Welcome to the first in what I plan to be a recurring “How-To” series here on Brown Eyed Baker. While recipes are all well and good, there are some techniques that are best explained in a step-by-step method, with pictures included (at least this is how I learn best). As I was decorating my Stanley Cup Playoffs cookies last week I thought that doing a tutorial on how to decorate cookies with royal icing would be a great first How-To post.
I was always very good at baking snowmen, Christmas trees, angels and the like in December, slapping on some buttercream, a few sprinkles and calling it a day. Not that it isn’t good. It is definitely good. But then royal icing came onto my radar. The possibilities seemed endless – a completely smooth finish to the cookies and intricate designs? Now THAT looked fun! I’m here to guide you on a step-by-step tutorial on how to achieve any design you want on any shape cookie. Ready? Let’s begin!
Step 1: Find a Good Sugar Cookie Recipe
This might seem obvious, but not all sugar cookie recipes stand up well to heavy-duty decorating. If you don’t already have a favorite, let me point you to mine: Dorie Greenspan’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies. They’re incredible.
Step 2: Cool Cookies Completely
Again, maybe elementary, but we’re going step-by-step here. You can’t decorate cookies that have just come out of the oven. Or even cookies that are slightly warm. They need to be completely cool before you can move on to decorating.
Step 3: The Equipment
Now, you don’t necessarily need fancy equipment for decorating with royal icing, but investing in just a few decorating tips and couplers, some disposable pastry bags and squeeze bottles will make your cookie decorating experience exponentially more pleasant. Here is a run-down of what I typically use:
♦ 12″ disposable pastry bags
♦ Decorating tips
♦ Couplers
♦ Squeeze Bottles. I use these for flooding my cookies. Since the royal icing is very thin at this point, it’s a much neater alternative to a cut-open pastry bag. Plus you can put the cap on and save any extra icing for next time.
♦ Small bowls or Tupperware (to color your icing)
♦ Toothpicks.
Step 4: Prep, Prep, Prep!
This got me the first time I decorated with royal icing, and is especially important if you are going to be using multiple colors and different tips. I flew by the seat of my pants and ended up making a huge mess, it took twice as long as it should have, and I was trying to fish used tips out of pastry bags to re-use them somewhere else. Your plan of action:
♦ Write down how many different colors you will be using and take out that many pastry bags and couplers and prepare them. Also figure out what size decorating tips you will be using and fit them to the pastry bags.
♦ If you don’t have squeeze bottles for flooding, add additional pastry bags for however many colors you will use for flooding, in additional to the bags of that color you will use for detail work (if any).
♦ Have your icing colors ready and as many small mixing bowls (Tupperware works great for this) as you have colors planned.
Step 5: Make the Royal Icing
The recipe for royal icing is very simple:
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons water
Mix all ingredients on low speed for 7-10 minutes or until the icing loses its shine. Add more water by the teaspoon if it appears too stiff. At this stage you want to be able to pipe it easily:
Step 6: Color the Icing
Divide the icing into your containers based on how much you will need of each one. Proceed to color the icing and then cover each container with a damp paper towel. It is key when working with royal icing not to allow it to dry out.
Step 7: Outline the Cookies
You will want to outline the cookies with whatever color you will be using to fill them in with. Place some of the icing into a disposable pastry bag fitted with a #3 tip and outline the outside of the cookie. I find that keeping the tip about ½-inch above the cookie while moving it allows the icing to lay on the cookie more easily.
You’ll want to make sure that the outline is pretty well set before moving on to flooding the cookies, but I generally find that by the time I am done outlining the first ones are already dry.
Step 8: Flood the Cookies
Take whatever color you are using to fill in the cookies and slowly start adding a few drops of water at a time, until the icing reaches an almost liquid consistency. The test here is to pick some icing up with a spoon and let it drizzle back into the bowl – the drizzle should disappear into the bowl within 10 seconds. Once you have achieved this, you are ready.
Either fill a squeeze bottle with the thinned icing or transfer it to a disposable pastry bag with a ¼-inch hole cut off the end.
Now squeeze in the icing to almost completely fill the inside the cookie.
Then take a toothpick and gently use it to distribute the icing to any empty spots.
Once you are done the cookies need to dry completely before moving on to any intricate piped designs. Some bakers will let them sit overnight but I generally find that a 2-3 hour rest will do the trick.
Now use whatever colors and tips you’d like to achieve the design you want!
♦ ♦ ♦
Was this helpful? I’d love your feedback on this post since it’s the first of its kind on Brown Eyed Baker! Any questions or additional tips to share?
What do you want to learn? I’d love to hear what you would like to see featured in the How-To series. A reader has already mentioned that she’d like to see a tutorial on baking bread with yeast. What’s on your list?
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Brown Eyed Baker RSS feed to ensure you don’t miss any upcoming posts!
See more: Decorated Cookies, royal icing, Tutorials
Share This Post:
Loved the step by step instructions and the tips you have given.
This is really great—thank you for sharing! I love sugar cookies but my icing always drips down the sides. These are awesome tips:) Thanks again.
Oh, and I would love to learn about meringue. Do you have any experience with that? My grandma made a chocolate pie with meringue on top and I never got the recipe. Thought I would attempt that this summer. Any info you have to share would be appreciated.
Love the Pens cookies! I’m a born and raised Pittsburgh fan- love em!
Awesome! I tried decorated cookies just once and it took me forever.
Yours are great.
Susie
This was really helpful. I look forward to reading the rest of your “How To’s”
This was very helpful! Your step by step instructions and the pictures were great! Now I feel that I know what I will be doing when I try it myself. Thanks!
Well done, I think you did a great job explaining how to decorate sugar cookies. You were detailed and organized in your presentation. The pictures gave visual instructions for those, like myself, who are visual learners.
Thank You
Great job and tutorial. Mine never look this good!
Thank you, Thank you! I’ve always wanted to know how to do this and now I can! Can’t wait for more How-to’s from you.
I love this post!!! Please keep giving details that might seem obvious because it’s those things that most bloggers leave out and some of us (me) need the extra help
I especially like seeing the supplies needed. Back in March I bought some disposable bags and some tips but didn’t know I needed couplers. I still am not clear on how the bag will attach to a coupler and tip, but I’m thinking the coupler might come with instructions for how to do this?
Thanks again!
this is great! I was planning on making decorated sugar cookies but didn’t know where to start. Might be a dumb question, but when you decorate it, do you use the original consistency of the royal icing or the thinned out one?
I always wondered how everyone got their cookies to look so neat. Mine always look like a 2 year old did them. Thanks for the tips.
I’ve been trying to put together a “how-to” for decorating sugar cookies but I’m horrible at preparing for it so I’ve never felt to expert-like to post about it. I think I’ll scratch the draft I have in my blog and instead just link to this! Thanks!
I have been really curious about how to decorate cookies nicely, so thanks for sharing. It also helps that I should already know how to do most of it!
Thanks for taking the time to put together such a helpful post! I’ve never decorated sugar cookies like this before and I really enjoyed all your tips! So cute!
Great tutorial! Cookie decoration is my weak point. Great instructions and photos too! Thanks, looking forward to more wonderful tips tutorials and of course recipes too!
From a Fellow Pittsburgher. GO PENS! This time the cup is ours!
Great how-to for cookie decorating! I am more of a cookie baker than cookie decorator and admire the patience and artistic abilities this takes.
How purty! You did a beautiful job! I’d never be able to make mine so neat. I’m impressed!
Oh yes, very helpful! I’d love to see more posts like this.
Thank you so much for a such a wonderful tutorial. I have been wanting to make them but have been a little scared. Thanks for the detailed steps.
Great tutorial Michelle! Thanks. I always seem to have problems when it comes to the ‘flooding’ part.
I really enjoyed your interview with Donna Diegel on the Examiner.
I am rooting for the Penguins – Go Crosby!
Love it! I’ve been wanting to tackle royal icing but have been a bit scared, thanks for the easy step by step!
This is super helpful. Step 2 seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many times I’ve let my impatience get the best of me and cause me to dive into the decorating before the cookies were completely cool.
CATHY — Consistency depends on which part of the decorating phase you are talking about. The original consistency should be good enough for piping an outline with a #3 tip (remember that temperature and humidity levels will affect the consistency so you may need to add more or less water). Aside from outlining, if you are doing detailed work with a #1 or #2 tip the icing will need to be a little thinner to keep the icing from breaking. And then of course for flooding the entire cookie you will need the icing even thinner still (see Step #8). I hope this was helpful!
Thanks so much for a great tutorial! I’m bookmarking it on Delicious so that I don’t lose it!
BigSis – You are welcome, so glad that you found it helpful!
where you buy the cutter?
Chenyin – I purchased the cutter in the “Football Theme” cookie cutter set by Wilton at Michael’s craft store. I imagine you could find the same product at any arts and crafts store that sells Wilton products like Hobby Lobby or JoAnn Fabrics. You can also buy them off of Wilton’s website here:
http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=696917E9-1E0B-C910-EAC4A9E24C060793
The detailed instructions were great! I never would have guessed that it was so easy to decorate cookies like that, I made some for July 4th and they went over really well!
Hi Rachel,
I’m so glad you found this helpful and were able to use the instructions to decorate your cookies! Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know!
-Michelle
I will this great step by step with my boys this year
Wow! This is such a great post of Royal Icing, thanks for sharing the tips.
I just spent 2 hours delicately painting my biscuits. Once i was done, they still looked like a 2year old had done them
so i decided to see how to do this properly (on the net) and came across your website! what a relief!! you have made my next attempt so much more promising. Thank you this was exceptionally helpful.
Loved your detailed instructions and photo illustrations. I want to make sugar cookies for an upcoming baby shower. You’ve given me the courage. thanks!!
Hi Debbie – I’m thrilled that this post has given you the courage to do decorated cookies for a baby shower! I can’t wait to hear how they turn out!
Thank you X 100! This is a fantastic tutorial.
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! I want to make sugarskull cookies for a Halloween party and this tutorial is just what I have been looking for since I had no idea on how to go about decorating them. You make it sound very easy! Do you recommend a certain type of coloring such as liquid or gel?
Suzanne – I’m glad this tutorial was timely and useful for you! I recommend the gel coloring, as the liquid can tend to affect the consistency and taste too much. I use Wilton brand, and have also heard good things about Ateco.
Thank you for having step by step, found this very helpful compared to other sights.
Do the cookies with royal icing get really hard to eat & are they edible?
Does this sugar recipe that you use, can be used for making cookies on a stick? This is something I am excited to try, but need a good cookie recipe.
Hi Linda,
So glad you found this helpful! These cookies are absolutely edible! The royal icing dries smooth and hard. I have never used this recipe to make cookies on a stick, so I can’t attest to that, but if you try it definitely stop back and let us know how it turns out!
Great step by step instructions. Now I can achieve the professional look I have searching for. I make cookies for the local highschool football team every week and have been looking for this sort of instruction so I can make personalized cookies for each team member. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Beautiful job! My husband is also impressed with the jerseys and wishes there were some Chiefs ones lying on the countertop right now. (I told him they should win first, which didn’t go over well.) Anyway, thanks for the tutorial. It’s very helpful!
Late to the party here but honestly this post just rocks!!!! I have been baking for y e a r s and have not had great luck with Royal Icing and cookies. Should have been obvious to thin the icing you flood with but nooooo never read it anywhere nor saw it demonstrated! Thank you, Thank you!!!! Keep up the great work! Meesh
thank you So much! i have always wanted to decorate cookies but have never known how. i’ve even asked others but never gotten a response. i can’t wait to try with you step by step instructions.
Thank you so much for such GREAT instructions! I do have a question though–I followed your directions, but I think I thinned my “flooding” icing a little too much. The cookies took forever to dry, some icing breached my “dam” and most importantly, tiny bubbles were in all of them, and did not go away upon drying. Will thinning the icing cause these bubbles? I didn’t even shake the icing in my squeeze bottle so I can’t imagine where so many bubbles came from! Also, I was using very light colors and I added more “flooded” icing when they started drying a little and I felt I could still see cookie showing through the icing. I know now that was overkill–well let’s just say I learned A LOT just trying this out on my own! But the bubbles are my major concern. Any ideas?
Hi, I made the cookies and followed the above recipe and instructions for icing them. They looked good, but not the way in picture. I mean, my icing after drying, was not very shiny and smooth. It looked smooth while wet, but was little crusty after drying. What do you think I must be doing wrong? Do you use some very fine sugar for it?
Also, my cookies took forever to dry. My last night batch is still drying.
can you please advice where I could be doing wrong. Thanks!
Hi Emily – You hit the nail on the head – thinning the icing too much to flood the cookies will definitely cause a lot of little bubbles. It has definitely happened to me before. That would also be why they took a long time to dry, breached the dam and weren’t a deep enough color. I hope you’re not discouraged and I’ll give the cookies another shot!
Hi Tania – The type of sugar that should be used for the royal icing is powdered sugar, which is softer and finer than granular sugar. What type of sugar did you use? Not using powdered sugar would be a reason why it looked a little “crusty”. I hope this helps!
Thanks so much Michelle. You were right on sugar.. I was not using the fine powdered sugar. I did another batch with icing sugar and it came out perfect.
Good morning, Happy late Halowen(: !!
WHOA. That’s too weird! I just happened across this from a link on your onesie cookies. I JUST made 20 football jersey cookies and colored them tonight! I was planning on adding the kid’s numbers to the jerseys tomorrow really early so that they are dry for their football party tomorrow :0) Great tutorial!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this information!! I am so happy to know how to do this now!!!
Your tutorial was great….and the royal icing recipe has worked great. What type of food/icing coloring do you use? I just purchased the wilton icing coloring and I can’t seem to get certain colors to brighten up (ie. my red looks like fushia). Thanks again!!
Great tips! Thanks!
How long do the cookies stay good for? I was planning on making some cookies for an open house that I am going to on Saturday and was just wondering when I should start to make them in order for them to be dry/ready by Saturday evening. I was thinking of baking on Wednesday evening, flooding them on Thursday evening and then finishing the decorations on Friday evening. Will the cookies be stale by Saturday?
Thank you for posting such great instructions! The photos are perfect!!
Hi Susan,
I use Wilton food coloring gel for my icing coloring. The red and black can definitely be tricky – you need to use quite a bit of it to get the full color. Also keep in mind, though, that the colors of the icing will typically darken a bit over the course of a day or so. I hope this helps!
Hi Elizabeth,
You can definitely use the schedule that you outlined – your cookies will be perfectly fine by Saturday. Once they are decorated and dry you can store them in an airtight container. Mine have stayed for up to a week.
THANK YOU!! This is exactly what I needed!
thank you so much for the wonderful step by step instructions! i’ve always wondered how these type of cookies were made and am now anxious to get started on the royal icing. i’m not nearly as artistic as you so mine will likely be fairly straight forward but it will beat the usual buttercream frosting!
Thank you for sharing! Awesome tips and pictures. Love the tip for flooding the cookies. Lets hope the pens make it to the final this season so I can make these jerseys for our party! and mini stanley cups..hmmm..in the mean time, I will try this sugar cookie recipe and icing for Christmas cookies. Thanks again.
Can you freeze frosted cookies? I’m sitting here, and my cookies are drying, and I’m thinking… d’oh… should I have frozen first, and frosted later? Let me know! Thanks for the great tutorial.
Hi Lauren,
You know, I’ve never frozen them after I have decorated them. Like you, I’d think it would be better to freeze before you decorate (which I have done) but if you end up freezing these let me know how it goes. The only thing that might happen could be the royal icing losing consistency and bleeding when it thaws.
In any event, I’m glad you found the tutorial helpful!!
Thank you for including pictures with your step by step. I made decorated sugar cookies for me daughter’s baby shower, they were alright but now I know could have been better had I let the icing dry before I finished decorating. Trying out your tips today, my youngest daughter having friends over for a cookie decorating party.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been decorating cookies for years, only using buttercream – I had absolutely no idea how to use (much less make) royal icing. Your step by step was incredibly helpful – my cookies turn out PERFECT!!! These are the most helpful instructions I have found! Thank you so much!!
This is exactly what I was looking for. I am making cut out cookies for the first time and I want the icing to look great. This is just what I needed
Thank you!
You mentioned that some bakers let the cookies dry over night after flooding. I assume the cookies aren’t covered, because the icing is wet, during drying…is that correct? If so, is there any danger of the soft cookies getting a little dry?
I love to decorate cookies with my two girls. I have ALWAYS flown by the seat of my pants. It really does take more time and more work than it needs to be. I want to be having FUN! Thanks so much for this info. Too bad for me I found it after Christmas but we like to make cookies at Valentines Day too! Love your site.
Candy
How can i prevent spotting after everything is done?
Thanks for the great tutorial!! I love the step by step and all the tips and tricks! I can’t wait to make a few cookies tonight!
Hi Alvin,
You are correct – the cookies are not covered when they are left to dry. As long as you are using a recipe that gives you a soft sugar cookie (like the one I refer to in this post), your cookies should not get hard. I have never had that happen. In fact, the icing will serve as a type of barrier to keep the cookies moist.
Happy Decorating!
Hi Sarah,
I find that spotting (or faded areas) sometimes pop up when I have thinned the icing a bit too much. Next time try not thinning the flooding icing as much as you normally do and see if that helps. Let me know how it turns out!
I have just spent the whole day making cookies for my friends baptism. I love you bottle idea for the flooding….less mess and so much easier probably to work with. Plus you don’t have to worry about the royal icing drying at the end of your bag.
Thanks!
I have worked with Royal icing a couple of times, and the first time I too had a BIG mess in my kitchen. Your tip to make the flooding icing thinner will help. Thanks
This is a great step by step! I did my first trial run and it was pretty succesful. I’m making some cookie favors for a shower. Do you think if I bake the cookies today and decorate them, they’ll stay soft for a shower 2-3 days away??
Oh my lord… this was everything I ever needed to know about using royal icing! I’VE BEEN SO LOST! Thank you so much!
Excellent tutorial – thank you very much. I just decorated Mardi Gras cookies with my 4-year-old and they look awesome. I’ve only ever used royal icing for putting together a gingerbread house, so your guide was most helpful. Thank you!
I am preparing to make valentine’s cookies for my daughters class. The plan it to make cookies to look like conversation heart candies… Your instructions seem great, I will let you know how successful I am! Keeping my fingers crossed…
Hi Carolina,
I’m so happy to hear that this tutorial was helpful for you! I do apologize for being late in my reply, but yes, they will definitely stay soft for up to 5 days or a week. Enjoy the shower!
hey …. love your cookies they’re really pretty. i have a question regarding using egg white verses mering uepowder when making royal icing. I saw a video with someone using egg white and icing sugar to make their icing. i guess what i’m asking is that fine to do? what if your in a hurray and don’t have the meringue powder handy is it safe just to use the egg white beaten until foamy then add the icing sugar?
Oh My! Thank you so much! I am decorating Valentine’s Day cookies for a friend’s party and it’s been a very long time since I’ve done royal icing. This was an amazing help. Thank you very much!
Hi Stephanie,
I have never used actual egg whites, and would recommend that if you do so you either use pasteurized eggs (so that bacteria is gone), or that you heat them to a temperature of 160 degrees F while beating them. Since I have never used this method, I can’t speak to how the icing itself will turn out, so proceed at your own risk
IF i have a baby shower on sunday afternoon…how much in advanc can i make and decorate them and pack them… please let me know it will be great help coz i need to take out time to make/decorate these and also make food
Hi Sana,
I would say you could have them finished and packaged on Friday and they would still be good for Sunday. The royal icing helps to keep the cookies soft and fresh. Have a great baby shower!
Such a great “how to”!! I try to teach two little granddaughters,how to cook,and decorate cookies and cakes.We have started on pastries,shapes and forming.These are sorta hard to find.I try to teach them,”Home”,can be so warm and wonderful,if you make that way!! Many now days,can’t even boil water,and I know its because of lazyness,and maybe a few,have never done it,and fear failure.We sure need to start building back,good homes,baking and cooking at home.Thank you for all your time and work!! I really love the site,its hard to wait for your next post!! May God Bless,you and your site!!!
i scare i can’t find Meringue Powder in my country. So can you tell me any things can substitude it? Thanks =)
This was sooo helpful!!! My aunt had a baby shower last weekend and I used your tips to decorate baby onesies! they were so cute and everyone loved them! they turned out awesome! thanks again! your directions were so easy to follow!
I just happened upon this post searching for tips for icing easter sugar cookies. It is extremely helpful PLUS I live near Pittsburgh and am a huge Pens fan!
Can’t wait to try this out this weekend !
So cute! And what a great post. Very informational and I love the step by step instructions (with pictures). I think I’m might just have to try my hand at decorating cookies this weekend! Thanks you so much for this.
Thanks for the great tutorial! I have just discovered beautiful wafer paper to put over the royal icing on cookies,is it hard to work with?
I think the step by step instructions are wonderful. I can’t wait to decorate some cookies with my girls. Thanks!
Great detail in this post! Loving the hockey jerseys.
Thanks so much for sharing! I plan on doing cookies on a stick for my daughter’s birthday. This will save me lots of grief!
Thank you so much- I just tried to decorate some cookies with royal icing and failed miserably. I will have to try again
Thanks!
this was an awesome how to!!!… out of curiosity. if i decorated the icing right onto a piece of waxed paper and let it dry do you know if it would then be possible to transfer the designs onto say a cake with a pancake flipper?… i can’t decorate straight on the cake because of time constraints, but i really like how royal icing allows for more intricate design.
Hi Nicki,
You could do that, but depending on the icing dries on the wax paper, it’s possible that the icing design won’t sit exactly flat on the cake. That’s the only downfall I could think of, though! Have fun decorating!
This is a great tutorial! I bake and decorate sugar cookies all the time. I was hoping to perfect my icing technique and this step by step how-to really gave the few extra tips I needed. Love your blog!
Finally! I now know how to do this correctly! I have struggled with this. thank you for your post!
This was really helpfull! I like that you included pictures so I knew what everything was supposed to look like.
Can you make and store royal icing ahead of time in fridge for a cookie decorating party? Is it okay icing to use with preschoolers in squirty bottles or should I use something else??? Can you substitute egg white powder for meringue powder?
Hi Heather,
Yes, you can store royal icing ahead of time in the refrigerator. Store it in a Tupperware-type container, with plastic wrap pressed down against the surface of the icing so that it doesn’t dry out.
You can definitely put royal icing in squirt bottles, in fact that’s often what I use to decorate since it’s much less messy!
And yes, you can substitute powdered egg whites for the meringue powder.
Enjoy your decorating!
Thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial!!!!! I have been all over the web looking at royal icing sites and yours was the first that made sense. I felt i was right in the kitchen with you!! I have one question. My daughter is getting married in the middle of June and we are making weddin cake cookies as favors at the reception. The cookies are all made and frozen. How soon can I decorate them and leave them bagged in indvidual bags before the big day? Thanks so muc!
Betsy
Hi Betsy,
I’m so happy to hear that this tutorial will be of great use to you! I would say that you could decorate and bag them about 2-3 days ahead of the wedding. Congratulations to your daughter!
Very helpful! I have done limited cookie decorating and had never heard the tip about outlining your cookies in icing before flooding them. I have always had trouble making them neat around the edges and now I know why. Thanks. Also, I would love some more instructions from you on decorating with royal icing, geared towards those of us with minimal artistic abilities.(aka tricks to make my cookies look fabulous, even though I can’t draw very well, and my letters are usually crooked).
This was wonderful, thank you! I would never have thought to do many of these steps, such as outlining, thinning out the icing flooding, and using a toothpick. VERY helpful tips. These will go a long way for me; I am so glad you posted this. Thanks again!!
I am scared to death as a 1st time royal icing user & your wonderful step by step’s are a life saver! I printed them & the pictures & will attempt 60 wedding cake cookies for my future dgt-in-law’s bridal shower. I wish I could give you a big hug for giving me a little more confidence. Thanks so very much.
This is helpful!I want to make black royal icing. I will be using quite a bit of black because I am making Groom cookies and black is used for the tux. Would you suggest to start with chocolate royal icing? Just add about 1/3 cup coco powder? Let me know! Thanks!!!
Hi Nicole,
I wouldn’t add cocoa powder to your royal icing, it would affect the consistency and the way that it sets on the cookie. I have made black jersey cookies and things like that and always start with just basic royal icing and keep adding the black gel until you get the black shade you are going for. Also remember that colors will darken as the icing dries.
Love your site. Helped a lot with your tips on royal icing. Thanks.
THis was a very helpful tutorial. I now have more confidence to make favor cookies for my daughter’s 2nd birthday. One question, any tips for using two colors to flood coat? Or doing polka dots with royal icing?
I have been decorating cookies with royal icing for awhile but I always have the same issue. Dark colours, especially black, bleed into adjacent colours. I did a bus cookie outlined in black (I allowed the black to dry almost 24 hours before I added the next colors) it looked great for a few hours but by the next day it was a mess because the black ran so badly. What is the solution to this problem? Is it because of humidity? Help…
Nicole
thank you so very much for the informative demonstration on decorating with royal icing! I have tried and tried with other instructions and these ones are by far the best. I am going to attempt some baby shower cookies for my stepdaughter’s shower and feel quite confident now in what i”m about to do. thanks again and God Bless!
this is my second comment and am adding it because I was reading further into your site and noticed something you said about placing your cookies back in the fridge before baking. I’m like you, in that I cut my cookies a bit thicker than the 1/4 in. I’m sure I’ll get chastised for this but I do not chill my dough prior to rolling and cutting. Since they are a bit thicker they come up fine so I cut them out, place on a c. sheet and then in the fridge to chill. then onto the oven. believe it or not it saves time chilling only about 15min. I make up three or four sheets then pop them in and rotate them out of the oven for a quick process to get lots of cookies. hope this is helpful!
This is such a great tutorial! Very helpful tips for the future when I decide to bake some sugar cookies of my own. Thank you!
FABULOUS step by step directions. I followed your tips on outlining, thinnig the icing and everything in between. While my bridesmaid cookies were adorable and cute, it’ll take soem time before they are as cute as your playoff jerseys!
Just wanted to thank you for your step-by-step tutorial. While I’ve been baking for years, I’ve never tried the intricate designs that you show here,(beautifully I might add). I now have a list of items to go get and do a test run before I need to do the real thing.
Thanks so much, your tutorial is the best I’ve found after looking for quite a while.
waow thank you so much…i love your site
Great tips! I’m so glad I stumbled across your website. In my area decorated sugar cookies start at $3 each and that adds up quickly. I want to use some edible pearls and glitter on the cookies that I will be making. At what point in the process should I add them? Should I do it right after I flood with the royal icing or wait for them to harden a bit? I’m worried that if I add them to quickly the pearls will sink. Please advise. Thanks!
I am new to cookie decorating and making. I have never been able to bake cookies let alone decorate them. This is so helpful, i am going to start this week so i will let you know how i did, wish me luck.
Thank you so much for your steo by step intructions. I decided to make football related cookies to send to my son. he recently left for college at University of Miami. I had time on my hands. Your guidance made this a fun, rewarding experience,The cookies look awesome. Go Canes.Thanks, ALyse