Page 237 - A Literary Holiday Cookbook

cutter, cut out the center from each circle so you are left with a

hollow ring. Bake for 6 minutes. Gently transfer to a wire rack to cool
using an offset spatula.

9 Repeat Step 8 with your second set of scraps. When you’re

finished, you should have 20 circle cookies and 20 ring cookies.

10 To make the frosting, add the milk to a small, sealable container.

Cut the teabags open and pour in the tea (discard the bags). Stir
together gently. Cover and place in the fridge to steep for 2 hours.

11 Sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Beat the
butter on medium speed in a standing mixer until smooth. Beat in 1

cup of the powdered sugar until combined, stopping to scrape the

sides of the bowl if necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract and 1
tablespoon of Earl Grey milk mix (including tea leaves). Alternate

beating in the remaining powdered sugar and milk.

12 Transfer ½ cup (approximately ¼ of the full batch) to a small bowl
and stir in 6 drops black gel food coloring. Set aside.

13 Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a
medium star tip (such as a Wilton #32 tip). Pipe a flat layer of frosting

onto 10 of the circle cookies using a spiral motion.

14 Transfer the black frosting to a piping bag fitted with a medium

round piping tip (such as a Wilton #12 tip) and pipe large question

marks onto each of the decorated cookies.

15 To construct the cookies, take a blank circle cookie for the base.

Pipe a dab of leftover frosting on each of the four compass points
and gently press a ring cookie in place over the base, wiping away

any icing that oozes out with a finger. Pipe four more dabs of icing on

top of the ring and place another ring over it. This will create a
pocket. Fill the pocket with 1 tablespoon of small candies. Apply