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I decided to write this tutorial because not everyone has the opportunity to take a sugar cookie decorating class in person. If you haven’t and you can I would highly recommend doing so. I am so thankful for those classes because that’s how I learned the basics of sugar cookie decorating. I took my very first class November of 2019 and after that class I have been eager to take every class I can. One thing I learned from the classes is that over time with lots of practice you (and me) can one day be just like all those sugar cookie decorating experts!
Ok so enough jibber jabber…lets get decorating!!!!
Cookie Decorating Kit Tutorial: St. Patricks Day
Your Cookie Decorating Kit
Your Cookie Decorating Kit Includes:
- 12 Homemade Sugar Cookies
- 3 Bags Of Sprinkles
- 4 Bags Of Thick Royal Icing (Outlining, Piping)
- 4 Bags Of Thin Royal Icing (Flooding)
Optional Supplies:
- Parchment Paper For Your Work Area
- Toothpicks
- Paper Towels Or Napkins
Royal Icing Consistencies
There are many different kinds of royal icing consistencies but in this kit you will only have two, Thick and Thin.
THICK ICING (also known as outlining, piping) is for outlining an entire cookie or just sections of it. It’s the best icing for lettering and small details.
THIN ICING (also known as flood icing) is for covering large areas with smooth icing. It’s thin though, so you’ll need to contain it with a thicker icing.
When the royal icing sits in the bags after awhile the water separates so you will need to carefully & lightly knead and massage each bag before using. I massaged each bag for about 1 minute. You might need to massage them again in between decorating each cookie.
Before
After
When cutting the tips off the bags I suggest only cutting a small amount especially for the THIN royal icing used to flood the cookie. You can cut a little more off the THICK royal icing used to pipe (outline) around the cookie. You want the THICK royal icing (pipping, outlining) to be a little bit thicker so it will help the THIN royal icing (flood) to not overflow.
The Shamrock
First you want to pipe an outline around the cookie using the THICK consistency royal icing. You can use any color you’d like but I used the THICK green royal icing.
Next you want to fill the cookie with the THIN consistency royal icing. You would use the same color you used for the THICK royal icing that you pipped the outline of your cookie with. I like to start my flood from where I pipped my THICK royal icing and then work my way in towards the middle.
You do not need too much of the THIN royal icing. A little goes a long way. If you pour too much you will have overflow causing the icing to go over the outline and onto the outside of the cookie. No Bueno!
I like to use a toothpick to fill the open holes. You can always get a scribe tool for cookies! They are much fancier and more fun.
At the point, you can stop here and let it dry for at least an hour or you can add sprinkles or make the design I did below. If I did not want to add anything else I would now start outlining and flooding my other cookies while the finished ones dry.
If you would like to add little dots like I did below, while the icing is still wet use the THIN royal icing and gently squeeze out some icing on your cookie. You can do as many or as little as you want. No right or wrong way.
NOTE: You can speed up the drying process by placing a fan near the cookies to increase the airflow that it receives. Position the fan on the middle setting and place it at least a few feet away from the cookies so that the airflow doesn’t cause the icing to bleed or change shape. The fan will help set the icing faster and make it SHINY. It reduces cratering or denting in your icing and can help you avoid butter bleed or blotching as well.
After the cookie dries you can add your own designs using the THICK royal icing like I did below. If you are stuck at trying to figure out a design for your cookie try searching through Pintrest! They have a lot of designs you can try but I suggest sticking to the simpler ones at first.
Here is another one I did. Super simple! Once the icing was dry I used the THICK white icing to add a little outline design around the Shamrock.
THE POT OF GOLD
Using the same steps as the Shamrock, first pipe an outline around the cookie using the THICK consistency royal icing. Again use whatever color you’d like but I used the THICK black royal icing.
Next you want to fill the cookie with the THIN consistency royal icing. Again, you would use the same color you used for the THICK royal icing that you pipped the outline of your cookie with.
You can stop here and let it dry for at least an hour or you can add sprinkles or make your own designs.
After letting my cookie dry, I then used the THICK golden yellow royal icing to pipe an outline for the gold and used the THIN golden yellow royal icing to fill in (flood).
And of course I had to add some gold sprinkles!
Here is another (easier) way you can decorate your pot of gold. Pipe an outline around the entire pot with THICK black royal icing and fill (flood) it with THIN black royal icing.
Then add some gold sprinkles at the top of the pot and there you have a pot of gold! Eazy Peazy!
While the cookie was still wet, I added a little detail at the bottom right of my pot with some THIN white royal icing. I made two white dots. For the dot at the very bottom right, I used a clean toothpick and went in the middle of the dot and swiped the toothpick up to make a tear drop look.
The Rainbow
First pipe an outline around the cookie using the THICK consistency royal icing. Use whatever color you’d like but I used the THICK white royal icing.
Next you want to fill the cookie with the THIN consistency royal icing. You would use the same color you used for the THICK royal icing that you pipped the outline of your cookie with.
You can stop here and let it dry for at least an hour or you can add sprinkles (like I did below) or make your own designs.
Here is another design I did for the rainbow. I first used the THICK white royal icing and outlined the clouds and then used the THIN white royal icing to fill in the clouds. Let it dry.
After letting it dry, I used the THICK green royal icing to outline the lines of the rainbow and then used the THIN green and golden yellow royal icing to flood the lines of the rainbow. Choose whatever color(s) you desire!
You can certainly stop here but I thought adding a touch of sprinkles would make the rainbow look even happier! Oh yes, I added an outline around the clouds to give it more dimension using the THICK white royal icing.
The Sweater
First pipe an outline around the cookie using the THICK consistency royal icing. Use whatever color you’d like but I used the THICK green royal icing.
Next you want to fill the cookie with the THIN consistency royal icing. You would use the same color you used for the THICK royal icing that you pipped the outline of your cookie with.
You can stop here and let it dry for at least an hour or you can add sprinkles or make your own designs (like I did below).
For the design I did below, I used the THIN white royal icing and made 3 horizontal lines going across the sweater. I then took a clean toothpick and starting from the left side I took the toothpick and put it at the top and gently dragged it down. Then I did the same thing but started from the bottom and dragged the toothpick up. I did this a total of 6 times (3 from top to bottom, 3 from bottom to top).
I added an outline around the sweaters to give it more dimension using the THICK white royal icing.
Here is another design you can do! Pipe an outline around the cookie using the THICK consistency royal icing. Use whatever color you’d like but I used the THICK white royal icing.
Next you want to fill the cookie with the THIN consistency royal icing. You would use the same color you used for the THICK royal icing that you pipped the outline of your cookie with.
You can stop here and let it dry for at least an hour or you can add sprinkles or make the design I did below.
If you would like to add little dots like I did below, while the icing is still wet use the THIN royal icing and gently squeeze out some icing on your cookie.
I used a clean toothpick and went at the top left of the dot and swiped down to make a heart shape.
Make sure to always wipe the toothpick clean or use a new toothpick for each time you swipe down new dot.
You can stop here or add any design you’d like using the THICK royal icing like I did below.
Tips & Tricks
- Leave the cookies undisturbed for at least 24 hours to fully dry. Depending on the thickness of your icing and the layers on the cookie, it may takelonger.
- Leave the cookies on the table to dry, rather than in a container. Airtight containers tend to become humid, which means that the icing will take longer to dry. Instead, simply allow your cookies to dry at room temperature.
- Plain or decorated sugar cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
- Any leftover royal icing can be frozen for up to 2 months. Place leftover royal icing into zipped-top freezer bags. If you have more than 1 color, each color should have its own bag. Before sealing, squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. Freeze on a flat shelf surface in your freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using again.
Make sure you post your photos on Instagram and tag me in them so I can see your creations from my blog #eazypeazylemonsqueezee
I hope you all enjoyed and thought this cookie decorating tutorial was helpful! If you have any feedback I would love to hear it! Please send me an email @eazypeazylemonsqueezee@gmail.com or reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram.
