James Bond inspired cookies

I made these cookies for my friend's James Bond themed party alongside the chocolate mint cupcakes. Again I have to thank Caroline for lending me these fabulous cookie cutters! What's a Bond party without a martini in whatever shape or form! I don't often bake and decorate cookies although I did attend a cookie decorating course at the make lounge earlier this year which was good fun. I have to admit it took a lot longer than I thought and I even forgot to take photos towards the end! 

 cookie dough 

 pipe border with royal icing 

 thin the icing then flood the rest of the cookie 

 i ran out of royal icing and time so made a few of these with writing icing. 

Gingerbread Biscuit Recipe (from the class I attended at the Make Lounge) 

(Makes about 40 medium or 20 large cookies)

250g cold butter, diced

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

560g plain flour

Hot Mix : 

5 tablespoons water

210g brown sugar

2 tablespoon treacle

3 tablespoon golden syrup

3 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

• Place all the ingredients for the hot mix in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring.
• Once boiled, remove the pan from the heat. Carefully add the diced butter, stirring with a wooden spoon. 
• Once well combined, add the bicarbonate of soda and briefly whisk the hot mix. 
• Pour into the bowl of the electric mixer and allow to cool slightly.  Once the mixture has cooled, sieve the flour into the mixer bowl. 
• Combine the two on low speed using the paddle attachment until dough forms. 

Note: If you do not have an electric mixer add the cooled spice mix to the sieved flour in a large bowl and mix together with your hands - the dough will be sticky and you may need to add a little more flour as you work it into a dough. Don't worry though, the dough will firm overnight. 

• Put the dough in a zip lock bag or warp in cling film and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or, ideally, overnight. 
• Place the chilled dough on a floured surface and knead briefly. If dough is difficult to knead, allow it to come to room temperature before kneading. 
• Roll the gingerbread dough to approximately 5mm thick. 
• Preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6.
• Cut various shapes using cookie cutters. Using a palette knife, carefully place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. 
• Chill in the fridge on the tray for about 20 minutes.
• Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie, or until firm to touch.
• Lift cookies off the tray and allow to cool on a wire rack. 

Royal Icing using egg white powder

1 sachet of Dr Oetker egg white powder

60ml warm water

500g icing sugar, sifted 

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, empty sachet of egg white powder. 
• Add 3 teaspoons of the warm water and mix to a smooth paste using a metal spoon. 
• Add remaining warm water gradually and mix well.
• Add one third of the icing sugar. Beat on slow then a medium speed.
• Add another third of sugar and continue to beat for 1 minutes.
• Add remaining sugar as needed and beat until the correct consistency is reached.  Look for pulled up peaks that slightly flop over when the attachment is lifted from icing. Soft peak icing is the right consistency for piping borders on cookies
• Store at room temperature in an air tight plastic container, cover surface with cling film then place lid on.  If using immediately, cover bowl with a damp cloth. 

To Pipe and 'flood' fill your cookies using royal icing:

• Put royal icing in a bowl and colour using paste colours if desired. (When not using your mixture, keep covered with a damp J cloth or paper towel to keep it from drying out)
• Using a piping bag with a small round tip (or snip the end of the piping bag), pipe a border on your cookies in a steady smooth line. Leave to dry for at least 5 minutes.
• Once you've piped the border, thin the remainder of your royal icing with a few drops of water until a runny consistency is reached.
• Using another piping bag filled with the runny icing, fill inside the borders to fully cover the cookies with icing. Avoid over filling as this can cause over flowing.
• Use the nozzle to move the icing quickly before it begins to set; guide the icing out towards the piped border. (or use a toothpick if piping without a nozzle)
• Sprinkle with edible glitter if using.
• Once the area is filled, avoid touching the cookies for at least 20 minutes.
• The surface should be completely dry in 2-4 hours, but if possible, allow to dry overnight for best results.