Recipes and Tips

Cookie Dough Recipe

2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2¼ cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough 30 minutes or until easy to handle. (I didn't find this step necessary after adding the extra flour.) On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough at a time until 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with Cricut Cake. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

Carrie Bigger’s Gumpaste Recipe

  • 2 pkg unflavored gelatin (2 Tbsp)
  • ½ cup cold water

In a small saucepan, add the water and sprinkle the gelatin on top to soften for about 5 minutes.  Begin to heat the gelatin gently.  Stir until gelatin is a dissolved clear liquid.  DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL!! Turn off heat.

Add:

  • 2 Tbsp melted shortening
  • 1/3 cup white corn syrup
  • Stir to combine thoroughly
  • 2 Lbs powdered sugar
  • 3 Tbsp tylose powder
Place 2 lbs powdered sugar (reserving about 2 cups) in a large glass or plastic bowl.  Make a well in the center.

Pour the gelatin/corn syrup liquid into the well of sugar, and mix until nearly all of the sugar is stirred in.  Pour onto counter-top which has been lightly greased with shortening and dusted with the additional powdered sugar.  Sprinkle the tylose powder into the mixture.  With lightly greased hands, knead, incorporating all of the powdered sugar and tylose, until it forms a smooth rubbery ball.  Add additional sugar as needed.  (You can use a heavy-duty stand mixer with bread dough hooks for this process).
(It should not be really sticky or too soft.  With experience you will learn how “stiff” is stiff enough.  Knead in as much sugar as it will take.  Beginners usually make it too soft).
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, twice.  Store in gallon plastic zippered bag.  Allow to rest overnight.  Can be stored at room temperature for weeks.  Refrigerate or freeze for extended storage time.

When ready to use, start with a baseball-sized piece and warm briefly in microwave no more than 10 seconds at a time to soften and make easier to knead. 

Roll as thin as possible (approximately 1-2mm of 1/8"-1/16" thick).  Brush mat with shortening.  Place gumpaste on mat and roll over again to adhere to mat and remove any air bubbles.  You are now ready to cut in your machine.

Carrie Bigger’s Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe

  • 1 lb. cream cheese
  • 8 ounces butter
  • 1 lb high ratio shortening
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp flavoring (cream bouquet, vanilla, or almond)
  • 4 lbs powdered sugar (more or less)

Whip shortening until light and fluffy, add cream cheese and butter, whip.  Add salt and flavorings.  Slowly add powdered sugar to desired spreading consistency.

How to Fondant a Cake
Fondant is a stretchy food material used to drape and smoothly cover cakes without cracks. Because it has the tendency to stretch it can be difficult to cut. It is necessary for your fondant to be no thicker than 1/8" thick, though you will get the best results with fondant that is 1/16" thick.

In order for the Fondant to work properly with the Cricut Cake, it is necessary to make the fondant firmer. This can be accomplished a few different ways. (1) Freezing works well for cool, dry climates. (In humid, hot environments the fondant can become gummy when frozen.) (2) Drying out the fondant can be time consuming and can cause a crust to form on the top. However, you can overcome the "crusting" effect by placing it back in a plastic bag overnight. This will help equalize the moisture content throughout the fondant. (3) Adding gum powders is considered the best way to make the fondant easier to cut. There are many options on the market—tylose powder, Gum-tex, etc. You will want to knead in a little at a time until it has a more firm texture. This can make your fondant dry out much faster, so you will want to use it as quickly as possible.
Icing Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups of powdered sugar
5 TBSP of water
3 drops of lemon or vanilla extract
3 oz. of egg whites (about 4 eggs)

Directions
In a mixer add egg whites to vanilla/lemon extract with water and mix until whipped to a foamy consistency. Add powdered sugar and mix until shiny. Increase mixer speed until icing creates peaks. (About 5 minutes). If desired add food coloring to create different colors. Store in container in refrigerator.

Class Instructions

Bunny Cookies
Create these adorable cookies for the Easter season!

Materials:
Cricut Cake® Personal Electronic Cutter
Cricut Cake® Holiday Cakes cartridge
Sugar cookie dough
Gel food coloring: brown, pink
Gum paste glue (see recipe)
Gum paste: white
Small sugar brush
Pastry brush
White shortening
Sanding sugar

Instructions:

  1. Roll cookie dough on mat. Place it in the freezer to stiffen the dough.
  2. Cut cookies. Using Holiday Cakes cartridge and prepared cookie dough, select Plain Shadow feature and cut as many 3 ¾" <Easter5> as desired.
  3. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. (If you want a thicker cookie, stack one cookie on top of the other before baking. Baking time may increase 1 to 2 minutes.) Let cookies cool.
  4. Prepare gum paste. Color half of gum paste brown and the other half pink. Grease cutting mat. Roll gum paste onto mat so it is 1/8" thick. Remove excess gum paste from mat. Place mat in freezer to stiffen gum paste.
  5. Cut gum paste. Using brown gum paste, cut as many 3 ½" <Easter5> as desired. Using pink gum paste, press Shift and cut as many 3 ½" <Eastr5-s> as desired.
  6. Adhere pink cuts on brown cuts using gum paste glue. Place on top of baked cookies. Brush top of cookies with gum paste glue. Sprinkle sanding sugar on top of each bunny. Shake off excess sugar.

Flower Cupcakes
Make your cupcakes stand out with this beautiful design!

Materials:
Cricut Cake® Personal Electronic Cutter
Cricut Cake® Cake Basics cartridge
Gel food coloring: green, pink, purple
Gum paste glue (see recipe)
Gum paste: white
White shortening
Powered sugar
Small cupcakes
Small spoon
Butter knife
Pastry brush
Sponge

Instructions:

  1. Separate gum paste into four pieces. Color one piece pink, one purple, and one green. Leave the remaining piece white. Grease cutting mats. Roll gum paste onto mats to 1/8" thick. Remove excess gum paste. Place in freezer to stiffen gum paste.
  2. Cut large flower. Using Cake Basics cartridge and pink gum paste, select Plain Shadow Blackout feature and cut as many 2 ½" <Flower1> as needed. Let dry.
  3. Cut leaves. Using green gum paste, select Plain Shadow Blackout feature and cut as many 1" <Leaf5> as needed. To shape leaf, place on sponge. Dip knife into powered sugar and press the center of the petal with the blunt side of the knife. Place petal against side of a plastic container to keep shape. Let dry completely (3 to 4 hours).
  4. Cut medium flower. Using white gum paste, select Plain Shadow Blackout feature, press Shift, and cut as many 1 ½" <Flower6> as needed. To shape flower, place flower on sponge and curl leaves using a small spoon. Place flower on a rounded shape form (such as a plastic egg). Let dry.
  5. Cut small flower. Using purple gum paste, select Plain Shadow Blackout feature and cut as many ½" <Flower1> as needed. To shape flower, place flower on sponge and gently press the end of a rounded brush on the center of the flower. Let dry.
  6. After all pieces are dry, use gum paste glue to adhere pieces together as shown.

Daisy Cake
This beautiful cake is perfect for any spring occasion!

Materials:
Cricut Cake® Personal Electronic Cutter
Cricut Cake® Cake Basics cartridge
8" Round cake
Gel food coloring: blue, yellow
Gum paste glue (see recipe)
Gum paste: white
Frosting: white
Powdered sugar
White shortening
Sugar pearls
Pastry brush
Spatula knife
Butter knife
Toothpick
Plastic wrap
Sponge

Instructions:

  1. Prepare gum paste. Color a small portion of gum paste yellow for daisy centers. Place in plastic wrap and set aside.
  2. Grease cutting mat. Roll white gum paste 1/8" thick onto cutting mat. Remove excess gum paste. Place in freezer to stiffen gum paste.
  3. Cut daisy blackouts. Using Cake Basics cartridge and white gum paste, select Plain Shadow Blackout feature, press Shift, and cut one 6" <Flower7>. Using white gum paste, select Plain Shadow Blackout feature, press Shift, and cut eight 2 ½" <Flower7>. Remove excess gum paste from mat. Let dry.
  4. Cut daisy petals. Using white gum paste, press Shift and cut one 6" <Flower7>. Using white gum paste, press Shift and cut eight 2 ½" <Flower7>. To shape petals, place petals on sponge one at a time. Dip knife into powdered sugar and press the center of the petal with the blunt side of the knife. Place petals against side of a plastic container to keep shape. Let dry completely (3 to 4 hours).
  5. Assemble daisies. Place a small amount of gum paste glue on the center back side of petals. Place on blackouts as shown. Take a small amount of yellow gum paste and roll into a ball. Slightly flatten ball to form daisy center. Stick toothpick into gum paste to create a textured center. Adhere to center of daisies.
  6. Add blue food coloring to white frosting. Frost cake. When daisies are completely dry, place large daisy on top of cake. Place small daisies around the sides. Embellish with sugar pearls as desired.