Cookies for the Groom
These Brown Butter Cookies were a gift to a good friend who was getting married after being widowed for several years. I’ve given her many cookies over the years, but this time I wanted something for her to share with her new beau. The heart shape was perfect and covering them with white chocolate for the bride and dark chocolate for the groom seemed like the perfect match for this sweet couple.
“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart.” Judy Garland
All my cookies are taste-tested and family-approved. I try them myself, of course (and have been known to throw away a batch or two). But feedback from my “special people” has helped me decide whether a recipe is worth tweaking or should be abandoned entirely. Here are some of my favorite comments from friends who’ve received the final approved versions of my experiments:
- “These are the most delicious cookies you’ve ever made.”
- “I love the cookies...they’re almost too pretty to eat.”
- “Wow! These are so yummy...and so beautiful.”
Cookie specifics
These Brown Butter cookies have a rich caramelized flavor and a lovely chew to them. The embossed chocolate coating is set off by the royal icing embellishments to make them both elegant and delicious. I dusted them all with a bit of edible glitter to make them even more special.
Hearts & Flowers
2½-inch hearts with both fluted and straight edges (2½ to 3 inches is my favorite cookie size for decorating and eating. It’s just enough cookie to satisfy your sweet tooth without making you feel guilty!)
“Greetings” & Monograms
The various white and brown plaque shapes were eventually monogrammed with the happy couple’s initials.
Cookies
Brown-Butter Cookies: flour, brown butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, cornstarch, vanilla, salt. (Note: See Q4 in the FAQ section for my other cookie flavors.)
Covering & Decorative Embellishments
Chocolate Dough: corn syrup plus delicate white chocolate for the bride’s cookies and rich bittersweet chocolate for the groom’s.
Royal Icing: confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, pure vanilla extract or almond extract, cream of tartar, food coloring
Plate, Box or Bag?
Box! I decided to deliver these pretty cookies to my friend in a cardboard bakery box with a clear window on top so she could take a peek without opening the box. The cookies are 2½-to-3 inches (my favorite size to make) so I was able to get 18 of them in the box. [I like these 6x6x3" bakery boxes from amazon.com.]
Note: See Q8 in the FAQ section for all the ways that I use to package my cookies.
What I’ve learned...
These cookies were made with the best ingredients I could find and baked in a small batch of two dozen. I’ve experimented with less expensive ingredients, but have come to the conclusion that flavor is best when I use the best. Why spend all this time baking and decorating if taste and texture are just so-so? Decorating the cookies takes time, but it’s an enjoyable process for me and I know that those who receive them appreciate that. Life is just better when you can share something you love with someone you love. Don’t you agree?
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