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
I made 50 white baby boy Christening outfit cookies and left them to dry overnight to be bagged and shipped out today. When I looked this morning there were faint yellowish areas in the RI. :”( What caused this? I know I’ve seen this problem mentioned by someone here but I can’t find it. I’ve done white dresses twice and didn’t have this problem.
((
The only different thing I did this time was freeze the baked cookies before decorating them. SO upset.
@ Joanne: Oh you poor thing! I know how it feels when you’ve worked so hard on something and then a random ‘glitch’ happens! What we’ve figured out so far is that it seems to be the humidity in the air when decorating. The grease (fat), from the cookie seems to seep into the icing. I’ll be doing a post on it soon.
To help fix your issue, how about spraying it lightly with some PME pearl lustre spray? That might hide the faint yellowish areas. If you don’t have the spray, even a white lustre dust… take a paintbrush and lightly dust it on! Hope that helps!
@ marian:
Thanks Marian.:) If humidity is the problem, it may be I decorated them too soon after taking them out of the freezer and they were releasing moisture as they continued defrosting.
Same yellowing problem again..this time with wedding dresses and I didn’t freeze them.
Also, I worked in CAC, so I’m leaning toward thinking my problem isn’t humidity. Can using a thicker consistency icing help?…does the brand of confectioner’s sugar make a difference??
Is there a way to “seal” the cookie before icing? Also, do you think adding AmeriColor Bright White gel food coloring would cure the yellowing problem?
Arrgghhh!…at my wits end! lol
=( So frustrating!
Even though you’ve got central air, the humidity might still be high. Try a dehumidifier and see how much water is extracted from the air of the area you’re working in. Amazing!
It’s so humid where I live right now, that I’m working in a room with the AC and dehumidifier on.
I’m still leaning towards humidity as the culprit, but definitely, I always tint my white, white. See #9 here:
http://sweetopia.net/2010/12/10-keys-to-cookie-decorating-success-or-10-mistakes-to-avoid/
I’m not sure how thick your consistency already is, but that might help too.
I’ve never thought about that… ‘sealing the cookie before icing’… if the other things don’t work, I wonder if coating the cookie with a thin layer of corn syrup would do the trick. I’m not sure how the royal icing would ‘sit’ on it though. Corn syrup doesn’t 100% dry. Something to try!
Keep your chin up; it will work out!!
love the designs i totally agree with her
Armed with white coloring for next time!
Y’know, I was thinking…do you think a light wash of egg white would work to seal the cookie surface? Someone should invent a spray-on cookie sealant! I might just try the egg white. Not sure if it should go on before baking or near the end. Guess some cookies will have to be sacrificed for science. hehehe
Hi Joanne, what a great idea! (sealant and egg white!). Please do come back and let us know how it went. Xo
Just decorated some cookies last night with RI with white food coloring added. Was skeptical b/c it was pouring out and very humid…BUT!…I woke up this morning to perfectly white cookies with NO yellowing whatsoever!!! Doing the HAPPY dance!!!
I’ve not yet tried the egg white or any other “sealing.” Hopefully the yellow spots are history! Thanks for all your help!
Yay!! So great to hear!!
I’m just new to the whole cookie decorating and I’m wondering for how long can I leave my RI in a seal container and use it later on? How much time in advance should I make black and red RI?
@ Arisbe: No worries, check out the tutorial section here:
http://sweetopia.net/category/tutorials/
for both of those answers. (there’s a post about how to store icing and how long to keep it
and
there’s a post on coloring icing black/red.
I wish you lots of fun decorating and btw i recommend checking out my youtube video on icing consistency as well.
xo,
Marian
On my finished product my icing was ‘spongy’ and I figured out why: I had been mixing my colors in too vigorously, and incorporated too many air bubbles. I also realized that I need to use a rubber spatula to mix the water into the RI and fold it in, as opposed to beating it in. Now . . . I’m trying to figure out how to get the solid icing that covers my cookie (b/f I put on the flowers etc.) to get nice and smooth, as opposed to a bit bumpy. I shook each cookie pretty vigorously to try to achieve this . . .
Hey Marian,
I have just stumbled across this blog and these cookies look amazing! I’m a complete beginner when it comes to decorating or baking, but I really want to try out decorating some cookies.
Just a couple of questions, what type of cookies are they in the photo, is it shortbread? And do you have a recipe anywhere for the cookie dough mixture?
Also, I get now how to ‘flood’ the cookies, but for the green owl (2nd picture) how did you swirl the green and white icing on the owl’s breast? Sorry for so many questions I’m just fascinated and a bit of a perfectionist, so I don’t want these to go wrong!
Bella
@ Debbie: Awesome! So glad it worked out =)
@ Bella: Thanks! It’s a sugar cookie; you can find them in the recipe section of the blog.
To see how to make the owl cookies, click here:
http://sweetopia.net/2011/07/how-to-make-decorated-owl-cookies/
Have fun decorating!
Thank you very much for this post. I am trying to bake cookies for my wedding and decorate them with royal icing on my wedding theme but I have one problem and the most important one….
I don’t have a good recipe for the actual cookie. I LOVE the thick shape of the cookies you show here.
Could you please help me?
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks.
@ Karina: Absolutely! My sugar cookie recipe is in the recipe section of the blog.
Duh! haha I am so silly. I just saw it. Thank you so much. You have such a culinary talent!!.
Thanks again.
Thank you so much for the wonderful tips! I do mostly cakes but I can use this to work with them as well! Thanks to you I am able to recreate scenes for my sons 1st grade class Halloween Cake!I hope to share a picture of the work, when it is done, with you. It is going splendidly so far!
@ Jennifer: I’m so glad to hear it! I’d love to see pictures if you’d like to email me or share them on my Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/Sweetopia?sk=wall
How long can sugar cookies decorated with royal icing last..I’ll be packaging them in cello bags as soon as the icing hardens..
Don’t want to freeze em.But how long can i leave it out in its packaging?
Please help.
@ Aneesha: Freshest is always best of course, so I leave mine in there for up to two weeks. (The recipe I use does fine for that time period). I’ve seen stores with hand-made cookies have one-month expiry dates on them.
Help! I am on the “new” side of this cookie making craze I have got caught up in and found that I have better look flooding if I put my RI in a squeeze bottle and apply from there. My problem is – how do I get the RI in the squeeze bottle? I made up all my icing at piping/writing consistancy. Then I try to put that in a squeeze bottle in order to add the extra water to bring to flooding consistancy. Should I be doing this another way? Any advice would be most appreciated and helpful. I don’t want to get too frustrated here where I no longer enjoy the hobby. Thanks!
@ Janet: I understand your frustation with the squeeze bottles – that’s why I don’t use them. I use piping tips. If you’d like to see a video on how I pipe (and what I use etc.), please check out my youtube channel (you can find the little link to youtube at the top right of the blog). If you’d still like to use squeeze bottles, try asking the talented cookiers, Bake at 350 or SweetSugarBelle. Hope that helps!
@ marian: p.s. meant, I use piping bags.
I just watched your tutorials on piping, flooding and consistency. This will be my first attempt at decorating cookies. You make it look so easy, but I know that will be far from the truth. *crossing fingers* I just hope I can share them for the holidays and people will be able to eat them. =)
Thanks for the wonderful tips!! I’ll be back…I caught my eye on some very cute gingerbread houses.
These look so cute! I own a cookie business myself, and this tutorial was really helpful when a customer ordered some owl sugar cookies!
Hi Marian! I watched one of your videos yesterday and then I was obsessed!!! I showed your video to everyone. I know you use a projector but I was wondering where your get the pictures. You have crazy talent and you should keep doing what you love. I will always be your fan forever. <3
-Neta
@ Elicia: I hope it was easier than you thought! Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line, any time. xo
@ cookiegirl11: Yay! I’m so glad!
Hello @ Neta Zilbermintz, you are so sweet! If you need a link to those images (Paris ones), it is in the post – her name is Jillian Phillips. xo
Those owl cookies look so adorable! I just love the detailing – makes me hungry just looking at them. YUM!
Hi! I am not a crafty person but my daughter’s 1st birthday is coming up and we are doing an owl theme. I would love to try to do the owl cookies but I am wondering once they aare made how long do they keep? Can you freeze them or is that a bad isea?
Hi @ Rachel: I don’t have a lot of experience with freezing cookies, but was also curious about it, so wrote this post (the comment section will help you there):
http://sweetopia.net/2011/03/freezing-decorated-cookies/
How long do they keep? Freshest is best of course, but I generally go with up to 2 weeks in an air-tight cellophane bag (bag tied with pretty ribbon). Some artisan stores which sell home-made decorated cookies keep them for up to a month, and many people swear by that, but I just stick with up to two weeks ahead maximum, just in case. Hope that helps!
Thank you soo much for these tips! My hands tend to shake quite a bit so outlining cookies used to be really frustrating for me, but after using your tips (especially the ones about icing consistency and lifting the bag), it’s like there’s a whole new person decorating my cookies. Thank you!
Hi @ Amy: Mine shake too! I’m so glad these tips helped! xo
hi marian. thanks for all the tips. i use the same receipt you use and i just hate how matte and chalky it looks when it dries. do you have this problem?
Hi @ jenny: I know what you mean. I don’t mind it but wanted and alternative so did an experiment and wrote about it here:
http://sweetopia.net/2011/11/gluten-free-coconut-cupcakes-with-coconut-frosting-shiny-royal-icing/
Happy decorating!
You can always do the decoration on wax paper with a template of the cookie underneath. Then when the frosting is dry transfer the decoration carefully from the wax paper to the cookie. Add a little drop of water or a small Danb of frosting to the cookie so the decoration will stick to the cookie.@ Joanne:
@ Joanne:
Marian – thank you thank you thank you! I had to make Valentine cookies for my son’s class. I followed your recipes and tips. These were AWESOME. I have struggled for years to get the icing to “lay” flat and it never crossed my mind to shake the cookies. I have never been so proud of my outcome before. So, thank you!
One question. How did you decorate the cupcakes with the sanding sugar and the heart transfers to make them look rounded/smooth with the sugar? Did I miss a tutorial? Please let me know. I am just giddy about this. THANKS
I remember seeing the owls as a tutorial on Cake Central, I had no idea you made them but seems strange because I bookmarked the tut to make myself then randomly come across your site today (from Sugarlicious) and was browsing then saw the owls.
You’re an awesome, talented baker and decorator. Thanks so much for sharing all your creations and these tutorials. I’m definitely subbing to your RSS.
Keep up the good work!
-Lisa.
Hi @ Stephanie: It’s so easy! I used a large, round piping tip to put the icing on the cupcake and then dipped the cupcake in a bowl of sanding sugar, and gently turned it, effectively coating the icing with sanding sugar. If there are any points or tips, gently press down to shape. Voila!
Hi @ Lisa @ Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Thanks sooo much!
I love these cookies! I’ve never decorated with royal icing. I’ll have to give it a try.
What kind of projector do you use? I’m in love with your cookies
Hi @ TAHSA: The tutorial on the projector is in my tutorial section.
@ Kristen: Thanks!
@ Joanne:
I’ve had this before, although I use glace icing. When my cookies have cooled after baking I stack them between layers of paper towel/kitchen roll for a few hours or overnight. It can be surprising how much fat/grease gets absorbed by the paper. I think that taking the surface fat off helps to prevent it discolouring the icing.
When is a good time to decorate the iced cookies? I’m making about 75 for a bridal shower and I’m not sure of the proper technique. The cookies will be shamrocks flooded with green icing, then the names of the bride and groom will be written. The problem is that I need the icin and names to be hard. Any suggestions?
HI @ Krysten: Absolutely. Check out the tutorial section above and click on the post, Cookie Decorating Schedule, and ‘How long do decorated cookies stay fresh?’
Those two together should answer your questions, but if you have any more, just drop me a line here again. All the best!
HI @ Julianne: What a great tip, thank you!
Marian, thanks so much for all of the tutorials, they are so helpful. However, I am a “Rookie Cookie Decorator” and I am on my third day of experamenting with RI. Today after reading your tutorial SEVERAL times, I attempted round three. I had great success with your recipe for RI, it responded as it should with the 10 sec. rule and then colored the RI, careful not to whisk too much after color, filled my bags, the outline on my cookies was so much better today..of course with your direction:)..when I went to flood them it didnt flow.. I used a spatula and moved it..please help!!! I have 100 cookies “high heels” to do in APRIL. Thank you!!!!!
If I’m not going to individually wrap the cookies, but instead just going to keep them in an airtight container until the day of my daughter’s birthday party, how long will they stay fresh? or is it necessary to wrap them individually? I was just going to set them out on a tray the day of her party.
HI @ NANCY MEROW: A few things may help… a larger tip size so the icing flows out easier, or you may need to add a touch of water until it moves the way you want it to. Please let me know how it goes. =)
@ Monica: A couple of things…. there’s a video on ‘drying cookies decorated with royal icing’ where i mention my experience with putting cookies in containers, and a post in the tutorial section about how long cookies stay fresh. Please don’t hesitate to ask more questions if you have any. xo