: square
- Take skewers or cookie sticks, and gently insert into the cookies, one by one, spaced out by about 3/4 inch. If the dough slightly cracks, you can patch them up at the back with excess cookie dough.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or when edges begin to brown. Make sure to keep an eye on them!
- Using various colors of royal icing, decorate to resemble chosen fruit. Place colored royal icing into zip-top bags, and secure top with a rubber band. Cut a small hole at the corner of the bags as your piping tip. Outline each fruit with icing before filling in the center. (This will stop the icing from running off the cookies if it’s on the runnier side.) You may need to use a toothpick to smooth out the icing, from the center towards the outline.
- When the base color is complete, pipe in the details before the icing starts to set for a more uniform look. For more intricate details, use a zip-top bag with an even smaller opening. If you are pressed for time, you can always show less detail, and let the vibrant colors do the work!
