MARLYN’S SPRING BASKET

Another cookie project I fell in love with the moment I saw it in Marlyn’s Patreon site, but it is also available on youtube (click here to watch the full tutorial). I’ve made a few modifications, but the overall concept is unchanged. What I loved the most about this cookie, is that the basket weaving is made with a stencil and Royal icing, instead of airbrushing, or piping line by line. If you don’t have a Cricut cutter, it might be tricky to do, but you can always do the basket with piping in any technique you prefer.

The basket weave is quite realistic when made with the stencil. I am not totally satisfied with mine, it was tricky to get it to go smoothy over the lines piped vertically on the background. Marlyn’s technique is of course, flawless, so I advise you to watch her carefully if you want to give this method a try. If you are a member of her Patreon site, you can have access to the file to cut the stencil. Below, some of the steps to make the cookie.

Once the basic basket is ready, let it set a bit, and then you can have fun adding flowers of different colors and shapes. I used fondant for the flowers and the bow on top, then added the foliage with thick Royal icing. Marlyn piped the flowers and also used wafer paper, so anything goes. You can even add a little butterfly on one side, that could be cute too.

Using two different shades of green for the leaves helps with the design. It is amazing how these little details can elevate a cookie composition. I used light green for longer leaves, and dark green for the more standard shape. I piped both with the same leaf icing tip, just pulled the icing to different lengths to get the right look. Play with it on parchment paper if you feel insecure about going straight on the cookie. And don’t forget, have FUN with it!