Christmas is just around the corner, and what better way to spread holiday cheer than by making some delicious (and beautiful) cookies? Here are a few holiday cookie decorating tips to make your treats look as good as they taste!
1. Custom cookie shapes. Break out of the mold with traditional holiday designs and create your own unique cookie shapes. By turning your cookie cutters in different directions or combining ones you already own, you can easily make a variety of cookie designs. You can also create your own stencils by using materials easily found around your house like tin foil, cardboard and wax paper. After you’ve cut them, make sure to pop them in the freezer for around five minutes to hold the shape!
2. Bake your decorations right in. If you want to make pretty cookies, but dreading the all-day production, you can add your decoration in before baking! Using a roll technique, you can combine different color cookie dough into logs. Then chill, cut and bake to look like a swirl of cheerful colors! You can get creative and even roll colored sugar, nuts, sprinkles or coconut into your dough for added texture before baking as well.
3. Royal icing is your friend. Whether you’re covering your cookies in it or making delicate decorations to top each one, royal icing can be used for anything! It may sound intimidating because of the use of meringue powder, but in just a couple simple steps, you’ll have a versatile icing. Just make sure to take your time – whip it too little, and your icing will slide off your cookies!
4. Use edible food markers. Investing in edible food markers can be a game changer. They make it easy to sketch out your design before icing for added precision. You can also try them when adding small details like polka dots, facial expressions and more. If you’d rather not purchase the markers, you can DIY them with food coloring.
5. Powdered sugar patterns. If icing design just isn’t your thing, skip the hassle and use powdered sugar to decorate your cookies. You can create your own stencil using household items and dust the powdered sugar over top. If you’re looking to display your cookies for an extended period of time, use non-melting sugar powder to make it last longer.
6. Fix up any imperfections. Most of us are not professional cookie decorators, which means you may have some imperfections in your designs. Don’t worry – these are super easy to cover up once you know what to look for. If you see color bleeding when using two different color icings, pipe a design on top or an outline to mask it. If your icing is a bit runny, add more sugar to thicken it or take a clean toothpick to quickly scrape it off.
We hope these cookie decorating tips inspired the baker in you. If all else fails, just remember – no matter what they look like, your cookies will taste amazing!