Happy St. Patrick's Day, McReaders! Every year about this time, I try to convince my husband to officially add a "Mc" to the beginning of our last name. No disrespect to my in-laws, our name is wonderful...but a "Mc"...that would add a little something. When I was going through my Gone with the Wind stage in high school, I was sure I would marry someone named O'Hara...Bridget O'Hara. Then, I fantasized about being Bridget McBride or even Bridget St. John....well, he's not going for it. Let's drown our sorrows in St. Paddy's cookies. 
Let me say up front...I'm not thrilled with these cookies. Why I thought a BLACK POT cookie would be cute, I'll never know. Today, hours after they were finished, mind you, it hit me...DOTS! I should have made dotty pots. Next year?
It doesn't show in the picture, but the "gold" is actually shiny and metallic looking and made with luster dust,* which you can find at bakery supply stores and online. 
Here's how to use it:
- Decorate cookies with royal icing and let dry overnight.
- Mix a little vodka (the guy at the cake supply store swears by Everclear, but that's not something I keep on-hand, vodka however...) with small amount of luster dust. I use a baby spoon for this; a little goes a long way.
- Using a child's paintbrush, paint the mixture onto the cookies.
- The alcohol will evaporate, leaving the metallic sheen.
*Lustre or Luster Dust is a dry powder that can be applied to add a metallic sheen to icing. The product is interesting...my bakery supply store sells lustre dust that is labeled "non-toxic" and edible, some is labeled "for decorative purposes only." Remember those silver dragees (balls) that you ate as a kid on cookies and cupcakes? Those are labeled "decorative" now, too. In my opinion, a little won't kill me. From what I understand through the "baking grapevine", Europe considers all lustre dust "edible"; the US doesn't. Weird! Anyway...check your bakery supply for the "non-toxic" version.
More cookies decorated with luster dust:
Don't forget to enter the COOKIE GIVEAWAY!!!
