Watercolor Brush Embroidered Cookie Tutorial and Martha Bakes Sweepstakes!

This post is sponsored by Domino® Sugar.

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When I think of Martha Stewart, I think of perfection, innovation, and of course, baking! Over a decade ago, I found myself flipping through the pages of Martha Stewart Handmade Cookie Decorating. I’d just graduated from culinary school and was trying to figure out my next move. I had dabbled in cake decorating using buttercream, royal icing, and chocolate, I’d made baked goods for neighbors’ parties, worked at a couple of bakeshops, but I hadn’t yet found my passion. Once I made my first batch of cookies, I was hooked (see one of the first sets of cookies inspired by Martha Stewart from way back when at the bottom of this post along with my first attempt at brush embroidery!). I’ve made thousands of cookies since then, experimenting with new techniques and perfecting old ones.

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This set of Watercolor Brush Embroidered is a twist on one of the first techniques I used when I started decorating with royal icing. If you’ve been following me since the beginning, you know that my style has evolved over the years from subdued colors and antique-inspired designs to a brighter color palette and designs inspired by pop culture (rainbow leopard print anyone?). Even though my style has changed, I still take great care in decorating my cookies, just like I did when I made those first cookies inspired by Martha. While perfection is impossible, it doesn’t stop me from striving to achieve it 🙂

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Speaking of Martha, I have a super exciting opportunity to share with you from Domino® Sugar! Visit www.marthabakesnyc.com to enter for a chance to win a trip to New York City and meet Martha Stewart! One lucky winner will attend a live taping of Martha Stewart’s Emmy®-nominated cooking show, Martha Bakes, plus take part in an exclusive meet-and-greet with America’s most beloved expert baker and teacher. Sweepstakes ends September 12, 2018.

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Now, on to the tutorial!

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I used Domino® Sugar’s Brown Sugar Cutout Cookie Recipe for this project. I prefer a soft, chewy cookie with the crunchy texture of royal icing, which is why I love this recipe. Domino® Brown Sugar holds the moisture, which helps to give the cookie a chewy texture. I made a few adjustments – I replaced the vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste, added the zest of one large orange, and cut the baking powder down to one teaspoon.

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Here are the rest of the supplies you’ll need to make these Watercolor Brush Embroidered Cookies:

• 3-1/2” Round cookie cutter

• Flood consistency royal icingfor flooding

• Stiff consistency royal icing (See my post on Royal Icing for more on icing consistencies)

• 12″ Decorating Bags

• Couplers

• Bag ties

• Decorating tip 3

• Decorating tip 2

• Scribe tool

• Food coloring: Blue and Pink from the Wilton Color Right Set

• Large dusting brush from the Wilton 2-piece set

• Square tip brush from the Wilton 5-piece set

• Paint palette

• Grain alcohol, vodka, or extract for painting (Alcohol or flavored extracts are used for painting on royal icing because they evaporate very quickly, which means that the liquid won’t dissolve the icing as you are applying the paint. The stronger the alcohol, the better!)

Watch the video for the decorating instructions:

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Head on over to www.marthabakesnyc.com to enter for a chance to win the Martha Bakes Sweepstakes! And if you have your own Martha-inspired sweets, share them on Facebook and Instagram by tagging #imsomartha and @dominosugar!

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And before I forget, here are the cookies I made in 2007 along with my first attempt at brush embroidery on a doll cake 🙂 Those little “gems” on the cookies were made with melted sugar and a mold I’d made using a rhinestone. I was just out of culinary school at the time and feeling adventurous 😉

Thanks to Domino® Sugar for sponsoring this post!

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