I’m not as skilled as I would like to be in decorating cookies and cakes. In my next life I’d like to come back with the talents of cookie artist Patti Page. I’m constantly working on building my skill level and always on the lookout for tools to make me look more professional.

When I saw this cookie press on Etsy, I ordered it immediately. Wooden tools like this fall under the “embossing” category. They leave an imprint in the dough that makes you look like a decorating pro. I have had some experience with similar tools when I made these Embossed Brown Sugar Cookies.

Often the carving in the tool is not deep enough, so that when you bake the dough, the imprint disappears, like when I tried my heart rolling pin on these mini apple pies. I have also had issues with the dough sticking to the cutter or rolling pin.

I did a lot of experimenting when baking these cookies and developed what I found was a foolproof way of getting perfect cookies. And surprisingly, flour was not the best way to prevent sticking! Check out the video to see my method.

The brilliant rosy hue of the glaze is totally natural, thanks to the addition of freeze-dried strawberries. They pack a wallop of strawberry flavour. I add a bit of lemon juice to the glaze to balance out all that icing sugar.

The best word to describe the texture of these cookies is plush. Thick and slightly chewy, they are so satisfying to eat.