Fondant Bonnet Cookies
by Cindy Sciaroni of Missouri
 

 
 
Profile

While pregnant with our third child, I took my first cake decorating class in 1978. My goal was to be able to make and decorate birthday cakes for our children. Little did I know then that decorating would become my passion! I took whatever classes were available for the first few years and eventually went on to teach cake decorating for our St. Louis Community College Continuing Education Program. When our children were in school, I worked part-time professionally as a cake decorator at local bakeries. Although retired now from professional decorating, I continue to teach cake decorating throughout the St. Louis area. Our children are grown now, and I recently joined ICES and am looking forward to sharing with and learning from other decorators. The following information is from a workshop I designed and will be teaching this summer.

 

Pictures, Recipes, Instructions

Let your imagination run wild when you decorate these beautifully unique cookies. They make wonderful favors for wedding parties and will delight guests at an old fashioned afternoon tea!
 


 

 
 
Basic Sugar Cookie

1 cup softened butter 
1 cup sugar
1 large egg 
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla 
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder. Do not chill dough. Divide dough into two balls. Roll out on flat cookie sheet that has been sprayed with a no-stick spray and cut into desired shapes. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until barely brown on bottom. Larger cookies will take a little longer.

 Rolled Buttercream

1 cup Crisco 
1 cup clear corn syrup
1/2 tsp. orange oil* 
1/2 tsp. lemon oil*
1/2 tsp. salt 
2 lb. powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients with heavy-duty mixer. Mixture should not feel sticky. If it does, add more powdered sugar. Let rest in a plastic bag for 24 hours. Roll out between waxed paper or a heavy-duty zip-lock bag that has been split open. (*One teaspoon of Creme Bouquet flavoring may be substituted for the orange and lemon oil.)

 
 
Make cookie dough.  Roll out.  Cut out cookies with a scalloped cookie cutter.
Place cookies on a cookie sheet and bake as per recipe instructions.  Leave enough space between cookies to allow for spreading.
While cookies are cooling, color the fondant or rolled buttercream. I have made these cookies using either homemade rolled buttercream (see recipe) or Pettinice ready to roll fondant. 
When kneading in the food color, you might want to use lightweight latex gloves to prevent messy hands.
The fondant or rolled buttercream can be rolled out between two pieces of waxed paper or in a heavy duty zip-lock bag.
Peel off top sheet of waxed paper and cut out scallop shape with cookie cutter.
To create the crown of the bonnet, I use two vanilla wafers. Attach flat side to flat side with a small amount of buttercream icing. Apply a thin layer of icing to within a half inch of the outer edge of cooled sugar cookie and set vanilla wafers in the center.
Lay fondant or rolled buttercream over the sugar cookie and peel off the back layer of waxed paper. Smooth with hand.
Gently, press down on the fondant to form the bonnet shape.
Decorate with royal or buttercream icing and flowers or other fondant decorations that have been prepared in advance.
To prepare the bonnet for the decorations, add dabs of royal icing.
Before the royal icing dries, place your decorations.
Voila...Your cookie is ready!

 
 
Additional tips from Cindy

For the black and white bonnet cookies, I prefer to use chocolate Pettinice to which I add a small about of black paste color. The polka dots are cut of fondant using the small end of the #10 tip.

One of my favorite cookies is a two-toned bonnet. Cover the sugar cookie with one color and the vanilla wafer crown with another color. Add a thin strip of fondant at base of crown and a pretty bow loop in the back.

Note:  I prefer to use rolled buttercream to do my cookies, because I like the taste of it better. I dust the finished cookie with a dusting puff filled a 50/50 mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch to take the shine off. Between you and me, the name Fondant Bonnet Cookie sounds a lot better and is easier to say than Rolled Buttercream Bonnet Cookie! I always get rave reviews when I make these cookies.

Cindy Sciaroni
5844 Itaska St.
St. Louis, Mo. 63109

 
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