Shades Of Red Sugar Cookies

These bright cookies will be part of a red themed auction basket that is being put together by the Martha's Guild of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and will be auctioned for charity.

The cookies were decorated with five shades of red, the lightest for the base coat and the other four for decoration. The ombre red cookie and the floral designs were both made using the brushed embroidery technique.

To create the shades of red, I put the same amount of white icing into five bowls and added one drop of red gel paste in the first bowl, two in the second, three in the third and so on. I find this is the easiest way to get the same color at different depths for ombre designs.

After mixing the icings, I used the lightest colored icing for the base coat and covered the remaining bowls with plastic wrap. I wasn't ready to use them until the base coat was dry.

Waiting for the base coat to dry.

This cookie was made by piping a line with the lightest icing and using a square tipped brush to pull it down and create ridges.  I then repeated this two more times with the lightest shade of icing before moving onto the next lightest shade and so on, ending with three rows of each shade. A piped border that matches the color sections finishes it off.

A piped border also nicely finishes off the floral brushed embroidery cookie.

Easy Ombre Cookies

Besides being easy, these ombre cookies are chic and au courant.

Ombre is a French word that means "shaded" and in fashion it is used to describe the color effect of one color going from light to dark. It's taking one color and just gradually enhancing its depth.

It was a breeze to tint the royal icing to create these cookies and the results are pleasing and cohesive.

I think these would be especially nice for a wedding or an event that has a color scheme. Piled high onto a platter, they would look striking.

To ice the cookies, I just piped a border and immediately flooded the cookies using a #2 tip. The design is in the color, not the details.

Here's how to tint your icing:

Divide your icing evenly into four bowls.

Drop a small amount of coloring into one bowl, put more coloring into the next, even more into the third and finally put the largest amount into the fourth bowl.

Mix the colors well. Add a bit of water if necessary to make the icings flood consistency.

Use a #2 tip and piping bags to outline and flood the cookies. Let the cookies dry completely before packaging or arranging on a platter.

A package of cookies wrapped with inexpensive baker's twine. A homemade tag adds the finishing touch.