Radiant Orchid Ombre Hearts

In honor of Pantone's 2014 color of the year,  Radiant Orchid, I made these simple and sweet ombre hearts.

These cookies can be made quickly and are perfect for Valentine's Day. Tones of Radiant Orchid are pretty, elegant and a nice change from the more traditional Valentine colors of pink and red.

To get the colors I wanted, I divided an equal amount of icing into four bowls and used a combination of AmeriColor Electric Pink and Electric Purple colorings.

My icing divided and ready for coloring.

In the first bowl I put one drop of each color, in the second, I put two drops of each color and so on, ending with four drops of each color in the fourth bowl. This is the easiest way I know to get even gradations of color.

Before decorating the cookies, I thinned the icings with water to flood consistency.

To decorate the cookies, I thinned the icings to flood consistency and used a #2 tip to outline and fill. 

These cookies come together very fast. I like to outline and fill three or four cookies at a time and use a skewer to help evenly distribute the icing.

Be sure to let the cookies dry before serving or packaging. This takes anywhere from 4 to 8 hours depending on humidity.