Knitting or golf are two pastimes that some individuals pursue.
Joanne Lima, however, chose cookie decorating.
Lima, of the Village of McClure, has been baking and decorating cookies for about ten years as a hobby.
It didn’t start out that way, though. Lima learned how to frost cakes from her mother when she was a teenager. Lima carried her talents to county fairs and other events over the years, winning “Best in Show” awards.
However, due to the amount of baking, cooling, shaping and icing needed, preparing a cake takes an entire day.
“Cookies are easier because you can make the dough or the cookies the night before and do the icing in the morning,” she said. “And once the icing is set, you can stack them up for storing.”
Lima moved to cookies as a result.
She appreciates having a hobby that is on a smaller scale because now she lives in The Villages. She frequently bakes cookies for club events, birthday parties and holidays.
“Every year I have a Christmas party where I invite about 15 or so people over and show them how to do the icing,” Lima said. “Then we have a cookie decorating party.”
Lima utilizes royal icing, which she applies with a piping bag to make a smooth coating. Because royal icing is created with egg whites — or, in Lima’s case, meringue powder — it sits on top of the cookies before hardening.
“Once you give the first layer a few minutes to dry you can put your detail work on top,” Lima said. “Or if you want more subtle details, you use the wet-on-wet technique, which involves putting the details on the base layer right after you flood the cookie surface and before it dries down too much.”
Baking powder isn’t used in Lima’s recipes because it turns the cookies flat.
“I also encourage everyone use a rolling pin with thickness guides on it, or putting dowels at the edge of the dough as you roll it,” she said. “This ensures each cookie is even.”
Another baking technique is to place the cookies on the baking sheet in the freezer for a few minutes before baking to minimize uneven baking.
Iris Martinez of the Village of Linden and Rosy McKee of the Village of McClure were invited to Lima’s house on May 18 for their own royal icing lesson. McKee applied the first layer of icing to the cookies before handing them over to Martinez for the finishing touches.
“I’m not great at the detail, but it’s fun to put all the icing on them,” McKee said.
Martinez laughed heartily at her pal.
“I see, so you just want to leave me with the hard parts,” she said.
The women chuckled as they continued to make their “wonky roses,” complimenting each other on a particularly outstanding cookie.
“It’s never about how the cookies look,” Lima said. “It’s about how much fun you have making them.”