Just For Fun Cookies

My good friends Shinobu and Rieko came over yesterday to see my new kitchen and decorate cookies with me just for fun.

The day before, I baked up a batch of sugar cookies that I cut in different shapes. Then my friends and I made royal icing together and tinted it in a variety of colors.

It was "relaxed decorating" because we enjoyed experimenting with different icing techniques and not feeling any pressure because the cookies were just for us.

Having the correct consistency of royal icing when you are decorating cookies makes all the difference and the only way to figure this out is by practice. I also hinted to my friends that I'm hoping to recruit them when it's time to decorate snowflake cookies for the annual Christmas cookie sale to benefit the Wednesday Community Meal.

Cookie decorating is always more fun when you are with friends.

A heart decorated using the simple "wet on wet" icing technique. Fill and flood a cookie with white icing using a #2 tip and quickly drop colored dots of icing using a #1 tip.

A scalloped chevron heart made by piping a white border and then filling and flooding the cookie with pink icing. While the icing is wet, draw lines of white icing across the heart and quickly use a skewer to draw through the icing lines to create a chevron effect.

A simple scalloped heart made by outlining a border with piping consistency icing using a #1 tip. Piping consistency icing is the texture of toothpaste. Let the border dry and then flood the cookie with another color of icing. Use a skewer to ease the icing to the edges of the border.

A pretty cupcake cookie made by flooding  the cookie with white icing for the paper and pink for the cake. Add some cute sprinkles to the pink cake part. Let the icing dry for about 15 minutes before piping lines for texture on the paper and swirls for texture on the cupcake. Because the flood icing wasn't completely dry, the details melted a bit into it for a soft textured look. If you want your details to look sharper, add them after the flood icings are completely dry.

A simple chevron pattern that is striking yet so easy to make. Food the cookie with white icing and immediately pipe lines in alternating colors across the cookie. Use a skewer to drag down, up and down through the lines, wiping it clean after each swipe.

Patterns On Sugar Cookies

Icing different patterns onto sugar cookies and then mixing them together on a tray can make for a striking display. It's also fun to choose unexpected color combinations.

Usually I outline and fill with the same color of icing but this time I chose to outline the cookies with a soft yellow and then flood them with lavender. Bright red icing added in dots, stripes and a honeycomb pattern add brightness and interest.

Outline with icing that is the consistency of yogurt. Let that dry for at least 10 minutes and then flood the cookie with another color. Use a skewer to fill in all the gaps.

Gently shake the cookie to help the icing settle and remove air bubbles. Let the cookies dry before adding patterns in another color.

Use piping consistency icing and a #1 pastry tip when you add your patterns.

Dots

Honeycomb

Horizontal Stripes

Diagonal Stripes

Star And Moon Sugar Cookies

I needed to make a big batch of sugar cookies for a concert this weekend so I knew I should chose a simple design that would take minimal time.

These star and moon cookies were a good choice. They are nothing fancy but basic can be beautiful and choosing to make them was a good choice because cookie decorating should be fun, not stressful.

I timed myself and it took me just 32 minutes to decorate 50 blue stars.

Outline.

Fill.

Done.

Drying Royal Icing

My recent batch of cookies with slow drying royal icing.

I added a base coat of royal icing to a batch of sugar cookies yesterday morning at 10:30 a.m. and now, nearly 24 hours later, it's still not dry.

The time it takes for royal icing to dry is one of those elusive things - you can't rush it so you just have to wait.

Humidity and temperature play a big role and are things we have little or no control over. It's been raining a lot in Portland lately and it's getting cold and I'm cheap and am waiting as long as possible to turn on the heat — so that's what I attribute to my slow going sugar cookies.

From my experience drying time can take anywhere from two hours to nearly two days.

So the moral of the story is to be aware that drying time varies and make your cookies at least two days in advance.