Outlining and Filling Cookies with Royal Icing {Video Tutorial}
If you can’t see the video, click here.
Decorating cookies is often called flooding because you can essentially create a dam, border, wall or outline of royal icing on the edge of your cookie, and then flood or fill in that dam with icing.
It’s one of the first techniques I once struggled to get right… Either my icing was too thick or too runny. When I first began decorating, it definitely wasn’t as easy as it is now.
The good news is, is that there are a few key tips, which will help make flooding cookies easy and fun. {And would have helped me had I known about them!}.
I should mention first that this is what works for me – it’s what I’ve figured out I like best – you may prefer a runnier or even thicker icing. It’s all personal preference, and after playing around and decorating a bit, you’ll figure out what works for you too!
Here’s how I flood my cookies with royal icing… (This is the same video as what’s at the beginning of the post, which I’ve put it here again in case you missed it. Sometimes the page takes a while to load):
{Video} Outlining and Flooding Cookies with Royal Icing
If you can’t see the video, click here.
If you’d like to try the recipes I used in the video, you can find my royal icing here, and the shortbread cookie recipe, here.
Sweet News:
A few more “sweet” things I’d love to share with you:
LIVE Streaming Event this Wednesday, February 8th, 8pm EST
- I’ll be at a live Cookie Decorating Event with Redpath Sugar this coming Wednesday, February 8th, at 8pm EST. Click here to see the details and to find us on Wednesday! It’s basically a live video streaming where you can either phone, skype, facebook, twitter or email your questions in, and myself and the Redpath Sugar girls will chat with you on the spot! Come join us for some Valentine Cookie Decorating, to ask questions or just chat. I’d LOVE to ‘see’ you there and will do my best to answer your cookie decorating questions, if you have any!
- Redpath is hosting a contest for these prizes as well:
- Please see Redpath’s Facebook page here to see how to win.
Sweet of the Month
The new Sweet of the Month is up and running… You can vote for your favorite sweets here and enter your own treats in a new contest, soon after Valentine’s Day.
It’s pretty, it’s stress-relieving, it’s inspiring, it’s addictive, it’s Pinterest, and I *heart* it. It took me a little while to get going (I didn’t see how I’d have time to try even one more thing), but I’m happy I finally did. I fit it in here and there… even for 10 minutes or so before I go to bed and actually find it relaxing and fun. I’d love to see what you’re pinning as well and if you’d like to find me, here I am.
Random but wanted to share with you… I’m loving the Instagram app on my iPhone. It’s an instant and fun way of capturing what you’re doing through photos and sharing with family and friends and seeing what others are up to as well. A great way to stay in touch!
And last, but not least, I’d like to leave you with some sweet sentiments 😉 so thought I’d share some of my favourite Valentine quotes with you.
Favorite Valentine Quotes
The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of. ~Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 1670
We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness – and call it love – true love. ~Robert Fulghum, True Love
Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. ~Robert Browning
Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly. ~Rose Franken
For you see, each day I love you more
Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.
~Rosemonde Gerard
Trip over love, you can get up. Fall in love and you fall forever. ~Author Unknown
What I need to live has been given to me by the earth. Why I need to live has been given to me by you. ~Author Unknown
A man is not where he lives, but where he loves. ~Latin Proverb
Without Valentine’s Day, February would be… well, January. ~Jim Gaffigan
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning
We don’t believe in rheumatism and true love until after the first attack. ~Marie Ebner Von Eschenbach, Aphorism
True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked. ~Erich Segal
Take away love and our earth is a tomb. ~Robert Browning
Thank you to Terri Guillemets of The Quote Garden, for a snippet of her amazing array of Valentine quotes!
What are you up to for Valentine’s? Making sweets for your loved ones? Eating lots of chocolate? Drop me a line and let me know!
Happy Valentine decorating to you!
xo,
Marian
I know ive asked you this before but u told me it depends sice i didnt give u an example. Soo.. If I was to make one batch of your sugar cookies, about how many “lip” cookies would I be able to get out of that one batch? And how long would the lip cookies have to cool until they are ready to be iced?
Hi Marian,
I love love love your website!! I have tried many different marbling techniques – I love the way marbling looks on cookies, however, I have one problem. A couple days after the icing has dried, not only does the icing seem to fade and look dull, but the color bleeds into my white top coat. The colors don’t seem to bleed the first day, it’s only a couple days later that it seems to do that. Any suggestions or ideas as to why my icing dulls so much and bleeds AFTER being completely dry?? Is it possibly I let them sit out too long to dry?? Thank you!!
Thanks, you are amazing, love you´re perfect work. you´re tutorial it´s going to help me a lot.
This is so sad:
“Dieses Video ist in Deutschland leider nicht verfügbar, da es möglicherweise Musik enthält, für die die erforderlichen Musikrechte von der GEMA nicht eingeräumt wurden.”
Can you upload it to vimeo again or somewhere else? ahhhh this is SO not fair :-)))
I have to make a move to Canada finally 🙂
These cookies are so so adorable, Marian.
AWESOME JOB!!
xoxo,
niner 🙂
Hi Marian
I am about to try your sugar cookie recipe and royal icing! Your cookies look absolutely amazing! I was wondering if you could create a video about coloring the icing with the deep colors you use? My icing always is so pale….
Thank you!
Hi @ Penny: Absolutely, will add it to my list.
HI @ Leigh: Check out my tutorial section for a ‘preventing bleeding’ tutorial and check out my video on ‘drying cookies’. xo
HI @ Sol: Thanks for visiting! If you share a photo of your cookies on my facebook page, I can give you suggestions on improvement. It’s hard for me to advise if I can’t see the icing etc.
Hi Marian.
I live in South Africa in a very humid climate, and when I leave my cookies to dry overnight they go soft/soggy, is there a solution to this?
I have heard about a heat lamp? But is there a chance that there is another reason.
Hi @ Laura: If you like, I have a video on ‘drying cookies with royal icing’ which answers your questions. It’s on my youtube channel (yellow youtube button top right of blog). xo
First off- you are so very awesome…I love your blog!!!!!
So i watched your tutorial on flooding , shared the youtube to my facebook wall …I was so excited to try it. I am doing Monster High Skullette transfers. OH MY< can you please tell me what I did wrong with the consistency of my icing. I can't chuck them out the window due to time constraints – kids will still eat them. But the icing just would not smooth out! I used a no.2 tip and the icing came out of the bag pretty nicely. I shook and shook the pan. ( my rear end probably shook more) if you can give me some insight? Thanks!!!
Oh my goodness@ Linda McCormick, you made me laugh (the rear end part)! I AM sorry to hear that you’re having smoothing over issues though!
2 things you can do – Use a larger piping tip (3 or 4), so that the lines to smoothe over are essentially ‘fatter’ than #2 lines.
Or, add a little bit more water to thin the icing just a tad more.
Beyond that – if you want me to double check to make sure it’s not something else – a photo would help if you’d like to send one to me. sweetopia AT inbox DOT com
@ marian: okay sounds good. I will have to take a pic tonite and send to you from my hubby’s i phone! Thanks Marian ( glad i gave you a giggle- laughing keeps me sane!)
Hi Marian,
I love your blog! May I ask Where did you get your lip cookie cutter?? Thanks! : )
OMG, the LIPS! I would love to know where you got the lip cookie cutter? Love the photos!!
Hi @ Malinda and @ Holly: It’s a Wilton cutter! xo
@ Marian,
Hi Marian, I’m having trouble finding the right consistency for piping outlining. Please help!♥
Thanks!
Hi @ Mary: I have a video on how I find my consistency on my Youtube page – have you seen it? Here’s the corresponding post:
https://sweetopia.net/2011/02/video-royal-icing-consistency-made-easy-the-10-second-rule/
I love visiting your site every now and again! I get so much inspiration from your beautiful cakes and cookies!
I have a resting dough in the fridge just waiting for baking and decorations =)
/Emma from Sweden
Have fun, @ Emma!
OMG beautiful work! Can’t wait to try it!
I keep watching this tutorial over and over again…it is amazing to me how easy you make this look!! I hope someday I can pipe and flood with such ease! Amazing! Love your blog and all of your work! Thank you!!
Have fun, @ Caitlyn Wu!
I hope you do have fun playing around, @ Jen!
Hi, what piping tips do you use to outline and then flood?
oh and how long does it take for the cookie to be completely dry? thank you!
Usually a tip #2 or #3, @ Jacquelyn. Here’s a video on drying royal icing for you:
https://sweetopia.net/2012/01/video-how-to-dry-cookies-decorated-with-royal-icing/
I just found your site this morning while searching for help decorating cookies on Pinterest. Wow…your site and cookies are AMAZING! I’m incredibly inspired by everything you do 🙂
I’m planning to make a pretty big batch of packaged starfish cookies for my son’s birthday party this weekend. I’ve watched lots of your videos and read many posts and am feeling so much more prepared!
My question is about timing. Is this correct: Bake the cookies…wait 24ish hours for them to dry…outline…wait 15 minutes…fill with base color…wait 6-12 hours…pipe details (only a few dots in one color)…let dry for 24 hrs and package? I’m so glad I didn’t wait until the day before to start looking into this 🙂
Also, what are your thought on store-bought sugar cookie dough? Just curious!
Thank you so, so much for all of your tutorials, photos, inspiration, etc! You are wonderful!!
Thanks, @ Erin! Yes, that’s correct, although really you don’t need to wait 24 hours before you start decorating them. Once they’ve cooled to room temperature, you can begin. In case you haven’t seen this post on cookie decorating schedules, here you go:
https://sweetopia.net/2011/11/cookie-making-schedule-free-printables-ballet-tutu-cookies/
Dear Marian,
I would like to know what other kind of mints would work for few drops? They do not have trebor mints here that I can find. Can the mints be hard mints, or do that need to be a soft mint? And the mints are white , would they melt clear? Please help.
HI @ Tammy Hanlon: In my experience the Trebor worked the best because it’s already clear… if the candy mints are white they tend to melt white. The Trebor and candies I’ve experimented with have been hard candies. If you can’t find something clear, I would try isomalt. Good luck!