Wednesday 24 April 2013

Subtle Sweet, Etheral Appeal - Sugar Cookies



Sugar cookies can be said as one of the famous cookies ever created. Not so much on its taste but the versatility to serve in different occasion as individually distinctive. You can find sugar cookies used on seasonal periods like the Easter Celebration, Christmas Celebration, and other occasions internationally. In Malaysia on the other hand, you will find sugar cookies easily in near Eid or Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Muslims will prepare a range of cookies to be served continually during the Eid month. However, the cookies that I am talking about does not named similarly to “Sugar Cookies”, instead, we call it “Mama Carey”. I haven’t got any clue of how the term “Mama Carey” came about, but I know it is the same basic idea of sugar cookies. Mama Carey in Malaysia tends to be thicker in depth and smaller in size (as with other types of cookies), and always made in heart-shaped figure. The royal icing on top is not as lavish as the international sugar cookies and the creative design used would always be the marbleized effects.
The texture of sugar cookies is crunchy but with a little bit crumbliness (this is subject to the ingredients and recipe used). More or less like sugar crust you use to make tarts and pies shells. However, sugar cookies taste better than the sugar crust with slightly sweeter bites. Additionally, the royal icing gives the cookies more dimension in tastes, texture, and the overall eye appeal. A little touch of décor can make them even fancier!
Talking about royal icing, it is basically a hard sugar coating/icing and traditionally used to cover pastry products to preserve its freshness. Civilization has taken the royal icing into a decoration options and this had allowed creativity to engage in pastry production ever since. Further read on Royal Icing can be directed from here.
Frankly speaking, the main joy about making sugar cookies (or Mama Carey, for that matter) is the post-baking or the decorating process. Weighing, mixing, and baking the ingredients can be a little bit boring at times. Of course there is nothing creative in reiterating same recipe over and over again right? Hence I devote my time in the decorating process. Decorating the cookies always excite me with ideas in transforming them from dull pieces of cookies into cute little fancies.

No comments:

Post a Comment