Last year in April, I shared a cookie tutorial featuring dimensional royal icing flowers on lattice cookies. I used a huge round cutter to create the lattice, a tool normally used to cut an entire lattice pie crust top in one fell swoop.
In this tutorial, I offer up a couple of other ways to cut lattice cookies and use baked versions to make a charming 3-D lattice box that can be used to house other sweets or as a centerpiece in winter tablescapes.
In lieu of the huge pie crust cutter, you can also cut lattice pieces using a lattice roller cutter. Alternatively, you can cut a lattice with a single diamond cookie cutter used repeatedly in an array, though, admittedly, this approach is much more time-consuming. I've linked to the pie crust and roller cutters in the list below so you have options for speedier cutting. But no matter which cutting method you choose, the most important thing to remember is to keep butter-based cookie dough cold at all steps to avoid misshaping. (Note: Shortening-based doughs don't firm up much with chilling so be sure to cut them directly on parchment paper or a baking mat; then move them on this surface directly onto your baking sheet.)
- Cookie dough of your choice (preferably a non-spreading one)
- Rolling pin
- Lattice pie crust cutter or lattice roller cutter
- Parchment paper
- 2 (9.4-cm and 7.8-cm/3 11/16-in and 3 1/16-in) square cookie cutters (I used the extra large and large cutters from this six-piece nested set.)
- Perforated baking mats (optional)
- Zester or Microplane tool
- 4 (30 x 0.4-cm/12 x 3/16-in, L x W) ribbons in color of your choice
- Royal icing for lattice cookies (optional):
- White piping-consistency, in pastry bag with PME #1 tip (or equivalent)
- White flood-consistency, in tipless pastry bag with opening equivalent to PME #2 tip
- Fan-heater or dehydrator
- Plate to fit assembled box
Step 1: Cut and bake cookies
For this project, five large (9.4-cm/3 11/16-in) square cookies are needed. I will explain their preparation in greater detail in Steps 1a to 1j, directly below.
a. Roll your dough to a thickness of 0.4 centimeters (3/16 inch). Use one of the methods described above to create a large lattice piece, following my tips to prevent misshaping.
b. Use the smaller (7.3-cm/3 1/16-in) square cutter to cut out the center of a lattice box side (we will frame it later with more dough). I located a diamond in the center of the cutter to ensure that my box sides look symmetric in the final construction.
c. Repeat Step 1b to cut four more lattice pieces. Let them chill in the fridge while you complete the next step.
d. Roll out more cookie dough to the same thickness as the lattice pieces just cut. Using the same small square cookie cutter, cut out five squares. (You won’t need the square cutouts, but save the dough for future projects! The lattice pieces will go inside these cutouts.) Be sure to leave enough dough between each cutout (at least 2 centimeters or 3/4 inch) so you can cut out larger squares around each of them in Step 1f. This way you will optimize the use of the dough and won’t have to roll it over and over to make the frames around the cutouts shown in later photos.
e. Now take the five lattice pieces out of the fridge, and insert one in each of the empty square cutouts.
f. Once all of the squares have been filled, center the larger square cookie cutter over one of the lattice pieces and then cut a bigger square around it. Repeat with the remaining four lattice pieces. If you've left enough space between the pieces and centered the large cookie cutter over each, the border of plain cookie dough surrounding each piece should end up a uniform 1 centimeter (3/8 inch) wide.
g. Remove any excess dough, and bake the framed pieces according to your recipe. If the pieces end up being too close to one another, they may fuse together during baking, but they can easily be cut apart while still warm from the oven. Let the cookies cool completely. Note: Before baking, I chilled my pieces again and then moved them to a perforated baking mat. This step is totally optional. I just like the look of the textured back sides of the cookies which will be exposed on the box interior.
h. It's now time to miter the edges of the four cookies that will form the box sides. By "miter", I mean to file the edges at roughly a 45-degree angle using a zester or Microplane tool. Mitering allows the box pieces to fit more closely together at the corners, thus creating very clean seams. Note: Only three edges of each of these pieces need to be mitered, i.e., those edges that will meet at seams. Just be sure that all box sides are oriented the same way before you start mitering. All box sides should be identical at the end of the day.
I am so used to mitering the edges of my cookies that I just hold them and file, as shown in the picture below. But to avoid breakage, it's best to lay the cookies face down on a table, push them very close to the table edge, and then file the cookie edge while holding the filing tool at a 45-degree angle to the cookie. (For a visual of this filing process, see the first picture in Step 2 of my "A Cookie Box for Dad" tutorial.)
i. Next, miter all four edges of the remaining cookie that will serve as the box lid.
j. Again, just three out of the four edges of the box sides need to be mitered, as shown below. Since this box is bottomless, the bottom edges that make contact with the plate can remain un-mitered.
At this point, I could have jumped to Step 2, iced the pieces, and then glued them together in the usual way with very thick royal icing. But instead I wanted to first test that all of the pieces would fit neatly together. For this test, I used four ribbons for ties, threading them through the holes in the upper portions of each box side.
I think this box is really nice just as it is with bare cookies. And though I've always had mixed feelings about using ribbons in 3-D cookie constructions, I liked them so much in this test that I decided to stick with them, even in the iced version that follows. (Plus, assembled without any icing "glue", this project becomes considerably easier and faster to execute.)
In the pictures below, you can see the textured cookie box interiors and the un-iced cookie box filled with treats. Feel free to stop here if you like!
However, if you'd rather ice your cookies, move on to Step 2!
Step 2: Decorate cookies with royal icing
a. Work on one cookie at a time. Using white piping-consistency royal icing and a PME tip #1 (or equivalent), outline all of the lattice strips that lean toward the upper right, stopping and starting at the intersections between every other lattice strip. Also be sure to stagger the starts and stops from one strip to the next, as shown below. The goal here is for the lattice strips to look as if they are woven once iced, and this method of outlining will ensure that this look is achieved.
b. Now, repeat Step 2a on the lattice strips that lean toward the upper left.
c. and d. Outline the inside and outside of the square frame around the lattice.
e. Use white flood-consistency royal icing and a PME #2 tip (or equivalent) to flood all of the right-leaning sections. Let the icing crust in front of a fan-heater or dehydrator for a few minutes. Allowing some drying time before flooding the remaining areas on the strips will ensure that the strips remain distinct after flooding.
f. Flood the remaining empty areas, and again let the icing crust for a few minutes.
g. Using the same icing and tip, flood the frame.
h. Repeat Steps 2a to 2g for the other four cookies, and let the icing dry completely.
Gather your four ribbons, and group the four box sides together, taking care to orient them such that the mitered edges are on their tops and sides (not on their bottoms).
Step 3: Assemble box cookie
a. Lay two box sides next to one another, again keeping their un-mitered edges toward the bottom. Stack the first cookie on top of the second one, just along the framed section. Thread a ribbon through the uppermost half-diamond holes in each cookie, and tie the two cookies together.
b. Lay the third box side next to the second one, and repeat Step 3a.
c. Tie the fourth side cookie to the third one, again following the directions in Step 3a. You’ll now have a long strip of four cookies tied together.
d. Carefully stand up the strip of cookies, and position each cookie at a 90-degree angle to the one adjacent to it so that the untied end cookies now touch one another. Tie them together, just as you tied the cookies at the other seams.
e. Set the lid on top, fitting it snugly against the mitered edges at the tops of the box sides. Place the box on a plate, and, voilà, your "3-D Winter Wonderland Lattice Box Cookie" is complete!
Here are more pictures from different angles, including the box filled with treats.
Ideas kept coming to me as usual, so let me show you the cutest and most inspiring winter wonderland cookie project I have ever made: my 3-D lattice house cookie! I outfitted it with a candle so it doubles as a lantern!
Could I part without a video? Of course not! Here's a recap of all of the different cookie projects shown in this tutorial. Enjoy!
That’s all for now. See you next year!
Ciao, Manu 💙
Manuela Pezzopane, affectionately called Manu by her friends and family, is the author of the blog feature Made by Manu, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. In March 2022, Manu also assumed the role of host of our rebranded and reformatted Cookie Connection Challenges: Watch-Learn-Create Series, which debuted in a virtual video format in July 2022. A fan of everything handmade, Manu professes to have tried every possible hobby. However, it wasn’t until the end of 2014, when an American friend invited her to a Christmas cookie exchange, that she first discovered decorated cookies. In 2015, after watching Julia M. Usher's videos and signing up on Cookie Connection, Manu finally attempted her own designs. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion, and her mesmerizing video shorts have earned her a large and loyal following throughout the global cookie community. Manu harks from Rome, Italy, where she currently resides. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or explore her past challenges and large library of Made by Manu tutorials here on Cookie Connection.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane
Note: Made by Manu is a Cookie Connection blog feature written by Manuela Pezzopane, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To read all of Manuela's past Made by Manu tutorials, click here. And to see all of Cookie Connection's tutorials, click here.
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