Tips for Piecing Together Cookies

Imagine this: You have an order of 80+ princess carriages. You order the perfect cutter online, only to discover that it's too big when it arrives in your mailbox. There's not enough time to order a new cutter. What do you do? 

You might recognize the main body of my princess carriage. It's a particular "mouse" cutter, and LilaLoa turned it into a great princess carriage in this post.

 But my cookie carriages needed a finial- that little extra piece at the top for more ornamentation. And I needed 80+ of them that were exactly the same.  

It's time to FrankenCookie (aka. piece cookie parts together to make a single cookie). In my case, the "mouse" cutter is the core shape, with the accessory "round" cookie being the finial. By using the small round cookie and cutting the section out of the main carriage, there are more points of contact between the two cookie shapes. This will increase the stability of the cookie joint, and make it less likely to break off. 

A parchment paper template will ensure that I piece together the cookies ​in the exact same spot,
​each and every time!

What you'll need:
* parchment paper
* pencil
* cookie cutters that you plan to piece together

1. Trace the INSIDE of the cutters you're using on parchment paper. You want to trace the inside of the cutters, since that's closer to the cut size of your cookie shape. 

2. Cut out your template. Cut away the piece that will be "added on" by the other/ accessory/ smaller cutter. Erase any pencil marks on the parchment paper and be sure to clean the cookie cutters. You don't want to transfer any pencil marks to your cookie dough by accident. 

3. Cut your main cookie shape and transfer it to the baking sheet. Place the parchment template over the main cookie shape, and cut out the accessory piece. 

4. Cut and fill in the accessory piece. Be sure that the accessory piece is flush with the original cut piece. You might have to flip over the accessory piece to make it fit properly. See this blog post why this happens!

5. Bake the cookies just like always!

Look at the baked, undecorated cookie! They're perfect! The size and placement of the finial is the same for every cookie! Winning!

This is a stack of FOUR cookies! 

Sigh. I'm in love!

A comparison of the front versus the back.

Some tips and tricks to piecing cookies together:

1. Cut all of the parts of your pieced cookie on one rolled out sheet. For example, I'll be able to get 5 complete carriage cookies with finials in this picture. Even though I have space to cut out more rounds, I won't. Why? By using the same rolled out dough sheet, I know that the dough thickness, temperature, and amount I've "worked" the dough is the same. These factors can change how my dough bakes, so I want consistency between the dough pieces. Make sense?

​2. Make your secondary cuts and assemble your pieced cookie on the baking sheet. If you move your cookie after making the secondary cut, you have a greater chance of altering the shape of the cookie. Your cookie pieces won't fit together nicely anymore. 

​3. Use greater care when placing the cookie sheets into your oven. I'm not always so gentle when putting trays into my oven. Sudden jerks of the tray can cause your unbaked pieced cookies to separate, and you may not notice it until baking is finished.  

You might be thinking, "I'll never piece any cookies together, because that seems like so much work!". Yes, it is time consuming, but it is another tool to add to your cookie arsenal, and it just might help you out of a jam like me! Here are some other pieced ideas!

I hope that you'll try out this versatile technique!