Ideas on How to Decorate Cookies
A cookie can be as unique as the person who decorates it. Colored sugars, chopped nuts and even candy pieces can be featured atop these baked confections. Sugar cookies can sport any kind of icing on their surface because they are smooth and light-colored. Consider using a simple icing, such as butter cream, or a more complicated design idea using royal icing or water coloring. Does this Spark an idea?
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Royal Icing
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Royal icing is a thin, white icing that dries to a hardened finish, which is excellent for use on cookies that require stacking or transportation. Use royal icing to pipe simple designs onto shaped cookies, such as gingerbread men or sugar-cookie snowflakes. You can keep the icing white or dye it another color. Pipe on the icing with a small pastry bag or cookie decorating tips.
Butter Cream Icing
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Butter cream iced cookies are best for cookies that are not naturally sweet. Butter cream icing is very sweet and softens the cookie. For this reason, it is best for use on cookies that start out a little harder so that they do not crumble into pieces. Apply butter cream icing to cookies by spreading it on with a knife or by using cake decorating tips to add different textures. Do not stack butter cream cookies because the icing never becomes completely hard.
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Watercolors
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Watercolor icing is an understated and delicate way to decorate cookies. Since the colors are pale, this kind of icing works best on traditional white or yellow sugar cookies. Cover the tops of the cookies with royal icing and allow to dry overnight. Mix some liquid food coloring with a few drops of water. Use a new watercolor paint brush to brush the food coloring over the icing. Allow the colors to dry overnight. These cookies stack well after drying.
Candies
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A simple way to decorate cookies is to use candies or sprinkles. You can roll the cookies in sugar or candies before baking, or sprinkle them over the top of cookies that are freshly iced. Candy bits and colored sugar are simple ingredients that add detail and texture to the cookies. These can also allow cookies iced with butter cream to be stacked, since the candy or layer of sugar will not stick to the bottom of the cookie on top of it.
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References
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