For the second summer in a row, my 9-year-old has found a new hobby that’s something I always wanted to learn but never did. Last summer, he learned the algorithm for solving a Rubik’s Cube and spent hours perfecting and speeding up his technique. I finally took the time to learn alongside him. I don’t quite remember anymore…but it was very satisfying to complete!
This summer, he has moved on to chess. He learned online and spends hours playing and learning new strategies. I decided I needed to learn too so we could play together! It’s been so fun finally learning and having another hobby to enjoy together. My son even attended a chess camp this summer and is starting to get more involved with a local chess organization. I found out they were hosting an event at our local library and reached out about donating cookies for the event. My son was so excited and kept telling his classmates to come and get cookies at the event. Ha!
I knew I wanted to do square cookies with a chess piece on them. Since some of them are pretty detailed, I decided to use a royal icing transfer technique. I’ve used this technique before with one of my Woobles cookies and with my pool cookies. This method is great for adding dimension without worrying about cratering, which can happen when you pipe on a second layer.
It’s also a great option when you are making a detailed piece you want to trace. You will start by printing a sheet of the objects you want to pipe. Place parchment paper over it, then trace the object with a medium-consistency royal icing. Use a scribe to smooth and pop any bubbles as you fill in the shape. You can add details as it dries, or finish them once you place them on the cookie.
For me, I decided to pipe out the basic shape of the chess pieces, but leave some details for once I added them to the cookie. Tiny details of the queen and king pieces, in particular, seemed too delicate, so I planned to finish them on the cookie.
I waited a few hours to ensure my royal icing transfers had completely dried. The first time I attempted to do transfers, I tried to move them too early. Even if the outside looks hardened, you need to give it time to harden all the way through. I learned that the hard way!
For the cookies, I gave them a base layer of black or white icing. I let them sit to make sure they were fully hardened as well. I set aside some extra royal icing to act as my glue for the cookies.
Once everything was dried, I “glued” on the royal icing transfer with a couple of small dabs of icing. I let them set and then packaged them up for the event. I used my heat sealer to keep the cookies fresh since I made them a couple of days early. It’s gotten a lot of use this past year!!
Buttercream Dreams Bakery 