Cookie Pops

I just want to say that I love living in the 21st century because recipes, tips and tutorials are so readily available on the internet. I will say though, that some bakers are so skilled that they make constructing cookie and macaron pops look as easy as pie which, from my experience, it is not! I thought that since I will be posting tutorials on some new cookie designs, you guys might want to turn your creations into cookie bouquets or arrangements. As a word of caution, make sure you have plenty of baking, drying, packaging and arranging time set aside for this project. 

Cookie and macaron pops are so aesthetically pleasing, but there have been many times where I have been frustrated with the process of making them. I occasionally use bamboo skewers (normally used for barbecuing meat and veggies), but I have recently started using lollipop sticks. There are pros and cons for each type and I will show you how to insert them in the following tutorial.

Bamboo Skewers:

Pros:

They are super easy to insert into a sugar cookie and you don't have to make your cookies ultra thick in order to accommodate the thickness of the skewer. 

They are easy on your wallet as they only cost about $2.00 CDN for a bag of 100 skewers.

They're quite long and are easy to chop down to the proper size.

They insert easily into Styrofoam bases.

Cons:

Although you may get 100 skewers in a bag, about 15% of those skewers are unusable as they are prone to splitting (splinters and cookies definitely do not mix).

The skewers tend to fall out easily if they aren't handled with care.

Cutting the sticks down to size is easy, but you do have to add a dab of chocolate on the end of the stick to avoid cuts and splinters.

Lollipop Sticks:

Pros:

In my opinion, they're more aesthetically pleasing to me than the bamboo skewers. There are plain white ones and there are also ones with more fun designs like polka dots or stripes. 

They really hold the cookie in place even if the recipients are a bit rough with them!

Like the bamboo skewers, they can also easily be inserted into Styrofoam bases and chopped down to size.

Because lollipop sticks are more 'standard' in terms of making cookie, cake and macaron pops, most edible pop stands are made to hold these particular sticks in place.

Cons:

These sticks are expensive! I paid about $4.95 CDN plus tax for only 50 sticks (for the bake shoppe, that won't last more than a month, but for those of you who are just baking for fun, I would recommend that you splurge a little)

You have to make the cookie extremely thick. If the cookie is too thin, the stick will pop out and cause a bump on the cookie's surface.

Because there is no pointy portion of the stick, it is really difficult to insert the stick into certain cookie shapes (such as a heart) and this step ends up altering the shape of the cookie.

You can purchase thinner lollipop sticks, but it might not be able to withstand the weight of the cookie (you'll have to test it out).

Here are some step by step instructions on how to insert both types of sticks:

For the bamboo skewers, cut out your cookies and lay them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Make sure that the cookie is thick enough to encompass the width of the stick without peeking through the front or the back of the cookie. Lightly use your index, middle and ring finger to hold the cookie in place, slide the skewer in (pointy side first) making sure that it is leveled. Do not insert the stick on an angle as this will cause the stick to poke through the other side. 

For the lollipop sticks, I have used several different methods and have found that only one really works for me. Roll out your dough slightly thinner than usual and make sure that the surface of the dough is generously floured. After the dough is rolled out, fold the dough in half and cut through both layers of the dough with a cookie cutter. When you lift the dough out, the two layers of dough should naturally come apart if you applied enough flour to the dough. Place the two layers on a parchment lined cookie sheet and lift up one of the layers, place the lollipop stick inside and gently press it into your dough (but make sure not to press too hard as this will cause the stick to peek out on the underside of the cookie pop). If you feel that your two layers are far too dry and are not sticking together whatsoever, dip your finger tip in water and use your finger to lightly brush the water in between the two layers of dough so that they meld together. 

*Note: The sticks take up a lot of room so you will most likely only be able to bake around 6 or 7 cookies per tray. After the cookie are finished baking, do not immediately lift your cookies or move the sticks whatsoever. If you do, the cookies will shift around on the stick after they are fully cooled. When transferring the cookies to a cooling rack, I like to actually hold the cookies rather than the stick to avoid any shifting during the cooling process. 

After they are finished baking, the back of your cookie should like this:

No stick is peeking out the back although there is a slight indent. These cookies were super stable on their sticks, but if you notice, the cookies are quite thick.

In the next few days I will be posting some decorating techniques (as promised!) and then I will be making a tutorial on the assembly of a cookie pop bouquet. 

Beautiful Baking Sweeties