Ushering in the New Year (Sri Lankan Style)

These cookies show the traditional New Year as celebrated in Sri Lanka. The center cookie is milk rice served on a banana leaf with coconut sambal and onion relish. On the side is fish curry. To get the gravy texture on the fish curry I mixed royal icing with clove powder and cardamom to depict the spices in the gravy. For the milk rice I mixed in white sprinkles to look like rice.

The other cookie is bananas, rosette cookies, coconut candy and top knot oil cakes. These are traditional sweets served at the table.

Every New Year a pot of milk is boiled on an open hearth. The milk overflowing is wishing abundance for the coming year.

The oil lamp is another tradition. It is lit on New Year’s Day for light for a brighter new year. Making this oil lamp with fondant was a little tricky. Probably I did not give it time enough to dry. It kept falling off. Fondant takes time to dry unlike gum paste. I pinched the edges to show the grove where the wick is placed.

The flowers are frangipani placed on betel leaves. Betel leaves are often used to exchange rituals at New Year.

The 2022 cookie is my nod to the Rose Bowl Parade held in Pasadena every year.

Thank you to Christine @Sweet Prodigy and Julia @Julia M. Usher for another great challenge. I would like to wish everyone at Cookie Connection a wonderful New Year.

What fabulous New Year's cookies dear Zeena @Zeena! I absolutely love that you created a set of cookies that mimic New Year's in Sri Lanka ❤️. And thank you for the great explanation of what each cookie is and how you made it. Simply beautiful work my dear ❤️❤️❤️ Hugs...

Such wonderful detail on these cookies! Congrats!

OMG!! This entry is amazing dear Zeena!! Looks sooo great! The melting cheese looks so appetizing and real!! I Love these!!  @Zeena

@Cookies Fantastique posted:

What fabulous New Year's cookies dear Zeena @Zeena! I absolutely love that you created a set of cookies that mimic New Year's in Sri Lanka ❤️. And thank you for the great explanation of what each cookie is and how you made it. Simply beautiful work my dear ❤️❤️❤️ Hugs...

Thank you dear Carol @Cookies Fantastique. So glad you like it.

@Julia M. Usher posted:

Such wonderful detail on these cookies! Congrats!

Thank you Julia @Julia M. Usher.

@Icingsugarkeks posted:

OMG!! This entry is amazing dear Zeena!! Looks sooo great! The melting cheese looks so appetizing and real!! I Love these!!  @Zeena

Thank you dear Gabi @Icingsugarkeks.

Thank you for sharing your traditions and their meanings with us, and for depicting them in cookie form! There are so many excellent details here. It looks like you have used a few techniques (cutout, molded, and modeling, I believe). It would be great to learn more about the different techniques that you used and anything that you may have learned.

@Sweet Prodigy posted:

Thank you for sharing your traditions and their meanings with us, and for depicting them in cookie form! There are so many excellent details here. It looks like you have used a few techniques (cutout, molded, and modeling, I believe). It would be great to learn more about the different techniques that you used and anything that you may have learned.

Thank you Christine @Sweet Prodigy. I have not covered the cookies with fondant or royal icing because I was going to decorate the top with fondant. The banana leaf in the center, the roses and the woven mat were made using molds. Everything else was molded by hand with no special cutter. For the betel leaf I used the small rose cutter with a "V" cut at top and veined. The same cutter was used to make the frangipani flowers.

What I learned was, that fondant tends to remain softer on the inside for longer than gum paste does. To make the orange coconut flakes I tried to grate dried fondant it just crumbled into pieces, however the fresh fondant grated perfect. Building a two tier object with fondant is my first time. The oil lamp kept on falling until I gave it couple of days to dry. I learned to be patient. Also coloring fondant with dust color mixed with clear alcohol sometimes made it softer. Would like to get feedback on that.

Fabulous Zeena ! I love it!

@LisaF posted:

Fabulous Zeena ! I love it!

Thank you.

Wonderful Zeena, thanks for explanation and showing up this way how you celebrate New year❤️❤️🍀🥂

@Petra Florean posted:

Wonderful Zeena, thanks for explanation and showing up this way how you celebrate New year❤️❤️🍀🥂

Thank you dear Petra.