|
 NOTE:
Before decorating cookies, make sure they are cooled thoroughly on a wire
cake rack, if just baked, or defrost completely in its wrappers, if frozen. |
 1.
Sugar:
The most basic way to finish a cookie is with
sugar.
Powdered Sugar:
Powdered sugar covered cookies aren’t always the
most tidy to eat, but tasty none the less.
These cookies go by so many names,
Russian Tea cakes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Snowballs, and so on.
These cookies require at least two dustings of powdered sugar to complete.
For example: nutty butter cookies
are baked until just set, then rolled while warm in powdered sugar, then rolled
again after they have cooled. With the first rolling, the powdered sugar will
melt and create a tasty icing and a surface to stick on, then a powdery coating
is added with the second rolling.
Powdered sugar can also finish a
sandwich cookie. Roll out your favorite butter cookie recipe, then cut out small
holes in half of the cutouts. Bake and cool. Sandwich them together with your
favorite preserves. Then coat the cookie half sides that have holes with
powdered sugar.
Flocking:
This process creates a sparkling effect on
the tops of cookies. TO DO:
Make a batch of
Safe Royal Icing (if you wish to eat the cookies). While icing is
still soft, hold the cookie over a baking sheet, and sprinkle it liberally with
sanding sugar—a large-grain
decorating sugar. Let the cookie sit for 30 minutes before shaking off excess
sugar. Allow it to dry for several more hours before gently removing stray
crystals with a soft pastry brush.
The Best Cookie Glaze:
Put a shine on your baked cookies and preserve them for a year (as long as
it doesn't contain any perishable items !)
 | 1 cup powdered sugar |
| 1 tablespoon light corn
syrup |
| 2 tablespoons water
|
Stir each time you use it
or after it has sat for five minutes or more. If you do not stir in
between uses, it will dry mottled.
This glaze must be stirred
all during the use of it. If you do not, it won't dry clear. It
will have a milky cast. (I usually paint 2, stir, paint 2, stir). This
is great to get cookies to stick to each other. They will never fall off
again. |
Paint Patterns with
Colored Sugar: Use a paintbrush to
paint patterns on baked cookies with light corn syrup, then dip in colored sugar
or sprinkles. How to color sugar.
Stencil Patterns with
Sugar: For patterns, use a stencil or paper doily and place over a
freshly frosted cookie. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar, colored sugar or
baking cocoa, using a small sieve. To make a stencil, fold a small piece of
waxed paper into quarters, then in half, making a triangle. Cut shapes out of
the folds and point. Unfold to use as a stencil.
Use
Piping Gel to
Add Sparkling Sugar to Your Cookies:
For a festive
look, you can top your cookie or the areas to be decorated with clear piping
gel. Then, while still wet, sprinkle colored sugars or sparkling sugar onto it.
Piping gel can be also flavored with
concentrated flavoring oils.
Piping gel
can also be used with a stencil. Use the same method as above and transfer an
initial or name onto a wedding/birthday cake or cookies.
Make
a Cookie with a Photo on it:
To create your own photo cookie, an
online company
will print with food coloring, a photo of your choosing and then apply it onto a
cookie that they bake for you. It is then shipped to you.
|
Melted chocolate chips can be used to drizzle with or dip into with a cookie:
Heat 1 tablespoon
shortening and 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, along with 1/2 cup milk
chocolate chips or 1/2 cup white baking chips, in a 1-quart saucepan over
low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Then,
remove from heat and let cool a bit so it thickens slightly before using. |
|
 Decorate
the icing used to hold a baked sandwich cookie together. Spread a generous
amount of icing on the top of one sugar cookie, then top with another
cookie. With a spoon or your fingers, tap the sides with sprinkles or nuts
so that they stick into the frosting for added flavor. |
2.
Drizzle
or Dip in
Melted Baking Chocolate or Chocolate Chips:
Before
starting, place plain, cooled cookies or bars on a cooling rack that is set over
a parchment or waxed paper covered sheet pan. To do, dip a regular eating fork
into melted chocolate, allowing the first large drop of chocolate to drip back
into the saucepan. Then using back-and-forth motions, drizzle chocolate over
cookies. Another way to drizzle melted chocolate is to use a
plastic bag. Fill the
bag with icing, cut off the corner and gently squeeze chocolate onto cookies in
straight lines, zigzags, spirals or squiggly lines.
A fancy way to decorate with
chocolate is to partially dip a cookie, one-third to one-half, into
melted baking chocolate or
chocolate chips.
Optionally, dip the other half of
the cookie after the first half has dried. I freeze mine for 15 minutes to
harden the chocolate before dipping again. I then dip the undipped side. (Try to
hold the cookies on their sides; do not to touch the top of the previously
dipped chocolate with your fingers or they will melt it and mar its surface.)
Place dipped cookie on waxed paper until chocolate is firm.
Make multiple chocolate layers by
dipping a single-dipped cookie into a second type of chocolate (after first
chocolate is firm and frozen for 15 minutes), leaving 1/4 inch of first
chocolate showing. For example, first dip the cookie in white chocolate and then
in semi-sweet chocolate.
|
Sprinkle
presweetened powdered drink mix onto iced sugar cookies- tasty and pretty.
Do before the icing has set. |
3.
Candy, Dragees, Fruit & Nuts:
Cookies can be finished with a variety of
items such as candy corn, gumdrops, nuts, raisins, candied fruit, miniature
chocolate chips, sprinkles and colored sugars. If using an icing or chocolate
base, make sure it has not set before placing candy, fruit and nuts. In place of
icing, you can use a drop of corn syrup or piping gel to attach decorations such
as candies and nuts to baked cookies.
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Cut unwrapped rectangular
chocolate mints or rectangular toffee crunch candies diagonally in half from
corner to corner to form triangles. Arrange triangles in fan shape, pinwheel
or random pattern on frosting or melted chocolate on cookies or bars.
|
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Place milk chocolate stars,
unwrapped milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped chocolate-covered peanut butter cup
candies or purchased chocolate leaves or other shapes on glazed or frosted
cookies or bars.
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Sprinkle crushed hard
peppermint candies, crushed lemon drops, crushed peanut brittle or coarsely
chopped candy bars over glazed or frosted cookies or bars. |
4.
Painting with Color: Paint
baked and cooled cookies in all sorts of colors.
~
Luster Dusts and Petal Dusts
may be mixed with alcohol (white spirits) or
lemon oil for painting. Add just enough alcohol or lemon oil to achieve a paint
consistency. Luster dusts produce a shimmery, sheen finish and are available in
several colors including shades of metallic gold and silver. Petal Dusts are
used to achieve deeper hues with a matte finish.
~ Paint with Tinted
Piping Gel:
Place 2 teaspoons of piping gel in a small container.
Dip the end of a toothpick (use a fresh one every time you dip) in either paste
or gel colors. Dip the end in the piping gel, swipe a very small amount (colors
are very concentrated) of color and stir. Only add enough until the right color
is reached. Place cookie on waxed paper or wire cake rack and let dry. (Piping
gel available from http://www.wilton.com
or any cake decorating store).
~ Paint with decorating
pens: Decorating pens called
Foodoodlers,
are fun to use. They are filled with food colors and can be used on any hard
surface, such as cookies, etc. There are also
 Candy
Writers, great for cookie decorating with colored chocolate. I have even
used tinted colors packaged in small tubes, available from the grocery store.
~
Paint
Molded Cookies with Egg Whites and Food
Coloring: Bake the
Molded Cookie Recipe and cool
completely.
Use only
pasteurized powdered egg whites (Purchase
from the grocery store. DO NOT use raw egg whites if consuming cookies),
dissolve 1 to 2 egg whites worth as directed on the package. Whisk the egg
white(s) until frothy. (DO NOT use raw if consuming), dissolve 1 to 2 egg whites
worth as directed on the package. Whisk the egg white(s) until frothy.
Add enough powdered sugar to make
a thin glaze. Tint with small amounts of
food color or paste colors in a small bowl. (Dip a fresh toothpick every
time).
Use a paint brush to paint on the
colors. Place cookie on waxed paper or wire cake rack and let dry.
|
The
easiest is to make a simple buttercream: take 2 tablespoons of butter,
enough powdered sugar and milk to make a smooth, but slightly thick icing.
Make sure that you can spread it easily with a
kitchen knife.
Click for Basic Cookie Decorating Photos.
|
5. Piped Icing,
Buttercream or
Flooding Techniques:
The next step in difficulty is to take your icing and pipe
it onto the cookie. The same techniques are used as for
cake decorating,
but only on a smaller scale when decorating cookies. It doesn’t take complex
decorating skill, a simple open tube or even an airtight bag with the corner
slightly snipped can be used to pipe lines and dots. Follow the techniques below
for beautifully iced cookies.
Equipment:
|
Pastry bag with
coupler |
|
#2 tip for piping
|
|
Royal Icing has several
advantages -- It dries harder than buttercream,
and is best used when piping designs or when you want to stack the cookies.
Cookies decorated with royal icing freeze nicely. (Powdered
Sugar Icing can be used, as well, but doesn't dry as hard.)
To Pipe Royal icing:
1 batch or more of
SAFE Royal icing can be made
several days ahead of time and stored in pastry bags. Because of health
concerns about eating raw eggs, be sure to use either meringue powder or egg
white powder for the uncooked icing.
Note:
Meringue powder and egg
white powder are available in the baking isle in select supermarkets,
gourmet shops, health-food stores and
online.
SAFE Royal Icing Recipe
(Makes 3 cups)
- In a medium-size
bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons meringue powder or egg white
powder and 6 tablespoon water.
- Beat in 4 cups
confectioner' sugar (a 1-pound box); continue beating until peaks
form, about 10 minutes.
- Press plastic wrap
directly onto surface of icing and keep covered until ready to
use. Keep covered at all times as it dries quickly when exposed to
air.
|
Royal Icing Know-how:
For best results,
follow these tips...
| Paste food colors
will tint icing the richest,
deepest hues.
Use a clean wooden pick
to dip into color, then into icing. Stir to mix. If the colors start
to separate, gently stir it to remix the icing. |
| A thinner icing
(with more water) is best for flooding, since it spreads more
smoothly; a thicker icing (with more sugar) is best for piping.
To make a glaze suitable for a base coat, thin one portion slightly
with water, a drop at a time, until its consistency is that of sour
cream. For piping, leave the other portion thicker so it holds a
line or shape. |
| Use a fine-tipped
paintbrush to apply a base coat of the thinner icing. let it dry
thoroughly.
Then to decorate, use a pasty bag fitted with a writing tip to pipe
on the thicker icing. |
|
To
fill a pastry bag: Place the bag tip
side down in a glass about 3 inches shorter than it; fold the top of
the bag down over the edge of the glass to form a cuff. Using a
large rubber spatula, scrape the icing into the bag, filing it to
one-half to two-thirds full. Unfold cuff, and close bag with a twist
tie. To
prevent the tip from clogging, either place a damp paper towel in
the bottom of the drinking glass, or insert a toothpick in the tip,
and remove it just before piping |
|
|
Marbleize
Cookies
with Royal Icing:
- Make sure the cookies have
cooled before you start.
- Make a batch of the
SAFE Royal Icing Recipe.
Separate it into 5 or 6 bowls and color. Add water to make each bowl of
icing into a run consistency. Put icing into plastic squeeze bottles.
- Begin with your base color
such as white. Squeeze about a silver dollar sized circle of icing on one
Blue Ribbon
Sugar Cookie. Don't put on too much because you'll be adding
additional icing.
- Using a paintbrush, or the
brush end of your tip cleaning brush, spread the icing to the edges of the
cookie.
-
Immediately take your other squeeze bottles of icing and make lines of
color on the cookie.
-
Use a toothpick to drag through the lines
of color. Be sure to wipe off your toothpick after each drag. Experiment
with different color combinations and patterns.
kitchengifts.com
|
|
Royal
Icing can be painted on the whole cookie with a thick watercolor
brush, instead of flooding -- which is what I do sometimes -- shhhh!
don't tell!! |
|
|
 Q:
When decorating the cookies on a stick
do you normally use buttercream
or royal icing? A:
This would depend on how they are stored. Buttercream decorated cookies
cannot be stacked, and royal icing can, only if it is put on flush with the
cookie. |
Baked cookies can be
iced with buttercream:
Buttercream is typically a smooth mixture of
powdered sugar whipped with butter, water or a liquid and often with vanilla. It
tastes like a very thick whipped cream and is used for icing, filling and
decoration. DON'T freeze cookies iced with
Buttercream icing -- the icing will separate and look nasty! If you need to make
cookies ahead of time, freeze the cookies, then ice them a day before or the day
they'll be eaten. Let the cookies thaw before doing so.
 Another
difficult and time consuming technique is
called flooding.
This process coats the entire surface of a cookie with two
thicknesses of
piped
Royal Icing.
Prepare it two ways: thick and thin;
thick for
piping
the outline of the cookie, and thin to flood the interior,
making a smooth, matte finish. NOTE:
These cookies are pretty, but unfortunately the flavor of the finished cookie is
compromised. Royal icing hardens and becomes brittle, and it really doesn’t
taste as good as other icings. If your cookies are for decoration, and not meant
to be eaten, this is a lovely finishing technique.
To do:
|
Prepare
Royal Icing Recipe
- outline and flooding consistencies.
|
|
Outline half a cookie with
piping (thicker) icing, using a #2 tip. Rotate cookie 180 degrees, and outline
the other half. Let the icing set, 5 to 10 minutes.
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With the flooding (thinner)
icing, using a #3 tip for flooding small cookies or a #5 tip for flooding
large ones, draw zigzags over the cookie’s surface.
|
|
Using a small offset spatula,
spread the flooding icing evenly within the piping outline. Let the cookie dry
overnight at room temperature.
|
|
When the flooding is dry, use
the #2 tip to pipe your chosen design.
|
6.
Poured Fondant:
If you love that smooth finish that flooded royal icing leaves, then you might
want to try poured fondant. While using this mixture, keep in mind that it can
not go above the 100 degree F mark, or the sugar will begin to crystallize and
will lose it’s sheen and become to thick to pour.
To cover the cookies with
poured fondant: hold cookie on a wide
icing spatula
over the bowl or pan of icing. With a serving spoon or
ladle, pour the icing over it and let drip over the sides. Place the cookie on a
cooling rack set over a parchment or waxed paper lined sheet pan to catch the
drips.
The icing will set up in a few
hours and the cookies can be packaged, wrapped and stacked without marring the
finish. And, they are wonderful to eat, they stay soft on the inside and soften
the cookie
beneath, much better than the royal icing.
7.
Use to Transfer
Complex Designs on Your Cakes and Cookies:
|
Tint
Piping gel with either gel or
paste colors so it is visible against the icing on a cake
or it contrasts with a cookie.
|
|
Put
it in a pastry bag fitted with a #1 tip or a plastic squeeze bottle (my
favorite).
|
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Draw a pattern on a piece of wax paper using
an indelible marker. |
|
Turn the wax paper over so the ink in on the
backside. Spray backside with a light
coating of vegetable oil spray. |
|
You
can lay the wax paper on top of a design and simply trace with Piping gel! |
|
CAREFULLY place side with gel design on top of cake or cookie – it’s best if
you have let the frosting harden for a few minutes if decorating a cake.
(If decorated with sparkling sugar, place
right side up, if you can).
|
|
Carefully press the gel with your fingers – gently -- and then lift the wax
paper off. The design will have
transferred to the cake or cookie. You
should be able to get two or three transfers from each sheet of wax paper. |
|
Now
use a slightly larger decorating tip (or squeeze bottle) with regular frosting
and go over the gel outline then fill with colored
Piping gel or
icing. (Use
gel or paste colors).
|
8. Rolled Fondant
See also
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_entertaining_other/article/0,1801,HGTV_3116_1396218,00.htm
1. Bake and cool the cookies. Roll the
fondant
icing 1/8-inch thick. Cut the shape out with the same cookie cutter used
to cut the cookie out with. The shape will be slightly larger than the cookie
and may need trimming because cookie dough shrinks when baked.
2. Brush the surface of the cookie lightly with powdered sugar
if making a vanilla cookie or cocoa powder, if covering a chocolate or dark
cookie.
3. Then, brush the surface of the cookie with a light coating
of light corn syrup. Lightly press rolled fondant onto the cookie. Use royal
icing to affix additional fondant decorations to cookies.
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