Recipe courtesy of
Kim Klatzkin
for
Food Network Kitchen
Recipe courtesy of
Kim Klatzkin
for
Food Network Kitchen
Watch how to make this recipe.
Painted Fish Cookies
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- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 5 hr 30 min (includes cooling, chilling and setting times)
- Active: 1 hr
- Yield: 35 to 50 cookies
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 42.5 servings
- Calories
- 126
- Total Fat
- 5 g
- Saturated Fat
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- 21 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 14 g
- Protein
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 16 mg
- Sodium
- 30 mg
These whimsical fish cookies are a sweet ode to the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the beloved Italian Christmas Eve tradition. While the original feast features seafood in many forms, here we’re taking a playful detour with buttery fish-shaped sugar cookies that nod to the vibrant spirit of the Italian coast. Delicately painted in bright, Mediterranean-inspired hues, each cookie becomes its own little celebration. They’re as fun to decorate as they are to eat—perfect for a holiday project or a creative afternoon in the kitchen.
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 5 hr 30 min (includes cooling, chilling and setting times)
- Active: 1 hr
- Yield: 35 to 50 cookies
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 42.5 servings
- Calories
- 126
- Total Fat
- 5 g
- Saturated Fat
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- 21 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 14 g
- Protein
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 16 mg
- Sodium
- 30 mg
Ingredients
Cookies:
Royal Icing:
Decorating:
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Directions
Special equipment:
1- to 4-inch fish-shaped cookie cutters (choose a variety of sizes); small food-safe paint brushes; 2 piping bags; 1 small round piping tip- For the cookies: Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in 2 batches until just incorporated. Divide the dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap; shape into disks. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.)
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface, dusting with flour as needed, until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes with the fish-shaped cookie cutters; arrange 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. (If the dough becomes too soft as you work, return to the refrigerator until firm.) Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; re-roll once to cut out more cookies. Chill the cutouts for 30 minutes.
- Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
- Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until the cookies are slightly puffed and just golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely before icing.
- For the royal icing: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Whisk in 5 tablespoons cold water until the icing is smooth, drizzles from the whisk when you lift it and holds the lines for 5 to 10 seconds, about 2 minutes. Add up to 1 tablespoon more water if needed.
- Transfer 1/2 cup of the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and tie the top of the bag. Set aside. Whisk the remaining icing with more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the consistency of thin pancake batter; this will be the flooding icing. Fill a second piping bag (with no tip) with the flooding icing and tie the top of the bag. Make sure no air gets into the icing to prevent crust from forming inside the bag.
- Pipe the stiffer icing along the border of the cooled cookies and set aside at room temperature until set, about 10 minutes. Fill in the cookies with the flooding icing, then use a toothpick to gently move it until it touches the border. Let dry until hardened and set, at least 2 hours, up to overnight.
- For decorating: Put a drop of each desired color into separate small bowls. Using a different small paintbrush for each color, dip the clean paintbrush in water, then mix with the gel food coloring of choice to create a more fluid, brighter paint. Paint vertical curved or scalloped lines along the body of the fish, alternating between 2 colors (dark blue and bright blue, yellow and orange, pink and yellow, etc.). For the tail, either alternate colored dots or create horizontal lines to mimic a fish tail. Use black gel food coloring and a fine brush to paint a small dot for the eye. Allow painted cookies to dry at room temperature for 1 to 3 hours before serving.
Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.) The decorating can also be done with edible markers, but we like the rustic look of a paintbrush. If using gel food coloring, the less water-diluted the food coloring, the longer it will take to dry.
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