User blog:HopeSama/Pope Cookie

So for months I have been wanting to tackle this one with a new technique that I have been dying to try. I thought this one would be the best choice to execute it.

In the image I display the Chocolate Drink as a bonus in the final picture, intended to be enjoyed with the adorable Pope Cookie. If anyone so desires me to put the recipe and process of the Chocolate Drink as well, feel free to ask me. But my final showcase is on the Pope Cookie.

Quick facts
Serving: 2 per person (10 altogether)

Prep time: approximately 1 hour

Difficulty: Level 3

Ingredients
* This can be interchanged or kept as either 1 cup of either oil depending on preference. (IE. 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of coconut oil, or as listed half and half)
 * 3 cups of all purpose flour
 * 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder
 * 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
 * 1/2 a cup of butter (or one stick) *
 * 1/2 a cup of coconut oil *
 * 1 1/3 cups of sugar
 * 2 eggs
 * 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Decoration Ingredients

 * White Chocolate - Whatever kind you may like; I suggest a better quality white chocolate but you can use Wilton Candy Melts or Almond Bark if you just want to try it out.
 * Cocoa Butter Paints - These can be bought as is or made at home with an oil based or powder based food coloring and pure cocoa butter. (Make sure it's food grade!)

Extra Notes

 * Acitate Sheets (or to substitute a clear/semi clear thin poly-plastic folder would do well). Make sure to wash it but don't scrub with something abrasive.)

Baking

 * 1) Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
 * 2) Sift out all of our dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt).
 * 3) After sifting, begin creaming the butter, coconut oil, and sugar. Start out by getting the butter worked, then add in the coconut oil, lastly add in the sugar and make sure it's well-mixed.
 * 4) After creaming the butter mixture, add in the eggs one at a time. Mix it well and then lastly add in the vanilla.
 * 5) Once all the wet ingredients are fully incorporated, begin adding the flour in little bits at a time and then make sure that it is fully combined.
 * 6) As the dough begins to come together, if it seems a little bit wetter than usual (usually this happens due to weather temp or kitchen temp), feel free to add in a bit more flour to even it out. Do this only in tablespoons at a time as adding too much can break the dough.
 * 7) Once it fully comes together, lay it out on plastic wrap and form a disk. Wrap it well then place it in the refrigerator for at least a hour or until you notice that it's rather solid and not soft anymore.
 * 8) Once it's ready to be rolled out, cut the dough in half and work with half at a time. Begin rolling it out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness you desire. (I suggest like a 1/4 inch thick.)
 * 9) Begin cutting out your cookie shapes with a cutter (or cut out template in this case and tracing around it with either a toothpick or a small knife).
 * 10) For this I rolled out my dough on parchment paper because I wanted a more exact shape to how I cut it out. Normally I don't care and just cut them out and transfer to a baking sheet to be cooked. For those of you who are novices at baking I highly suggest you roll it out on parchment paper as well and transfer that parchment with the cookies to your baking sheet.
 * 11) After the shapes have been cut out, place your cookies on a baking sheet and put them in your pre-heated oven.
 * 12) Leave the cookies in there for about 15 minutes Or until the edges are golden brown.
 * 13) Tip: if you notice your cookies are getting golden on one side but the other side doesn't have any color at all, try turning the baking tray half way through the cooking time and it should even out.
 * 14) Once they are fully baked, leave them out to cool.

Decoration
While your cookies are cooling you can start on the preparations for the decoration. And that's all there is to it~
 * 1) For this I decided to flood the top of the cookies with White Chocolate and then use a Transfer Sheet to create a decoration. To create a transfer sheet decoration you need a cocoa butter "paint." These "paints" can be created by mixing pure cocoa butter with a oil based or powder based food coloring.
 * 2) Once you have your colors you can begin painting the image you wish to transfer onto your chocolate. The key is, you will need to paint a mirror image of the main image you wish to use. Or if you are free-handing a sentence, it needs to be written backwards otherwise it will not show up properly on your chocolate (Since you are pretty much sticking the part you painted to melted chocolate, the print made will be a "reflection" of what you painted.)
 * 3) Once you let the sheet dry, flood the cookie with white chocolate. Start out with a outline around the edges, then gradually fill the center and smooth it out. It doesn't need to be 100% even since the transfer sheet is what is going to make it smooth.
 * 4) After the cookie is covered in chocolate, gently place the transfer sheet on it and press down to smooth it out and ensure every part of the sheet is touching the chocolate on the cookie.
 * 5) Once the sheet is on, place the cookie in the fridge for about 5 minutes or until the sheet comes off of the cookie completely clean. Test a corner of it before trying to pull it off and if it is still wet, put it back in the fridge until the chocolate is solid.
 * 6) When the sheet comes off completely clean, put any other finishing touches you might want and just let it dry.