Embellishing Cookies – 5 Easy Decorating Techniques to Add Interest or Detail to Your Cookies
Flood icing is perfect for getting that pretty, smooth look for decorated cookies, but sometimes a little texture or special details add an extra bit of charm. I’ve listed a few ways to add some visual interest to your cookies below, which I hope you find helpful.
1. Use different marbling options:
Marbling has always been one of my favorite cookie decorating techniques. It’s fun, easy to do, and the possibilities are endless.
Incorporate the marbling into a small part of the design, like the feathers on the turkey cookies (Thanks to Bridget of Bake at 350 for the adorable idea)…
… or marble the whole design, like these leaf cookies. (Thanks to Lizzy B Bakes for this fantastic idea!).
Even small details like wiping or not wiping the toothpick between each ‘line dragging’, will make a difference in the outcome.
For a video on marbling, click here. For a tutorial, click here.
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2. Add texture by letting the icing dry in stages:
Piping icing and letting it dry before you add more icing beside it, is another way to add dimension and texture.
Take this pumpkin cookie I made for The TomKat Studio last Halloween:
Piping the light orange, letting it dry for about 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour, and then piping the deep, tangerine orange, creates slight dips and rounded ridges. It’s a little easier to see the example in this photo below:
Here’s a visual step by step on making the pumpkin cookie:
You can find more information on making the leaf here.
3. Embellish with sanding sugar:
Sprinkling sanding sugar on your cookie is an inexpensive (and sparkly), way to embellish any cookie, and is also a great way to hide imperfections or mistakes!
Cover the whole cookie, or small sections, such as this leaf veining…
or the tops of these acorns.
Change it up by using clear sanding sugar with the varying colours of icing beneath it…
or match the sugar to the icing color.
By the way, I love this great (practical), tip from Bridget; use a coffee filter to catch excess sugar when sprinkling it on your wet cookie.
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4. Add texture and dimension by varying piping tips:
Use a thicker icing and change up your piping tip to create height and new textures, like this tip PME #44 for these mini pine cones.
Or this #67 leaf tip for the leaf on an apple cookie.
Something to note – Textured icing needs to have a thicker consistency to hold its shape. To test and make sure the icing is thick enough, dip a butter knife into the it (sitting in bowl), and pull straight up. If the icing forms a stiff peak or stands straight up, it will be thick enough.
Have fun and experiment with tips you’ve never tried before!
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5. Packaging:
Play around with different ways to present your cookies once they’re finished.
Besides a cellophane bag or clear boxes, stack them in a mason jar or layer them in pretty gift boxes lined with matching tissue paper.
Even a cute take-out container (found this gold one at Michael’s), is a fun way to hand out a Thanksgiving gift.
If you’re not giving them out right away, wrap in cellophane to keep them fresh.
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My Decorating Space Mess
As a little aside, I wanted to share with you what it looks like at home when I’m decorating…
At first, all my piping bags all lined up and ready to go. (Lately, btw, I haven’t bothered putting them in cups while I’m decorating – I just leave them on the table covered with a plastic tablecloth, and resting in a damp cloth).
A large sheet of parchment paper and my decorating tools and sugars around me.
Mid-way.
Annnd, at the end. 
Always a bit of a mess, but so much fun.
And so worth it when I give them away.
Hope you have fun decorating! If you have any tips of your own to share, or would like to ask a question, please feel free to leave me a comment below, or find me on Facebook, twitter or YouTube.
xo,
Marian
Thank you for sharing all your great tips… its fun to see how other people set up and decorate….. I really enjoy your blog and you are so kind offer all your tips!
Brilliant! Your posts are so fun to read, and so inspiring. Thanks for sharing your wonderful creations.
Those are so lovely! Great tips for simple decorating, but what an awesome effect!
All of them look fantastic great tips
and love the pines 
These are just amazing you are so talented
My cooKies always gets soggy after being in contact with the royal icing. My eggs white lemon flavored royal icing is delicious. I have even piped in very crunchy commercial cookies, like Cameo and put then in a sealed container. For me, cookies ought to be crunchy, not soft like a cupcake. What i’m doing wrong? Help and Thanks.
Your posts are true eye candy. They remind me of all the beautiful images one sees in cookbooks. As long as you keep posting I will keep thanking you.
Love your mid-way photo! Those who don’t make cookies have no idea what our kitchens REALLY look like during the creative process.
Beautiful as always! I’ve been waiting for this post since you put the sneak peek on Facebook. I was wondering, did you pipe the wing directly onto the turkey after the first layer dried, or make it as a separate transfer and attach it later?
wow….Marian you blow me away… this is soo beautiful and colourful. Your work is fantastic awesome,no better words as to thank you for sharing all your talents.
I love reading your blog.
ML
Great decorating tips Marian! Yes, our wonderful organization always looks to messy when we are done decorating. The clean-up is certainly not my favourite part but as you say, once you hand the cookies over to their recipients…it’s all worth it. Time and time again
@ Kris, @ Samara, @ CuteEverything, @ Andrea rodriguez( sweet butterfly): Thanks for the comments!
@ Sandy: A few things which could help; using a de-humidifier and air conditioner in the room you’re working in. The way the cookies are dried makes a big difference. Putting them in an air tight container while they are drying means the cookies themselves are absorbing the moisture. Here’s a video on how I dry mine:
http://sweetopia.net/2012/01/video-how-to-dry-cookies-decorated-with-royal-icing/
HOpe that helps!
Aw, thanks @ Marian N! I look forward to seeing your name here! Thanks for commenting! xo
@ Donna Carroll: Ha ha! It’s so true. I’ll have to show more pics of a messier day.
@ Beth Hanson: I piped it directly onto the turkey, but you could definitely do it as a transfer too.
Thanks so much!! @ Maria Theresia xo
@ Paula: As always, thank you for taking the time to leave me a message.
you brave, my space looks like a disaster after I bake.
haha! I totally cover up mistakes with sugar. It just works so well.
Those little toadstools are adorable, and the pine cones look so cool!
It depends on the day for me, @ sue @ cakeballs, cookies and more, but this one’s a milder one.
Thanks @ Kelly!
So I finally got around to decorating some cookies outside the Christmas holiday and used your royal icing recipe. Can I just say I have NO IDEA how I managed with the recipe I’d been using. It’s amazing! I was equally surprised how shiny the final product was without the use of luster dust or corn syrup in the mix. Very, very impressed. Oodles of thanks! XO
Yay! @ Jenny @ The Brunette Baker, I’m so glad to hear it!!
Your cookies are always utterly GORGEOUS!!! I’m in LOVE with all of your leaves! The sparkly veined ones and the marbled ones….SO pretty! (As usual!)
Thank you so much for sharing your techniques. Your work is flawless!
@ bridget {bake at 350}, @ Beth Pajak: Thanks for stopping by and commenting! xo
Thanks for the wonderful tips. Your cookies are so beautiful. I especially love the squirrels. Where do you find your cookie cutters?
Beautiful cookies! Always neat and perfect.. Definitely love them. Thanks for the tips and ideas!
Marian,
Loved seeing your process!!!
Xo Amy
Wow, these cookies look too good to eat. I hope one day I learn the skills to make cookies that beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness! These are so gorgeous!
Marian,
Your cookies are always so amazing and beautiful. You are my inspiration in trying new ways to improve. Thank you so much for all your hard work and sharing your work with us!!!!
Hi @ Lisa Cornely: I find my cutters everywhere… Walmart, Michael’s, Bakery supply stores such as Golda’s, McCall’s and my favorite cookie cutter sites like, CopperGifts.com, ecrandal.com, and FancyFlours.com
The squirrel ones in the pics above is from Ikea!
Hope that helps!
@ Veronica M., @ Amy, @ Liz: Thanks so much for your sweet comments!
@ Maria, @ Debbie: Thank you so much ladies!!
Ha! Marian! You call that a mess? Pfft, I could show you a mess! Love all your posts so much. You’re such a generous spirit!
Ha ha! @ Peggy Does Cake: Yes, mine does definitely get messier as well. I’ll have to share in another post. Thanks for commenting!
I made my first EVER royal icing cookies this weekend! My gosh, it was soo much fun! I told my son, “I could do this alll day!” lol! I love your website and videos! Your royal icing recipe worked great in this humidity in Hawaii! “Mahalo” for sharing your wonderful gift!
I know how you feel, @ Terri, I could decorate all day too! Thanks for you kind comment! xo
I love all of your posts! These cookies are beautiful!
Thanks, @ Laura!
Marian, You are the best!! I absolutely love your site!! You are my cookie saviour!! I was wondering, your fall cookies look thicker than 1/4″ – do you use a guide for rolling out your dough? And how thick do you usually roll it out? Thank you so much for your time!!
Aw, @ Jillian, thanks. I don’t use a guide for rolling, although I have them. I just eyeball it now. Lately I’ve been enjoying making them pretty thick, but honestly, I do whatever i feel like… sometimes thinner (for example if I need to make more cookies out of a batch of dough), sometimes thicker. Not an exact measurement, but I’d say about 3/4 of a cm to a cm thick. Hope that helps!!
What cookie recipe did you use? Sugar or did you do a gingerbread cookie as the cookie looks darker than a sugar cookie. Please send link or post your gingerbread cookie recipe. Thanks
Hi @ FranNVA: It’s a gingerbread cookie – you can find it and all my recipes at the top of the site where it says Recipes. Click ‘Recipes’, wait for the page to load a bit (it can take a few seconds depending on your connection), look under Cookie Recipes – ‘See More’, and once you click that you’ll see it.
Easier than it sounds! Lol.
Hope you like my other recipes too. xo
these are simply adorable for Thankgiving. I hope I can find the time to make the turkey’s for my little turkey’s. LOL I don’t have the patience to sell decorated cookies and I Don’t make them often for my kids since they are so much work but for the Holiday’s we always decorate cookies. These look so fun to make.
Hi @ buttercream bakehouse: The turkeys were fun to make … my fave actually. Hope you find some time too.
Marian,
These cookies are gorgeous! Can you explain how to create the marbling effect on the maple leaf cookies? (From Lizzy B). Thanks!
Oh my goodness! So honored to be included in your ‘links’! thank you!
Lovely cookies! Especially love the pine cones. I don’t have PME 44 tip, what would it be in Wilton’s? Thank you!
Gorgeous Cookies! Thanks for sharing! Excellent teacher! Helpful to see all aspects of the process which answers so many questions.!
Hi @ Christiana Magrogan: Sorry, just noticed your comment now… For the leaf cookies, just pipe the colors you want beside each other and then drag your toothpick through the icing, towards the outside of the cookie *towards the points* of the leaf. Drag inwards to the center at the ‘dips’ of the leaf. I hope that makes sense to you!
Hi @ Lizy B: You had such a great idea with those leaves… I loved them and had to try! Thanks for the idea!
I’m sorry, @ Michaela, I haven’t seen a Wilton version.
Thanks @ MaryB!
How lucky I am to find your blog!
In two weeks I am baking autum themed cookies
for a school bazaar. I am sure your wondeful idea
will make my coolies better than the last year’s!
Thank you!!!