Cookie Decorating with Royal Icing

You’ve made those yummy sugar cookies using my Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe. You’ve made your icing using my Easy Royal Icing recipe. Now what? Prepare yourself for the best part. . .decorating sugar cookies!

It’s time to decorate some royal icing cookies, y’all!

Here are some of my favorite tips for decorating sugar cookies with Royal icing:

1. Use a piping bag with a small (#2) Wilton piping tip for the piping icing. Remember, piping icing is a thicker icing. You can use anything you like for the flood icing. Some people using a piping bag with the end clipped off. I use a plastic squeeze bottle (see photo) or a tipless bag. Outline your cookie using the piping icing (or thicker flood icing) and flood the center with the flood icing. You can use a toothpick to “drag” your flood icing to the edges/corners. Here’s a picture of my setup. 
2. Create a clean/well prepped decorating station: I always have my piping bags, bottles, toothpicks, napkins, extra tips, etc. before I start decorating sugar cookies. I also use a Pampered Chef Cutting Pad (or waxed paper) on the countertop. 
3. After flooding your cookies, tap them gently to work out any air bubbles. You can also use toothpicks to pop any air bubbles. Do this right away. 
4. Speaking of toothpicks, keep several on hand. The piping tips often clog as you work. 
5. If you’re adding multiple colors to your cookies, let each color dry (with the fan blowing on them) and then add the next color. 
6. Let the cookies dry for five to seven hours before packaging. They could and should be left out in the open (not closed up or covered) during the drying process. Many people worry that the cookies will grow stale but the opposite occurs! The royal icing locks in the freshness of the cookie and it’s just as yummy hours later. 
7. Store these cookies tightly covered. They will last a week. Frozen, they will last a couple of months!

@janicehannathompson

Demonstrating the wet on wet royal icing technique at www.outoftheboxbaking.com. Check out the recipe for realizing in the link below. #ambaking #baking #outoftheboxbaking #cookies #cookiesoftiktok #royalicing #royalicingcookies

? Spongebob Tomfoolery – Dante9k Remix – David Snell

A Few of My Favorite Cookie Designs

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. Here’s another video of me showing another wet-on-wet technique.

Have fun with your own designs, folks! Maybe you’d like to try some of these…

Whether you’re planning to do intricate designs or simple, you’ll be set to go with my royal icing recipe. Just make sure the consistencies are correct.

And remember, you can always check out more pictures on my Holiday Sugar Cookies page.

By the way, I buy my cutters from Amazon and/or www.cheapcookiecutters.com. 

Thanks for stopping by, y’all!

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.