A Touch of Paint

{Handmade Christmas, part iv}

If those cookies are too plain for you, how about a little paint job?

I once painted these cookies, and dozens of others, but I can't take credit for the sweet little hobbit houses and snails above. They were a gift from a friend who also hand-paints china for Herend, the lauded hand-crafted porcelin of Hungary that was once so precious it couldn't leave the country's borders. These two stunning pieces sit in the Herend museum, about 20 minutes from our home in Porva, and command a price on par with some paintings at the MoMA, but take a little royal icing to some homemade gingerbread and I promise you'll get your painting fix for a while.

Start with a snappy, well-baked gingerbread, and you'll only need a touch of paint to make them pretty. One of the best darn gingerbread cookie recipes I've ever baked comes from Gourmet, {here} which bakes up flat and even every time. Next, whip up a batch of royal icing and drop in some natural food colorings {here}, which aren't as potent as others but potentially far friendlier. Now comes the fun part, mixing your primary colors to get a pretty palet. How about a color chart to help you get started?

P.S. If you plan to stack or wrap your cookies before you give, let painted cookies dry unwrapped overnight {out of the family pet's reach}, or until dry to the touch.

Cookie Crate

{Handmade Christmas, part iii}

What's that, you already baked your cookies? Well then, Turn this summer’s berry box into a cookie crate. Wrap cookies in twos for couples and kids, fours for families and grown-ups, and stamp with custom stamps, stickers or labels. We have a case of these pinch-bottom cookie and candy bags leftover from our wedding, which are handy to have on hand. You too can get a lifetime supply of them here, but brown paper sandwich bags take to dressing up just as well.

Cookies, Of Course

{Handmade Christmas, part ii}

And, there's cookies, of course. Sure, you could give them all ready to go, but why not let the giftee decide when they want or need them most {cookies really are a matter of need}. I like shortbread.

1. Make dough and form into a log. Tuck it into the cardboard cylinder from the middle of your paper towels to help it keep its round shape {a clever trick from cookie goddess Dorie Greenspan}. Chill.

2. Wrap your dough in parchment paper, and tie with a delicate twirl of baker's twine {comes in red, green and grey!}.

3. Label the cookie, bake time and temp. Freeze until you give.

My favorite shortbread recipes here, courtesy of me and my pals in Food Network Kitchens. We worked hard on all of them, but my faves that would work in this shape are Chocolate Dipped with Sea Salt, Pecan Sandies, Parmesan Pepper and Orange-Anise.