This recipe for Colored Cream Dough hails from a very old Better Homes & Gardens issue, but the recipe can no longer be found on their website (see note *). This recipe is not truly an icing or frosting; as the name implies, it is actually a dough that you pipe onto cookies before baking, as if it were frosting, but then it is baked right into the cookie. Once baked, the piped-on designs are durable and the cookies store and freeze well. It will create a thick paste that is workable with a pastry bag fitted with various piping tips that you’d normally use for frosting.
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons light cream or half-and-half
1 cup all-purpose flour
Paste food coloring
Directions
- Beat softened butter in a small bowl on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and beat until combined. Beat in light cream. Add all-purpose flour and beat until smooth. Divide dough into 2 to 3 portions. Color each portion with paste food coloring.
- Place each color in a decorating bag fitted with a writing, rose, or star tip. The dough must be stiff for the designs to hold their shape, so don’t be tempted to add liquid. Pipe one color on all the unbaked cookies on the cookie sheet, then do the same with the second color, then with a third, if desired. Bake as cookie recipe directs. Once baked, the piped-on designs are durable and the cookies store and freeze well.
Notes
- * Through the magic of the Internet Archive, the snapshot of the 2002 web page can still be seen here.