We Found a Stamp at Michael's...

I had a customer at a bakery in the great state of Maryland utter these horrible words to me when I phoned her back the other day in response to a query on custom food safe rubber stamps.

I feel it's my bad... I didn't phone her back right away. Our shop is hot and loud. Every thing we handle needs two hands and phone calls don't fit into that when all hands are needed on deck. While an email is usually answered within five minutes up to a few hours, phone calls can take DAYS!

And people are lazy and they want what they want when they want it. And they don't seem to care if they are misinformed as to what is safe on food or even if they get a customer sick! OY!

All rubber is NOT food safe! There are petroleum based products in there that should not come in contact with food. The release agents used to release the rubber from the molds is NOT food safe. Many of the molds still contain asbestos!

Add in that the stamps at most retail mass market craft stores are wood mounted...Wood is not food safe nor is the cushion used to mount the stamps! It BREEDS bacteria! Even our food safe rubber, once mounted on wood, is no longer safe for use on food!

There is so much to know in this area of crafting on food and I wish more bakeries would take the time to learn a little about it before rushing headlong into a project!

If you need food safe rubber, we have hundreds of images readily available. And if you need something custom, we can do that in about two to three weeks. Be smart, be safe and keep your customers alive...it's the right thing to do! 

Holly Dare on When Creativity Knocks

Holly Dare with friends Ana and Megan Arujo on their web show, When Creativity Knocks

The Basic Sugar Cookie

The Sugar cookie is another popular choice for cookie pops. This particular recipe won some cooking contest for our chef (sorry, my memory is foggy!) But the hint of nutmeg is unexpected and lovely!

 

The perfect cookie pop, ready for decorating!

• 1 Cup Butter
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1 Med – Lrg Egg
• 1 Tablespoon Milk or Cream
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla OR ¼ t. Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Cups Flour

 

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and then the milk / cream. Add vanilla (if using it). Mix the salt and the nutmeg into the flour. Mix the flour into the batter. Knead and chill for about twenty minutes.

Remove chilled dough. Spray cookie pan with Pam and press cookie dough into individual circles. With fingertips, pull cookie dough away from outer edge of circle toward center; this will help the cookie release. Gently hold the dough with the heel of your hand and slide the cookie stick into cookie about 2”. Pierce cookie with fork several times to aid steam release during baking. Bake at 350◦ until edges are nicely browned.

 

Sweet Stampen's Cookie and Candy Video - Part 1 Baking

Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Why do we use shortbread cookies in our cookie pops??? Because they taste AWESOME! But that's not the only reason. If you are giving someone a cookie bouquet, you want a thick hearty cookie that won't break and will hold up to some handling. Shortbread is excellent for that!

Shortbread Cookie Recipe for Cookie Pops

• 1 c. Butter       
• 2/3 c. Powdered Sugar
• ½ t. Vanilla    
• ¼ t. Salt   
•  2 c. Flour

Cream butter til smooth. Add powdered sugar & vanilla. Blend sugar thoroughly. Stir in flour mixed with salt. Knead quickly so the butter doesn’t melt. Refrigerate dough for half an hour.

Remove chilled dough. Spray cookie pan with Pam and press cookie dough into individual circles. With fingertips, pull cookie dough away from outer edge of circle toward center; this will help the cookie release. Gently hold the dough with the heel of your hand and slide the cookie stick into cookie about 2”. Pierce cookie with fork several times to aid steam release during baking.

Bake cookies in the upper third of 325◦ oven til they are a pale golden color and the edges are starting to brown. Remove and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled. Remove cookies by lifting edges with a tapered spatula or knife. Do not pick up by sticks; this will loosen cookie stick (if baking with a whole stick for final use in cookie bouquet. See Holly's Tips for details). 

Holly's Tips for Cookie Pop Baking

Sticks: I always thought the sticks looked a tad icky yellow after baking and never liked the look of them in a finished bouquet. Add in that a) I have a smallish over and b) I'm a clutz and I ended up rearranging the cookie dough every single time I baked! Then the idea hit me...if I could get rid of that long stick and still have a hole... hmmmm. So I came up with this technique. I've been doing it for years now!

Cut cookie sticks in half to avoid knocking them out of place during baking. Once the cookies are cool to touch, gently twist the stick out of the cookie. Dip a new, clean stick in corn syrup and place in cookie hole.

Now, I don't make a mess of my dough and I always have a nice, clean stick in my bouquets! 

Ingredients: We always get asked about family recipes for cookie pops. You can use almost any cookie recipe with a few simple rules.

• Do not use any cookie recipe that contains baking powder or soda as the cookies my not shape correctly in pan during baking. These two ingredients also make a more fragile cookie that is more likely to break with handling... and cookie pops require handling. 
• If using nuts or chips, chop them fine or use mini chips. Make sure to press them into the dough so that they are not protruding.