Coloring Tips

Choosing and creating colors is a huge part of cookie decorating and it can be frustrating when you have the perfect color in mind but you just can't seem to mix it up.

Here are few tips that I know will help.

One:  Have a visual of the color you want to create. 

It can be anything - an object, a clipping from a magazine or a color chip from the paint store.  When you actually see the color you want, it is so much easier to mix.

My friend Shannon gave me a handy color mixing chart that she clipped from the May 2012 issue of "Food Network Magazine." I use it so much that I think I just need to frame it and hang it on the wall of my kitchen.

The color mixing guide from the May 2012 issue of "Food Network Magazine."

The mixing guide even tells you how much coloring you need to add.

Two:  Use high quality colorings. 

I swear by the AmeriColor brand soft gel paste colors. The colors are vibrant and easy to mix. They also don't bleed or separate on your cookies like liquid colorings tend to do.

Black and red are the most difficult colors to mix and if you are using poor quality colors it could take the whole bottle. You'll hit every shade of gray and pink before you get to black or red.

So if you only buy two AmeriColor colorings get these: Super Black and Super Red.

You can fine AmeriColor at specialty baking shops and online.

Three:  Add a coloring just a touch at a time. 

You can always add color but you can't take it away. I use skewers and toothpicks to add just the smallest touch at a time. Absolutely never ever hold the bottle over your icing and squeeze it right in.

Four:  Be patient. 

Don't expect to get the color you want right away. Take your time and work to get the exact color you want.

I sometimes have to add more than 20 touches of a color before I'm satisfied. It's worth your time and effort because it will show in your final product.