Lighting up the night...

Do you have fireflies at your house?  We don't...and I miss them.

My favorite part of our summers in Alabama were right at dusk.  The bunnies ventured out and hopped across the yard while fireflies twinkled overhead.  Magical.

I grew up in this part of Texas, and I know we had fireflies.  What do you think it will take to bring them back?  Engraved invitations?  A signed pledge to never put them in a jar?  How about cookies?  Well, maybe they won't entice the fireflies, but they'll make me feel better.

All it takes to make these fireflies sparkle is a little disco dust.  This Hologram Gold disco dust is absolutely perfect.  Find it at your local bakery supply, Amazon or Copper Gifts.

Oh, and can we just pretend that fireflies look like this?  Literal translation of creatures in cookie form is not one of my gifts.   

To make firefly cookies, you'll need:

• insect and mason jar-shaped sugar cookies (I used a template for the mason jars.)
• royal icing, tinted with AmeriColor Egg Yellow, Electric Blue (two shades), grey (from Super Black), Bright White, and Super Black
• disposable icing bags
• couplers and tips (#2, #4, #1)
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks
• hologram gold disco dust
• small paintbrushes (2)
• meringue powder

Use #2 tips to outline the cookies, sectioning off areas to be filled in different colors.

Thin the white, grey and blue icings with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop and large air bubbles that have formed.  Pour into squeeze bottles as needed.

Flood the outlines with the thinned icing.  Use a toothpick to guide to edges and pop large air bubbles.

Let the cookies dry for at least one hour.

Thin the yellow icing with water, but instead of using the "ribbon method" above, make it a bit thicker.  Run a knife through the icing, and when at the correct consistency, the line formed by the knife will disappear in 12-15 seconds.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop and large air bubbles that have formed.  Pour into an icing bag fitted with a #4 tip.

Pipe dots of the thinned yellow icing onto the jar.  Lightly swirl a toothpick in the center to dislodge any air bubbles.

Fill in the outline on the fireflies.

Add details to the cookies...
Use a #2 tips to add wing and body details to the fireflies.  Use a #1 tip to pipe the eye, mouth and antennae.

Use a #2 tip to add detail to the jar lid.

Let the cookies dry uncovered 6-8 hours or overnight.

The cookies are perfectly cute without disco dust.  If you don't have it, or don't want to use it...no problem.

BUT, if you want some serious sparkle on those little buggers...

Once the icing is completely dry, add the disco dust.  Mix together equal parts meringue powder and water.  Brush the mixture onto the yellow areas.  Sprinkle on the disco dust and shake of the excess over a basket-style coffee filter.  (Use as a funnel to pour the excess back into the container.)

Disco dust will stick even to dry areas, so use a dry paintbrush to brush it away.

{This is not the best picture of the process, but it helps to capture the brilliant sparkle of disco dust.}

Do you have fireflies in your yard?  Can you box some up and send them this way?!?

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