The Daring Bakers get creative!

This month's challenge was sugar cookies, cut in any shape we wanted, and decorated with royal icing. Sounds easy, doesn't it? The catch was that we had to work in the theme of 'September', and what it meant to us. I thought about maple leaves and back to school, but these were hardly original ideas. So, I thought a bit more. As a supply teacher, I am always looking for ideas that I can use in a lesson, in any subject and any grade. The work of Escher fits in the subjects of art and math. I decided to use his salamanders, which cleverly fit together to cover a surface.

I couldn't find any cookie cutters pre-made, so I found an image online and tried to make my own, following the instructions in the links provided by Renata. Renata is a member of the Daring Kitchen that is always so supportive and has the kindest comments. She also blogs in English and Portuguese, and her creations are beautiful, so head that way if you want to see them, and learn how to make your own cookie cutters from a foil pan. I tried, but failed to make a proper cookie cutter, as I found this design had too many sharp angles. So, I made a template from foil instead and cut around it. These salamanders should fit perfectly together, but the cookies did spread a bit in baking, leaving a few gaps in areas. Oh, and I didn't use them in a lesson, but I did learn that you shouldn't make a meal of sugar cookies and royal icing! And that food colouring stains everything.

This one lost a leg, but it'll grow back, right?

I also made some maple leaves:

And a mitten, cause it was only 6℃ the morning I made these!

Who knows what next month with the Daring Bakers will bring?

Find the challenge PDF here!

Blog-checking lines
The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.