How to Decorate Wedding Cookies

If you're looking for cookie ideas for an upcoming wedding or bridal shower you've come to the right place. These cookie ideas are simple, delicious, and oh, so cute!

Hand-Painted Cookies: A Wedding Favorite!

Hand-painted wedding cookies have become a favorite choice for modern weddings because they offer a personalized and elegant touch that mass-produced treats simply can't match.

These artisanal cookies are often used as charming gifts at place settings or displayed on decorative trays, adding both beauty and a delicious surprise to your celebration.

In this post, I'll showcase my collection of wedding cookie designs along with a brief tutorial on how to recreate each look using detailed photos as your guide.

Let's Start with Some Recipes!

Before we get into the designs of the various wedding cookies, let's start with some recipes. I always use my cut-out sugar cookie recipe for these cookies. They're sturdy enough to paint and transport and yet still have a soft bite you expect from a sugar cookie.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

If you want the details for this recipe, please visit my Cut-Out Sugar Cookie post. Here's what you'll need to make these cookies.

• 1 cup room temperature salted butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 room temperature egg (extra large)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

How to Make Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

• Cream the butter for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Add sugars and continue to mix.
• Add egg and both extracts and mix well.
• Add flour and baking powder.
• Mix until it comes together then place in a baggie and place in freezer for half an hour to chill.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove and roll out dough to ⅓" thickness (approximately). (See my full tutorial here.)
• Cut out shapes and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
• Place in preheated oven and bake for 10 - 11 minutes or until set. You don't want to over-bake.
• Set on wire rack to cool.
• Make sure the cookies are completely cool before you attempt to decorate them.

Using Royal Icing

Royal icing is a favorite for sugar cookies because it creates a smooth, durable canvas perfect for detailed decorating. Its versatile consistency can be adjusted for either flooding large areas or for fine piping work, making it ideal for intricate designs.

Once dried, royal icing hardens into a glossy finish that not only enhances the cookie's appearance but also helps preserve its freshness. Plus, it accepts vibrant colors beautifully, allowing you to create elaborate, eye-catching designs that turn simple sugar cookies into true edible masterpieces.

Royal Icing Recipe

If you want the full scoop on royal icing, visit my Royal Icing post.

• 2-pound bag powdered sugar
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• 3 tablespoons Wilton meringue powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

How to Make Royal Icing

This is so simple and easy!

Combine water, extracts, and meringue powder in a mixing bowl and whisk until combined and slightly frothy.

Add all of the sugar and mix on low speed for 5 minutes or until it begins to come together. Keep it on low speed the whole time.

Flood. . .or Piping?

Your royal icing is really thick so it will need to be thinned down to turn it into both flood and piping icings.

Roughly speaking, a flood icing (also called a 10-second icing) is about the consistency of honey. You want to add tiny drips of water to thin it down, a little at a time, until you reach the point where you can drag a knife or spoon through it and the line closes after ten seconds.

To make piping icing, you add far less water. You're looking for toothpaste consistency, perhaps a bit looser.

I pipe using tipless bags but you might want to start with bottles for the flood icing to have better control. I have a full tutorial for all of that on my Decorating with Royal Icing post.

Now that you have your recipes, it's time to talk about how I decorate my wedding cookies. They are beautiful but not as difficult as you might imagine. Create a work station and have everything you'll need in advance.

Heart Cookies (White)

Simple white heart cookies are a timeless treat that never fail to impress. These intricately designed cookies start with a smooth layer of white icing—flooded to create a flawless canvas—onto which delicate scrollwork is expertly piped.

In some variations, one half of the cookie is painted with detailed designs while the other half is adorned with elegant scrollwork on the bare cookie, and in others, a sprinkle of sanding sugar adds a subtle sparkle to the painted surface.

Classic, lovely, and delicious, these cookies make an exquisite gift and add a personal touch to any wedding celebration.

Heart Cookies (Bride and Groom)

These heart-shaped bride and groom cookies capture the elegance and whimsy of a wedding day. The bride cookies are meticulously hand-painted to resemble the delicate top of a wedding dress—they’re first flooded with a smooth white icing, then adorned with subtle pearlescent accents and intricate piping details that evoke the refined beauty of lace.

In contrast, the groom cookies boast a sophisticated tuxedo look, with a sleek black base accented by crisp white piping to mimic the formal style of a classic tuxedo. Together, these charming cookies offer a delightful and memorable touch to any wedding celebration.

Double Hearts

When you use a double heart cookie you have the opportunity to create several different types of designs. I particularly love doing bride and groom images with tuxedoes and bridal gowns. These are favorites for wedding guests.

Mr. and Mrs. Cookies are also fun!

Bridal Gowns

When I make bridal gown cookies I usually start by flooding the cookies in white. After they've dried, I come on top of them with piping icing.

As you can tell from the photos below, I've tried a variety of scrolling techniques. I've even used different colors for accents. (Honestly? Those are my favorites!)

Lovebird Cookies

Don't you just love these simple little lovebird cookies? They're easier than they look. Just flood one side at a time. I usually start with the white side, then let it dry before adding the side with the color. You need to wait until the flood icing is completely dry before adding the details with piping icing. But the end result is absolutely lovely!

Engagement Cookies

I've made such sweet engagement photos! Ring cookies are a favorite and can be made in a variety of ways.

My favorites, though, are the sweet little proposal cookies. . .and they're super easy. Just flood a cookie in white, add dots around the edges and allow to dry overnight. The following day use an edible marker to sketch on the characters. You can then finish them off with a hair bow and glitter for the ring. (So fun!)

That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed my cookie recipe and wedding cookie styles. Get creative! Wedding cookies are meant to be fun! 

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you're at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

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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 165 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.