How to make Hello Kitty & Pokémon cookies
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Backtracking humongously here, but here are some pictures from before Easter.
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There are seven Japanese mums at my son’s school, & we all got together to raise funds for the Japan earthquake & tsunami relief. We did a sushi & cake sale in the school yard, & I of-course contributed by baking cookies & cakes.
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Upon setting about doing this, I had a clear criteria to solve. Perhaps it’s the old graphic designer in me, but I love brainstorming. So here’s what I considered:
~ I knew I wanted a Japanese theme to them. ~ It had to appeal to primary school children & their mums. ~ It also must be time & cost effective for maximum return. (The going-rate for cake spendage is 20p to a £1 at a standard school cake sale, so for the pricing to be set so low, the cost of ingredients must stay minimal…) ~ And most importantly, explicitly with NO nuts as the school has a nut-free policy.
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After a quick sesh with my thinking cap on, I figured the best way is to bake cookies but also add value to them by imprinting famous childrens characters. Hello Kitty to appeal to girls, & Pikachu (Pokémon) for boys. As for the cookie recipe, I used the tried & tested Nontan one that I wrote about previously on this blog.
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To imprint the characters, here’s what I did:
- 1. I found a line drawing that I like on the web.
- 2. Then printed it out b&w to a size that I want.
- 3. Layer a clear acetate sheet on top of print, secure the corners with sellotape.
- 4. Using a thin black permanent marker pen, copy the design on to acetate. (Non-permanent will smudge as you do your cut out work.)
- 5. Place acetate on cutting board, & carefully cut out the black lines. – The important thing to remember when cutting a stencil is that if there is a ‘perfect’ continual line, you have to break it to avoid cutting out the inside. It’s a bit difficult to explain, but think of the inner circle in letter ‘O’ for example. -Â And if you look at the bow on the kitty cookie below, you’d see that there I left gaps in the line to hold the inside.
- 6. When you have finished making the stencil, place it on cut-out cookie dough & dust cocoa powder gently & most importantly faintly to avoid smudges. Carefully remove the stencil sheet off, then bake as per usual.
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(I used my tart tin as a cookie mold to get the fluted rim.)
(Pre-packaged in a bag for quick sale. Small handmade Japan flag sticker for added touch & charity feel. Lucky that the Japan flag is just a red circle! I wouldn’t have done this if the flag design was complicated! ie; U.S.A!)
(Cookie came big in five inch diameter! But was sold only for a pound! Bargain!! If at my market, I would’ve sold them at £1.50 I reckon!)
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I made about 55 of these, & they sold within 7 minutes. I didn’t anticipate that most mums would be buying more than one each. ~ I should’ve made more…!!? ^^
How ingenious Coco. Well done with the fundraising.
The cocoa powder stays on because of the baking?
Comment by Tian - May 30, 2011 7:50 am
Hello Tamami,
Great job with the cookies, the stencils look perfect!!!
Comment by Swati - May 30, 2011 8:21 am
Tian & Swati, cheers!! ^^ Yes, the cocoa powder stays on because it’s baked! xx
Comment by Tamami - May 30, 2011 8:43 am
Oh my daughter will elevate me to ‘bestest mom in the world’ if I can make her these cookies! Thanks for posting!
Comment by Gillian - May 30, 2011 11:15 am
Gillian! Nice one! Please have a go! It’s easy, just a little fiddly to make the stencil! xx
Comment by tamami - May 30, 2011 11:22 am
very nice! (as i have 3 grandchildren, i would’ve had to buy 4)
Comment by petoskystone - May 30, 2011 12:57 pm
Ah, Petoskystone, I suppose the 4th one is to you?! ^^ xx
Comment by tamami - May 30, 2011 2:14 pm
ã¨ã¦ã‚‚å¯æ„›ã„!!! very nice Tamami :)
Comment by little chan - May 30, 2011 5:00 pm
Cheers Little chan!! ã‚ã‚ŠãŒã¨ã€œã€‚
Comment by tamami - May 30, 2011 5:21 pm
tamami
those cookies look fantastic !
hope you well
Nikki x
Comment by nikki ruck - May 30, 2011 8:01 pm
Adorable cookies! I can well believe you sold out in 7 minutes. :) xx
Comment by Rachel - May 30, 2011 10:09 pm
Thank you Nikki n’ Rachel!!!!!! xx
Comment by tamami - May 31, 2011 4:08 am
The cookie designs were such a good idea and so appealing to all children in that age group. And who wouldn’t like a huge butter/sugar cookie?? A good reminder that simple things are the best. Thank you for the post!
Comment by heidy - May 31, 2011 3:43 pm
Heidy, ‘simple things are best’…, Ditto! Yes, I think so more & more too!! – I’ve gone off fancy desserts for example. As well as fancy plated restaurant food also. xx
Comment by tamami - May 31, 2011 4:22 pm
What gorgeous cookies! And congratulations on such a wonderful website Coco, it’s inspired me to start my own! Keep up the good work :)
Comment by Emalina - June 1, 2011 10:02 am
Emalina, that is fantastic!! thank you!! xx And good luck with your new blog!! Looking great!! xx
Comment by tamami - June 1, 2011 10:23 am
Nice to see you’re back and bogging, always a pleasure to read what you’ve been up to!
Take care x
Comment by Kay - June 2, 2011 6:54 am
*blogging* duh, silly typos hehe x
Comment by Kay - June 2, 2011 6:55 am
Kay, hello!! I’m happy to be blogging again, thank you!!!! ^^ Hope you are well!! xx
Comment by tamami - June 2, 2011 9:03 am
wow they must’ve taken u quite a bit of time to make! very cute!
Comment by Jessie - June 2, 2011 3:53 pm
Jessie, cheers!! It does take a bit of time to make the stencil I must admit…! xx
Comment by tamami - June 2, 2011 6:17 pm
Thanks for the compliment Tamani, so glad you like it! If my blog’s half as lovely as yours then I will be very happy :)
I look forward to seeing what delight you bake next! xx
Comment by Emalina - June 3, 2011 12:50 pm
Emalina, :) :) cheers!!! xx
Comment by tamami - June 3, 2011 7:17 pm
You make them so perfect!! And for such a bargain… who wouldn’t buy!?
ノンタン must be very proud of you for taking his recipe this far..!!?
Comment by Rita - June 6, 2011 6:34 am
Rita, lol, yesss, Nontan must be happy with me to promote him like this too!! :) :) :) Cheers!! xx
Comment by tamami - June 6, 2011 9:21 am
Hi, would you be at broadway market on 11 or 12 June? I would be visiting London and would love to visit your stall actually.
Thanks
Comment by Mari - June 7, 2011 4:38 am
Hello Mari!!!
Yes! I’ll be trading at the market on Saturday 11th June!! Hope to see you there!!! xx
Comment by tamami - June 7, 2011 6:27 am
Fab, these look fun to inspire the kids to do something
Comment by Clare Hampshire UK - June 11, 2011 8:48 pm
Clare, thank you!!!!!
Comment by tamami - June 12, 2011 5:19 am
These look gorgeous! Three Eat High will give them a whirl soon x
Comment by The Brunette - June 14, 2011 7:41 pm
Thanks The Brunette!! xx
Comment by tamami - June 14, 2011 7:59 pm
The Hello Kitty cookies are so darling!
Comment by Dina - September 10, 2011 3:09 pm
Dina, Thank you!!!!!!! xx
Comment by Tamami - September 10, 2011 7:25 pm
May I get the cookie recipe you used for these? I want to make these so bad bu, the sugar cookie recipe I have leaves cracks on top of the cookies.
Comment by Ji - November 5, 2011 9:04 pm
Hello Ji.
the recipe can be found at: https://www.cocoandme.com/2009/09/15/408/
Happy baking!
T x
Comment by Tamami - November 5, 2011 9:17 pm
Best part about this recipe is that it yields about 40 50 cookies depending on how big you make them.
Comment by Lillian - December 17, 2011 12:59 am
Lillian! Thank you!! xx
Comment by tamami - December 17, 2011 2:13 am
These are adorable! I’m gonna try making some for my friend. What did you use to cut out the template?
Comment by Aly - March 26, 2012 3:35 am
Hello Aly! Many thanks! I used acetate paper & scalpel blade. It takes time & precision but when you get used to it, it’s fun & calming to make! Good luck & happy baking!
Comment by Tamami - March 26, 2012 11:05 am
Love the Pokemon & Hello Kitty cookies! Less icing, more cookie! You inspire me to bake more… <3
Comment by Liza - July 21, 2012 2:19 pm
this is not a comment, this is the blast from the past! :)
hello gorgeous tamami!!
i was wondering were are all my fellow students, since can’t see any around london design agencies; went to csm today and looked up our graduation prospectus for surnames. found you and your fabulous cakes!
hope you are well and happy, will try to get to your stall some saturday and try those great looking cakes of yours! hope we catch-up soon. xoxo
Irena Matijevic :) look up linkedin, I have a college photo on/one of the few nice photoes i have :0/
Comment by irena - February 21, 2013 5:16 pm
Hello Irena!!
I’ve left you a message on LinkedIn! x
Comment by tamami - February 21, 2013 6:21 pm