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
p.s. In case you missed it, f you’d like a tutorial on how to make the owl cookies, you can find it here.
paige appel says
these are absolutely adorable!!!
Meaghan (chic cookies) says
gorgeous cookies, gorgeous tutorial! I’ll link on my edible crafts column tomorrow (ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com). thanks!
Laura LaCoste says
Just to add to the tips. I’ve found when working with multiple colors that covering the tips with a damp paper towel helps to keep them from drying out.
Having a toothpick handy for any clogs is also helpful as well as for dragging icing into tighter spots. Couplers are also handing for switching out the tips if they get clogged and can be a time saver.
Corynn Chan says
Oh my goodness! That is perfection! You are really good with new designs. I love it!
allie says
do you have to let the first entire cookie color flood dry before applying the next color or design?
Kimberly Myers-Schuh says
Stop already, you are far too talented!
Donatella says
Thank you Marian! I’ll bear in mind all your tips when I try to decorate cookies in R.I.!!
Love,
Donatella
Evelyn says
Hi Marian,
I just recently found your website and I just LOVE every cookie I’ve seen so far! It’s wonderfull! I just started decorating myself. I hope I get as good as you one day!
Evelyn
BethieofVA says
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful……….
Kirstin says
I’ve never tried decorating with royal icing before, but these cookies are inspiring!
Marian says
Thank you for the sweet comments!
Meaghan, thanks for featuring my top 10 list; I’m completely flattered. 🙂
Laura, thanks for your great advice!
Christy says
Great tips!! I just recently started creating cookie bouquets and love decorating with royal icing! Wish you’d been there for me in the beginning, would have staved off many frustrating hours of trial and errors!! 🙂
Your cookies are gorgeous!! Thanks for the inspiration!
emily says
These are so adorable and lovely! I’m inspired!
KyotoFoodieのPekoPeko says
Wow, those are some beautifully decorated cookies! I like the orange, green and brown color palette series very much. You are inspired.
Have you seen wagashi? (Japanese confections) There are some beautiful wagashi images in my blog, you might find some inspiration there.
natalie says
these are gorgeous!! i love the theme of the cookies!!
nico says
Thanks for the tips, your blog rocks, thanks
thecookiemuncher says
One word for you: AMAZING!
Amy (Sing For Your Supper) says
Oh my GOSH – I just discovered your blog and it’s SO cute!!! Totally bookmarking this! These cookies are so awesome – I wish I had this kind of talent!
Paula says
Your cookies are amazing! great work. Thanks for the tutorial!!
Jada says
These are fantastic!! You make it look so easy : )
Marian says
Thanks so much for the lovely comments!!
Allie, sorry I just noticed that you had asked a question. I did let the bottom color dry before I added the next layer. You may not want to wait this long, but I waited 24 hours to ensure they were completely dry. I wanted to avoid any colors bleeding into eachother. Hope that helps!
Summer says
These are some of the CUTEST cookies I have seen!
Brittany says
I almost said, “oh, how cute” out loud when I saw the owl cookies at the top of the post. Luckily I didn’t, my husband probably would have been confused! I LOVED the cookies! That is some great inspiration!!!
Melanie says
Wow! Marian..thanks so much for sharing! Such tremendous artwork in each piece. Your cookies are seriously beautiful. LOVE LOVE LOVE the owls!
Nicole says
these are so adorable!
Daniela says
Love your work!
Thanks for the tips :o)
Heather says
These are so stinkin’ cute. I have just started with my cookie endeavors. Thanks so much for sharing. Your advice is very valuable.
susan crabtree says
love the tutorials-btw, the owl cookies are SUPER cute!
Susan says
Great tutorial Marian. BTW, these are the cutest cookies!!!
Amy I. says
Hi Marian! I just discovered your blog. I’m sure you get this all the time, but I’m in awe of your talent… both your artistry AND your photography! Looking forward to reading along 🙂
Dorothy says
Wow, thanks for the tips! I’ve only used royal icing a few times, but it looks like I’ll have to give it another go now 🙂 Your decorated cookies are so sweet and cute! I love the colors you used.
Marian says
Thanks you so much for stopping by and leaving such nice comments!
Ashley M. says
Absolutely adorable! Thanks for the tutorial!
Maria says
sooo…. creative and talented you are! I love your work and your advice is very generos!
thank you for sharing.
ML
Hélène says
I would love to make cookies as beautiful as yours.
RossanaPantaleo says
Hi Marian,
Once again your cookies are just amazing!!! I would love to make them as cute as yours, how do you do to make the image in the middle so perfect?
Christy says
Love, love, love them! I’ve decorated with RI before, but always have a hard time with the layering – what happens first? Can you give us some tips on how to do that?
Thanks for everything!
megan says
As always, great tips for beautiful cookies. Thank you – your site is becoming one of my top resources.
Rachel says
Yay-these tips are fantastic! I can’t wait for my next decorating session. I’ll be linking as well.
Deanna @ Marzipan says
You are definitely an expert! Those cookies are some of the best I’ve ever seen!
Kelley Hart says
Thanks for all the tips! Can you tell me what the Cream of Tartar does for the icing? I’ve never added it to my Royal Icing. Also, have you ever added glycerin to your icing?
Amy M in Indiana says
Great site! I’m bookmarking this, too!
Amanda DaybyDay says
I was just thinking to myself, I want to know how to do cookies like that and here is a tutorial to do just that! Thanks very much, I will definitely use this.
bridget {bake at 350} says
Oh MY gosh! Your blog is so darling I could almost start crying! I want to LIVE in there!!! LOVE the owl cookies! You are amazing.
I can’t wait until I have more time to sit down and read it ALL!!! Wow!
Laura C says
So cute and clever. You know I love the squirrel the best, but those owls are amazing!!
Marian says
Rossana; I don’t know about the image in the middle being perfect (lol), but it does help to use this
Kopy Kake projector
Christy; To layer is start with the basic bottom-most shape and let it dry for about 24 hours. You could apply your second coat of royal icing sooner, however bleeding from one color into the next can occur, especially if you’re using white next to a deep, dark color such as black, red or brown. If you’re decorating your cookies when it’s humid it’s also especially risky.
That’s all I do – start with one layer, let it dry and so on. Some cookies can take a few days, but don’t worry about your cookies drying out because the coating of icing keeps the freshness sealed in.
I hope that helps! If I haven’t answered your question, email me with some more specifics and I’ll be more than happy to answer.
Kelley; Cream of tartar adds stability to the egg white. (Egg white powder is in meringue powder). I remember reading somewhere that it also helps add volume… to help the egg white whip up. I know when I make my gingerbread royal icing, I make it with real egg whites, and I add LOTS of cream of tartar.
I’ve never tried glycerine in my royal icing. I’ve heard it acts similarly to clear corn syrup in the icing… helps add sheen but is somewhat harder to work with. Both glycerine and corn syrup are on my ‘to try’ list! If you’ve played around with it I’d love to hear what you thought if you don’t mind emailing me or leaving a comment here.
To everyone, thank you so much for your encouraging comments and compliments!!
erin says
These may be the cutest cookies that I have ever seen!