I’ve been decorating cookies for a loooong time (Hi, Mom and all those gingerbread boys!), but honed my skills in college while working at the amazing Fancy Flours – a direct to consumer baking and decorating supply store, once brick and mortar (gah- miss that store) and now only online. It was started by an incredible baker and entrepreneur, Nancy Quist, for whom I owe much of my love for baking. Since my days at Fancy Flours, it’s been cookie decorating parties with girlfriends, late nights decorating gobs of cookies for friends’ weddings and now sprinkles everywhere while decorating with my two young daughters. There is truly nothing better than a iced sugar cookie, made with love! This style of cookie works great with buttercream icing, but here we will focus on Royal Icing, as that is where some serious magic (and creativity) happens!
Note: These cookies are great for gifting, as they hold their shape well and look amazing boxed up the holidays or on a platter for a party as well. Make them for a kids cookie decorating party too – just put a rimmed tray under each childs’ decorating area to catch all of those sprinkles!
Here’s what you need:
One recipe No Fail Sugar Cookies, from Fancy Flours (also below)
One recipe Royal Icing (below)
Lemon or Almond Oil (or clear vanilla extract) for flavoring icing
Gel Food Coloring (or other food coloring, but gel gives great colors)
Sprinkles and sugars of your choice
Parchment Paper
Pan with a rim (like a jelly roll pan) for catching all those sprinkles!
Directions:
After letting your cookies completely cool, prep your icing.
Royal Icing Recipe:
To get the best flow out of the squeeze bottles, your royal icing consistency needs to be somewhere between the thickness of heavy cream and ketchup – not too liquid-y, not too thick and globb-y.
After you get a consistency you like, separate the icing into bowls or cups with spouts (spouts make for easier pouring into the squeeze bottles). You’ll need as many cups as colors you are making. 3-4 colors (plus white) is typically enough options.
Pour into the squeeze bottles and put the lids on. Next grab several heavy drinking glasses (pint glasses work well!) and put a small piece of damp paper towel at the bottom of each. This will prevent the icing in the bottle tips from drying out in between decorating.
Put your sprinkles, sugars and other decorations on a tray and set your cookies and icing nearby. Now is the time to get decorating!
NOTE: If you are decorating with little kids, I find that putting a small amount of assorted sprinkles in individual little bowls, helps reduce the amount of sprinkles/sugar that is wasted and they don’t seem to notice the difference.
There are lots of ways to decorating with royal icing:
Outline the cookie and then flood in the remainder using your bottle tip.
Wet on wet technique – makes for fun polka dots!
Wet on dry technique – great for adding detail.
Toothpick tye-dye technique
