I’ve had many questions regarding decorated cookies since I began 7-ish years ago, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite decorating tips I’ve learned over time. By no means am I an expert, but I hope you find my top 10 suggestions helpful.
There are so many ways of decorating cookies; you can cover them with fondant, rainbow sprinkles, delicious melted chocolate… I could go on, but one of my favorite ways is to flood a cookie with royal icing (flood icing). To basically cover the cookie with a smooth, glossy, sugary coating; piped in such a way that your icing becomes a design – instant sugar art! My tips today refer to decorating cookies with flood icing.
I’ve got an in-depth tutorial here, which goes over how to flood in detail.
How to Flood Cookies with Royal Icing – Top 10 Tips
1. Use a good icing recipe. See here for one of my two faves from cake central user Antonia74. Another favourite is from Peggy Porschen’s book Pretty Party Cakes, but won’t post it here due to copyright infringements.
2. One of the most important things I’ve learned about cookie decorating is that if your icing isn’t at the correct consistency or thickness, the experience can be very frustrating. The trick I use to make sure my icing is just right is called the “10 second rule“.
Drag a butter knife through the surface of your royal icing and count to 10. If the icing surface becomes smooth in anywhere between 5-10 seconds, then your icing is ready to use. If it takes longer than approximately 10 seconds, the icing is too thick. Slowly add more water. If your icing surface smoothes over in less than 5-10 seconds, it is too runny. Mix your icing longer or slowly add more sifted icing sugar to thicken.
3. For tip sizes, my favorite tip is #2; it’s great for outlining and filling in. For larger cookies use tip #3 or #4 and for smaller cookies use tip #1.
4. Seal the top end of your piping bag closed with an elastic band for less mess.
5. Practice piping on your work surface or parchment paper before you begin your cookies, so that your hand gets the feel of it. I usually find I need a few minutes of playing around before my piping improves. Decorate your least favorite cookies or extra cookies first; that way if you make a mistake it won’t matter as much!
6. When you’re outlining the cookie, about a centimeter in begin lifting the piping bag away from the cookie, so that the icing just falls onto the surface. You’ll be able to control your piping easier that way.
7. If your hand is shaky, rest your arm on the edge of your work surface while decorating.
8. After you’ve finished applying the icing to the cookie, shake it gently to help settle the bumps if there are any.
9. If you notice any small air bubbles, pop them with a toothpick or pin right away. If you don’t, the air bubble usually pops on it’s own and leaves a hole in your icing. (See acorn which squirrel is holding in the image above).
10. Let your cookies dry for at least 24 hours before you package them. They won’t get stale as the icing acts as a sealant for freshness.
These are just a few of my favorite tips which would have helped alleviate some frustration had I known them when I first began decorating cookies. If you have any tips which you’d like to share you’re welcome to leave a comment below.
Happy cookie decorating!
xo,
Marian
Hi Marian – do you use separate sized tips to outline and a different one to flood with? If so, please can you advise on the sizes? Thanks in advance
Hi @ nasheta: Not usually – unless I want the outline to look really delicate. You can see videos on how I decorate on my youtube channel if you like.
thanks – your help is appreciated – and your response so prompt!
Wow these cookies look fantastic! I am just starting to get into cookies but I have only found a really simple glaze recipe so far. I like the looks of what you are doing and I think I will use your techniques for my shamrock cookies this weekend. When you are layering items or colours, do you wait for the icing to dry completely or is it still tacky? Do you have a rule of thumb for the time that should be left in between layers?
Hi @ Andrea: Absolutely, there are a few tips and tricks which will help you. I have a few videos on my YouTube channel which will help you… for sure the Marbling Icing and Consistency videos. (okay check out how to dry them and how to flood them too). Lol. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
@ marian:
Excellent! Thank you so much
I only have one small problem with this post ….. (and its in the first paragraph)
You ARE an expert if I’ve EVER seen one !!!! Your cookies are AmAZiNG with a capital “A” ! I love this blog and I adore your designs and information. Thank you for helping all of us beginners out ! I am finding myself obsessed with my cookie making right now, and I’m shocked to say the novelty of this is not wearing off yet !
I just might be a baker / cookie maker after all, Thankyou !
Ha ha @ Shawna, I was bracing myself.
Thanks so much for your sweet comment! I’m so glad to hear you’ve caught the cookie fever too!
Hi, I too am getting cookie fever. I’ve been baking for years and always shied away from decorating because ” I can’t draw”! Well I’ve been catering Haitian food and people have been asking for cakes and favors so I’ve beek doing basic cakes do now I want to challenge myself with cookies. My sons bday is coming up on the 22nd and woul love to make cookie pops as part of the centerpiece and as favors. The theme is Yo Gabba Gabba and would love some pointers on base colors and details ie eyes, lips, lashes, glasses…
TYII
- TiRendezvous
Coral Springs, Fl
Hi! Love the advice and videos! I’m just getting started decorating cookies and I find that I’m VERY shaky. short of only doing zigzag cookies or propping myself on the counter (and I’m rather tall) any other advice? Thank you.
Hey there!
Your cookies are beautiful!!! Thanks so much for all this fantastic info! I’ve made my share of fondant cakes and am now venturing into the cookie world for my sisters baby shower. Couldn’t have tackled this task without your amazing advice! Thanks!!!
They look fantastic!
I’m hosting a woodland animal themed baby shower this weekend, and would love to attempt these. Where can I find the patterns for the animals?
Thank u
First off, you are absolutely awesome.
I am such a fan, thank you so much for sharing so much, so precisely and so patiently!
I have a question, or two!
A. To do the owl cookies, did you let the brown dry first then pipe on the blue bellies and the eyes?
B. Can I use ziploc bags with nozzles inserted in the corners, or do I absolutely need piping bags?
C. Can I halve your royal icing recipe just to see how I get on before committing to a full batch?
Thanks so much!
OH, those cookies would be so cute, @ Tirendezvous! I would follow my owl cookie tutorial (you can find it in the tutorial section), for similar decorating steps. In terms of cookie shapes, I’d do them on circles or rectangles, whichever fits better. Good luck!
HI @ Mary Lynn: I’m pretty tall too (almost 5’9), and I actually sit and decorate, and definitely rest my arm/wrist on the table while I’m decorating. My hands are very shaky as well. Maybe watching some of my youtube videos may help you?
My absolute pleasure, @ Caty Silhan!
@ Kelly: I don’t have the stickers any more; maybe print this page to help? Sorry I don’t have a better solution.
Hi @ Alatal:
A: There’s a tutorial on him in the tutorial section.
B: Yes, you can use them, but they pop easily, soooo, I don’t recommend it.
C: Absolutely you can halve the recipe.
Hi Sweetopia. I just LOVE your web-site. I’ve done cupcakes for years and thought I would try cookies this year. Thanks for all your helpful tips and tutorials. 2 quick questions, if you would have the time for a quick response: How do you keep your flood icing and outline icing the same color (as I added water to flood, I lost the color). Also, How do you ‘cover-up’ the outline with flood? You can always see mine and I can’t in any of yours. Thanks again for this blog!
Hi @ Katy: Absolutely! If you look on my YouTube channel (little yellow YouTube circle on the top right of the site), you’ll find a video on how I flood my cookies; that will answer your questions. Let me know if you have any more, no problem. xo
p.s. @ Katy: How to outline and flood is the video which you should watch for your questions.
Hye, one question, wouldnt the cookies be soggy if you left it out in the open to dry the icing? and another thing, im living in malaysia, and the weather is quite hot here. Is it ok to leave it out overnight in an airconditioned room?
Hi @ Misa: Absolutely, I recommend an air conditioner and de-humidifier if you life in a humid climate. These posts will be worthwhile for you to read as well:
http://sweetopia.net/2011/07/how-to-avoid-spots-on-icing/
http://sweetopia.net/2009/10/how-to-prevent-your-icing-from-bleeding-7-tips/
http://sweetopia.net/2012/01/video-how-to-dry-cookies-decorated-with-royal-icing/
All the best!
I’m having a problem keeping the icing “glossy” once it dries. Mine is drying very dull. Any suggestions on what I can do to keep more of a shine to the icing when it dries?
Hi @ Julie: Many of my cookies which look glossy are photographed while they are wet. You can find an experiment on getting glossy icing in this post here, if you like:
http://sweetopia.net/2011/11/gluten-free-coconut-cupcakes-with-coconut-frosting-shiny-royal-icing/
All the best!
your site is awesome..uve spent alot of time sharing your gifted talent..i love royal icing but im not too fond of its sugar content..so i was wondering if you knew of an icing that will harden like royal icing but either be low in sugar or sugar-free…can you make icing from yogurt powder that will harden? if so how? any kind of icing that will harden like royal icing but not made from just confectioners sugar…my grandmas are diabetic…so i wanted to do something they could enjoy without being too bad..thanks so much for your time & work..great site..will share!
Hi @ holly: The yogurt powder sounds like a good idea, but I’ve never tried it, so can’t help, sorry! Maybe experiment a little and see what happens? If I hear of anything in the meantime, I’ll come back and share. If you try it out, I’d love to hear how it goes!