These Victorian Skeleton Cameo Cookies make a perfect wedding favor for those of you looking to add some Gothic or Victorian details to your wedding. Not only a delicious treat, but a beautiful touch of dark decor. No wedding in your future? I’m sure you can find an excuse to turn some friends’ heads with these cookies!
First of all, wedding favors can be a tricky thing. There is a traditional expectation to provide them to your guests, but depending on the number of guests you have attending, the cost of these favors can rack up very quickly. Let’s be honest – this is why you see so many bad wedding favors. Couples end up printing their names across some cheap item that everyone can take home, but at the end of the wedding, you’ll notice most of the favors still sitting at the table… because no one really wants some cheap trinket with someone else’s name on it.
It pains me to think what a waste of money bad favors are. You’re almost better off not doing any favors at all. It got me thinking about how to get around this problem. One solution is to make the favor yourself and therefore cutting out the issue of wasting a lot of money on something no one wants. At least if you don’t break the bank, you can’t feel too disappointed if no one takes home your small token of appreciation. Another solution is to find something that someone may actually want or could use, and therefore making the token worth the money or time spent on it.
Now what if you could do both?… Make something yourself that most of your guests may want or could use! Win-Win! My opinion is that food items fit that mold!! Undoubtedly, you won’t make everyone happy, but it’s something you can make, and something that most can eat and enjoy. The key to making a food item that is wedding worthy is presentation… so this week I came up with a cookie that is both delicious and beautiful… with a dark twist of course!
I chose a frame shaped cookie with a black & white skeleton cameo embellishment… a touch of Victorian horror. Perfect for a Victorian wedding, a Gothic Wedding, a Halloween Wedding, even a Black & White Wedding. Skeletons not your thing? GASP – you have obviously come to the wrong blog! But in all seriousness, simply choose any mold that works with your theme! Did you see the Skull Sugar Cookies I made last year… if you wanted to go big or go home, I think even these could be really great favors for the right wedding.
Now, beauty does not come without pain. I must warn you… these Skeleton Cameo Cookies may seem tedious to make, especially in bulk, but they are worth it in the end. I know all of you DIY brides don’t mind a challenge… it’s kind of expected when you’re planning your own wedding!
Here’s what you’ll need to make these cookies:
- Skeleton Cameo Mold
- White Candy Melts
- Black Candy Melts
- Small Spoon
- Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookie Dough (See recipe below)
- Frame Cookie Cutters
- Royal Icing (See recipe below)
- Black Gel Food Coloring
- (2) Piping Bag or Ziploc Bag
- Piping Tip
- Clear Cookie Bags
Chocolate Cameos
NOTE – These chocolate cameos can be made ahead of time, and stored until you are ready to make the cookies.
OK, so this is the tedious part. It is truly easy to make all of the cameos, but it requires some time and patience. I only had one cameo mold, so I had to make the chocolates one at a time. If you have a 100 or so to make, this may sound like a bad plan…. and you may want to invest in a few more cameo molds to reduce the time spent on this project. To me, making them one at a time was really no big deal…. because they each only take a few minutes to make. I made a handful each day, and after a few days I had a pile of them.
You can refrigerate the cameos until you’re ready to use them…. I would just keep a layer of wax paper between them. I mistakenly stored mine haphazardly in a container, and some of the black chocolate rubbed off onto the white chocolate skeletons.
Melt a white chocolate wafer or two according to package directions.
Fill the deepest cavity of the cameo mold with the white chocolate. This makes the girl’s face. I used a tiny little spoon to transfer the melted chocolate, but I’ve heard others recommend a squeeze bottle.
If I was making a lot at one time, the bottle may have made sense, but there was no way I was trying to put one melted wafer at a time into the bottle. I actually did attempt it for the 1st two cameos… Just shoot me!… terrible idea!!
Unfortunately, it is practically impossible to fill the exact details of her face without using a fine tip, but if you at least make sure that the larger raised areas do not have any white chocolate on them, the cameo still looks good. If the white chocolate accidentally flows outside of the lines, just clean it up before it hardens. If you never liked to color in the lines when you were growing up, this step may be a challenge. I do promise it will get easier the more you make.
The chocolate will harden on it own, but no sense in delaying the inevitable, so pop it in the refrigerator, and it will be hard in under a minute.
While you wait for the white to harden, melt a few black chocolate wafers.
When the white is hard, fill the remaining mold cavity with the melted black chocolate. I like to tap the mold onto the counter to get the chocolate to settle flat. Then pop the mold back in the fridge to harden.
Once hard, simply pop the chocolate out of the mold, and repeat.
So easy!
Baking & Decorating the Cookies
For the cookie recipe, I chose the same Vanilla Sugar Cookie recipe I made with my Skull Sugar Cookies, but changed it up a bit with some Almond flavoring. Feel free to use either recipe – they both work incredibly well maintaining the shape of a cookie cutter.
Follow the recipe below, bake the cookies, and allow to cool completely.
For the icing, I made a Royal Icing. There are a million Royal Icing recipes out on the internet with even more tips & tricks, and dos & don’ts for making it. I have no interest in turning this post into a lesson in Royal icing, so I’ll give you the basics, and feel free to do more research if you want…
Follow the recipe below to make the icing.
Separate the icing and put 2/3 to 3/4 of the icing in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a wet towel to prevent a crust forming on the outer layer.
Leave the remaining icing in the mixer to make the Line Icing. Add drops of black food coloring until you achieve the desired color.
Start adding water, 1 tbsp at a time until the icing has a toothpaste like consistency.
Add the icing to a piping bag, fitted with a decorating tip. I used a ziploc bag, and pushed the tip through a corner. To each his own.
Pipe the icing in a line around the outer edge of each cookie. Once dry, I piped a second layer just to give a thicker border.
Wash & dry the mixing bowl, and add the remaining icing to the bowl to make the Flood Icing.
Add water, 1 tbsp at a time until the icing has a shampoo like consistency.
Add the icing to a piping bag or ziploc bag. No tip needed, just cut a small hole.
Squeeze the icing onto the cookies, and spread up against the line icing until the cookie is covered.
While the flood icing is still wet, place a cameo in the center and push down into the icing.
Allow the icing to completely harden.
If you’re planning to use these as favors, slip each one into a clear cookie bag. The ones I used had self adhesive to seal the bag. You could get ones without adhesive, and tie the bag with black ribbon instead. You can also make a custom sticker to apply to the bag. If you must – here’s your chance to slap your names on the favor! Set the cookies up in a tray for guests to grab on their way out, or place each one at the guest’s seats. Makes for an easy shortcut to dress up the place settings!
Looking for more Victorian details for your wedding? Try making these Cameo Restroom Signs. Maybe it’s the Skull details you’re looking to add? Make your own Bride and Groom Skull Signs for your chairs. Learn how to make Laser Cut Escort Cards, and don’t forget to find the Perfect Pair of Shoes!!
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- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 lb Confectioner's Sugar
- 3 tbsp Meringue Powder
- ¼ cup Warm Water
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (non oil based)
- Combine butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until fluffy
- Beat in egg, vanilla,and almond extract
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt
- Add flour mixture ½ cup at a time
- Blend thoroughly
- Knead into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Roll dough on a lightly floured surface
- Cut into shapes with cookie cutter
- Bake 12 minutes
- Cool on rack
- Use a Paddle Attachment
- Mix Sugar and Powder
- Add Vanilla
- Add Water a little bit at a time
- Mix on medium-high for about 7 minutes
- To create line icing, add water until icing reaches a toothpaste consistency.
- To create flood icing, add water until icing reaches a shampoo consistency
- Decorate cookies & Enjoy
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