You’ve got plenty of time between now and Sunday night to bake a batch of these impressive Oscar statuette cookies, developed by Lauryn Cohen of BellaBaker.com.

You don’t even have to buy an Academy Award-shaped cookie cutter: Here’s a free downloadable Oscar cookie template and circle for the statuette base..

The recipe makes approximately two dozen coookies.

ACADEMY AWARD (OSCAR STATUETTE)
COOKIES RECIPE

Ingredients

Everyone wins with an edible Oscar. Photo courtesy BellaBaker.com.

The dough can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

1. WHISK flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.

2. COMBINE cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until mixture is pale and blended.

3. ADD eggs, one at a time, mixing until eggs and extra yolk are fully incorporated into sugar mixture. Add vanilla extract and beat. Reduce mixer to low and add flour mixture, a little at a time, until dough is fully combined, taking care not to over-mix.

4. DIVIDE into two disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for at least one hour, or preferably 2 to 3 hours.

Coat the royal icing with edible gold glitter:
You’re ready to hand out the awards! Photo
courtesy The Baker Shop.

Preparation For Baking

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Remove dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for a minute or two so it is easier to roll out.

2. PLACE dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out with a rolling pin to approximately 1/8″ in thickness.

3. CUT out statuette and circles with cookie cutter or template, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you are using the template, simply place it on top of dough and cut around it with a sharp knife. You may already have a 2.5″ diameter circle cookie cutter for the base. If not, look for a small cup or glass to use in its place.

4. CUT slits into the middle of the circle cookies that are big enough to fit the base of the Oscar cookies. Bake 10-11 minutes, or until cookies are just starting to become golden in color around the edges. Remove from oven, and if the slit in the circle cookies has filled in during baking, use a sharp knife to re-cut the slit before the cookie cools.

ROYAL ICING RECIPE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. MIC all ingredients together for 7 to 10 minutes, until icing stiffens. If icing appears too stiff, add more water, one teaspoon at a time. You want the icing to be thin enough that you can pipe it easily. Tint the royal icing gold (see instructions below) and frost the circle cookies for the base.

2. DECORATE cookies when cool. Place royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a very small round tip.

3. OUTLINE the outside of the cookie. Keep the tip about 1/2 inch above the cookie as you ice. This helps achieve a straighter line.

4. FILL IN or “flood” the cookies, adding about a teaspoon of water to the remaining royal icing until it becomes more of a liquid consistency. Fill a squeeze bottle with the “flood” icing and squeeze the icing inside the outline you just created, so it almost covers the cookie. Then take a toothpick and gently move it around to help fill in the cookie completely.

5. DRY the cookies completely (usually 1 to 2 hours). Then, lightly moisten the surface of each cookie with water using a paint brush. Coat in edible gold glitter. Affix statue to base by inserting statuette cookie into base.
 
You’ve worked hard: Give yourself an award!
 
TO TINT ICING GOLD

1. PLACE 10 drops of yellow food color in a mixing dish. Add one drop of red food color; mix with a toothpick.

2. TEST the color on a piece of dough or white bread; let sit for 3 minutes to see the color when dried. If the color is too light, add another drop of red to your mixture and retest; if the color is too dark or too orange, add more yellow.

3. BLEND color, a bit at a time, into the royal icing.

What the king ate after the speech:
A Stilton from purveyor Neal’s Yard. Photo
courtesy Whole Foods Market.

We’ve received dozens of recipes for themed cocktail recipes for Oscar parties. For example, combine gin with Earl Grey Tea, and call it The King’s Speech cocktail.

Fatigued at the idea of 12 different “Best Picture” cocktails, we’ve published just two over the past month.

But the idea of an Oscar-themed cheese board caught our interest. Here are suggestions from ArtisanalCheese.com, one of the finest online cheese purveyors, on how to create an Academy Awards cheese board:

Starfruit = star cocktail = Academy Awards
fare. Photo courtesy Moet et Chandon.

A week from today, you’ll probably be watching the Academy Awards. What will you be drinking?

While you’re watching the stars, nibble on a few with The Starlet cocktail. It uses star fruit to give star quality to any drink.

The recipe is courtesy Moët et Chandon, the official champagne of the Academy Awards. The limited-edition Gold Award Season Moët & Chandon Impérial is a stunner.

THE STARLET COCKTAIL RECIPE

Ingredients Per Cocktail

Preparation
1. In a cocktail shaker, use a muddler or a wooden spoon to muddle the mint leaves. Add simple syrup and lime juice and stir to combine.
2. Add tequila and elderflower liqueur and fill shaker with ice.
3. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into a glass and top with Moet & Chandon. Garnish with starfruit.

Starfruit is a caloric bargain: one cup has just 40 calories. It is very low in fat and Sodium; high in dietary fiber, vitamin C and copper; and a good source of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and potassium. Use it often as a garnish and enjoy it as a snack.

Stock up on this limited-edition bottle.
Photo courtesy Moet et Chandon.

Going to a Golden Globes party this weekend?

Bring a bottle of the official Champagne!

Moët & Chandon returns as the official Champagne of both the 2011 Golden Globes and the Academy Award. Its limited-edition Gold Award Season Moët & Chandon Impérial bottle is a beaut.

The limited-edition bottle retails for $39 and is available through March 31st wherever Moët & Chandon is sold.

The Champagne will continue to age well for the next 10 years, so you may want to stock up. It’s an impressive gift to give year-round.

Instead of generic “wine and cheese,” serve
different wines (or beers) in the same
category and turn your event into a “tasting.”
Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Last week we proposed 10 “Best Picture Cocktails” as party fare for your Oscar party.

But what if your friends prefer wine or beer?

Instead of making a random selection at the store, focus on selecting bottles for a beer or wine tasting.

Pick up to a dozen different kinds of a single beer (amber ale, IPA, stout, chocolate beer and ale) or wines from a particular region (New Zealand, South Africa) or a particular grape varietal (zinfandel, shiraz, semillon).

Guests not only enjoy the Academy Awards, but discover new favorite beers or wines in the process.

Still pondering how to make your Oscar party a standout?

The Hilton Chicago/Indian Lakes Resort has an easy solution. Their mixologists developed cocktails in honor of the Best Picture nominees, styled to complement the theme of the film.

The cocktails are very easy to make, leaving you all the time you need to focus on the Academy Awards.

It’s no surprise that the aqua-blue cocktail in the photo is for Avatar. But you won’t want to miss the Inglourious Jager Monster or the Hurt Locker Cherry Bomb, either.

Find many more cocktail ideas in our Cocktails & Spirits Section.

Avatar fans can show their support with this
colorful cocktail. Photo by Ivan Mateev | IST.

Red Carpet Fizz.

- Smoked Salmon Blinis
- Butter Lettuce Salad with Mandarin Oranges
- Slow Braised Short Ribs
- Pan-Roasted Chicken with Whole-Grain Mustard and Port
- Spring Risotto
- Molten Lava Chocolate Cake

- The Red Carpet Fizz
- The Ultimate Accolade
- The Golden Rush
- Plus Non-Alcoholic Beverages

And, there are party planning tips, shopping lists and games, Oscar ballots, Oscar Trivia and other games. Oscar Bingo, anyone? http://www.oscars.org/partykit

Slumdog Millionaire Mojito

- 1-1/2 ounces rum
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
- 8 to 10 mint leaves
- Splash of Champagne or other sparkling wine
- Garnish with mint sprig

Revolutionary Road Rum

- 1 ounce rum
- 3/4 ounce blood orange puree
- 1/2 ounce citrus-infused simple syrup
- Garnish with lime-mint foam, or sprig of mint and lime wheel

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with lime-mint foam. Created by Anna Kimball, Rum Socialite, Chicago .

Benjamin Button’s Age Reverser

- 2 ounces rum
- 1 ounce pomegranate juice (see our favorite pomegranate juices)
- 3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- Dash simple syrup
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds or lemon peel twist

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, combine. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with pomegranate seeds or lemon twist.

Harvey’s Rum & Milk

- 1-1/4 ounces rum
- 2 ounces pineapple juice
- 1 ounce coconut milk
- 1/2 ounce orange juice
- 1/2 ounce dark rum

Directions: Combine rum, pineapple juice, coconut milk and orange juice into a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Pour all contents into a highball glass. Top with a float of dark rum.

Best Cocktail in a Supporting Role

- 2 ounces rum
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Stir until honey has dissolved completely. Pour into a rocks glass filled with ice.