How to Start Decorating Cookies
So you want to learn how to start decorating cookies?
I get it – those Instagram-worthy treats look absolutely divine, and now you’re itching to create your own edible masterpieces!
This beginner guide will walk you through the basics — from picking the perfect cookie recipe to mastering essential decorating techniques that’ll make your friends say “Wait, YOU made these?!”
We’ll also cover traditional royal icing, a versatile and essential technique for cookie decorating. By the end, you’ll have the confidence to create beautifully decorated cookies that’ll have everyone impressed (and asking for seconds).
If you’re looking for more in-depth details, check out my other article: How to Decorate Cookies with Royal Icing: A Complete Guide for Beginners
Key Takeaways
- Start with rock-solid cookie recipes and royal icing for a strong foundation (hint: check out the ones on Owlbbaking.com – total game changers!)
- Practice makes perfect! Doodle on parchment paper before diving into your actual cookies
- Practice basic techniques like outlining and flooding to create designs, and don’t strive for perfection! Focus on small steps.
- For free cookie decorating tutorials that’ll make you feel like a pro overnight, visit the EasyCookieDecorating YouTube channel and make sure you sign up for the email list so you can get loads of tips and free guides sent directly to your inbox.
Getting Started with Cookie Decorating
Whether you’re looking to kickstart a new hobby, create cookies for family events, or even launch your own cookie empire, this creative journey is accessible to absolutely everyone. You don’t need to be an artist or seasoned baker to do this.
I know the temptation to create Pinterest-perfect cookies right out of the gate is STRONG, but try to release those expectations and just have fun with it! Even the cookie pros started somewhere (and trust me, their first attempts weren’t making it to social media).
Think of cookie decorating as your personal art canvas that you can EAT when you’re done. With the right approach, even total beginners can rock this delicious art form.
Choosing the Right Cookie Recipe
The foundation of any Instagram-worthy decorated cookie is a solid cookie recipe that holds its shape and tastes heavenly. I personally prefer a cookie with a bit of softness to it, but you might be team crunchy – and that’s totally fine!
Finding your perfect recipe might take some delicious trial and error (oh darn, you’ll have to eat cookies!). A stellar sugar cookie recipe gives you cookies with clean, crisp edges that taste as amazing as they look.
Roll your cookies to 1/4″ thickness using a knotched rolling pin. This provides the perfect cookie to icing ratio!
Ensure your cookies are properly baked to provide a sturdy base for decorating. One non-negotiable tip when baking cookies: watch those cookies like a hawk and pull them out when they’re just barely turning light golden brown. Nothing sadder than an overbaked cookie, am I right?
Remember, a sketchy recipe can lead to cookies that spread into unrecognizable blobs or taste like cardboard. No thanks!
🌟 Grab my Favorite Recipes Here 🌟
Making Royal Icing
Royal icing is the superstar of cookie decorating, and finding the right icing recipe is crucial. It dries hard and lets you create all those intricate designs that make people gasp.
Made from fresh egg whites or meringue powder mixed with sugar, royal icing sounds simple but can be a bit of a diva. Follow that recipe to the letter and resist the urge to just dump everything in a bowl and hope for the best (we’ve all been there) – that shortcut will leave you with icing that refuses to set properly.
For cookie decorating rookies, start with a small batch of royal icing and stick to one consistency. Many cookie pros use thicker icing for outlining and thinner for flooding, but it’s SO much easier to use a middle-ground consistency when you’re starting out. Don’t stress about making five different royal icing consistencies right away – that level of cookie wizardry comes with experience! 😉
Experimenting with different royal icing consistencies will help you achieve the perfect texture for your designs. With a little practice and patience, you’ll develop a feel for the perfect icing consistency and how to adjust it when it’s being stubborn.
Coloring Your Icing
When you whip up royal icing, it starts out stark white – like a blank canvas just begging for color! Half the thrill of cookie decorating is creating treats that pop with vibrant colors. Divide your icing into small bowls before adding gel food coloring to achieve various colors.
Here’s a non-negotiable tip: ONLY use gel food coloring. Regular liquid food coloring is a royal icing disaster waiting to happen since the extra liquid messes with your carefully crafted consistency.
Gel food coloring keeps your icing texture perfect while delivering colors so vibrant they practically jump off the cookie.
Start with just a tiny dab of gel coloring (seriously, these babies are potent!) and gradually add more until you reach your dream shade. Nobody wants tie-dyed mouths and teeth from overzealous food coloring squeezing!
Pro tip: Some colors, especially the drama queens like black or deep blue, need extra gel coloring to reach their full potential. Let your colored icing sit for a few minutes or a few hours after mixing – the color deepens on its own like magic!
easycookiedecorating.com
Essential Cookie Decorating Tools
Time to gear up! Here’s your cookie decorating arsenal:
- Cookie cutters – Start with simple shapes like circles, hearts, and stars while you’re finding your cookie groove
- Parchment paper – This miracle paper lets you practice piping and flooding without sacrificing precious cookies
- A scribe tool (fancy-speak for a pointy stick that helps spread icing into corners)
- Piping bags / disposable pastry bags – Your new best friends for precisely delivering that colorful icing. Here’s a video to what the best bag to use is.
Getting Ready for Piping
Start your piping journey with disposable piping bags – they’re user-friendly and make cleanup a breeze. (Here’s a video about the best bag for the job, and my personal recommendation.)
If you don’t have piping bags, sandwich bags can be a practical alternative for beginners.
You’ve got options! Use either a tipless piping bag or a bag fitted with a piping tip, depending on the look you’re going for.
For a tipless bag, simply fill with royal icing and snip just a tiny bit off the tip – less than you think you need, since you can always cut more but you can’t put it back!
If you’re using a piping tip, insert it into the bag’s opening first, then fill with icing, making sure the tip peeks out just enough for precise control. Both methods require gentle, even pressure to create those smooth, professional-looking designs.
Experimenting with different piping tips is like having different paintbrushes – each creates its own unique effect! Practice controlling your pressure, and you’ll soon be creating intricate designs that’ll have everyone convinced you’ve been decorating cookies forever.
Flooding Cookies
Flooding is where we cover the surface of the cookie with icing, creating a smooth surface. Getting that Goldilocks consistency is crucial – your icing should be thin enough to self-level but thick enough to stay put instead of making a break for the edges.
Counting in Seconds
You may have heard the term, 12 second icing, 15 second icing…and if you haven’t heard about it, I’ll explain.
Here’s how it works: after mixing your royal icing, scoop up a spoonful and let it drizzle back into the bowl. As it falls, count how many seconds it takes for the ribbons of icing to disappear back into the surface.
For outlining and flooding with one consistency (recommended for beginners) you want somewhere between a 10-15 second consistency – thick enough to hold its shape for a brief moment and then settle out into one layer in the bowl by the 15th second.
This simple counting trick takes the guesswork out of icing consistency and is a game-changer for beginners still developing their decorator’s instinct.
Remember, it’s always easier to thin your icing with a few drops of water than to thicken runny icing, so start thicker and adjust gradually!
Don’t be stingy with your flood icing! Use enough to create that smooth, even surface – the outline can hold way more than you’d think, thanks to surface tension. Using too thin of a layer will cause the cookie to look inconsistent and patchy.
With practice, you’ll develop an almost supernatural sense for the perfect consistency and how to achieve that flawlessly smooth finish.
Practicing on Parchment Paper
Practicing on parchment paper is the cookie decorator’s secret weapon! It lets you experiment with techniques without sacrificing precious cookies. This is especially helpful when you’re still getting comfortable with piping and flooding.
When it doubt, test it out!
easycookiedecorating.com
Set up a dedicated practice area with parchment paper, piping bags, and even printable PDFs for tracing designs.
With enough practice rounds, you’ll develop the confidence to create cookies so gorgeous you’ll hesitate before taking that first bite (but only for a second, because cookies are meant to be eaten!).
The Cookie Rookie Blunders – Avoiding Common Mistakes
Here are a few concise, sassy explanations for those common cookie decorating issues:
Air Bubbles & Craters
Those sneaky air bubbles are like ninjas – they hide in your icing only to create sad little craters once they pop! Combat them by mixing your royal icing sloooowly by hand when adding colors or water, and keep a toothpick handy to pop any bubbles you spot before they harden into permanent cookie pockmarks.
Humidity Horrors
Humidity is the arch-nemesis of cookie decorating – turning your perfectly set royal icing into a sticky mess that refuses to dry! On humid days, you might need to run a dehumidifier or fan in your decorating space and expect longer drying times than usual. Your cookies aren’t being dramatic – they really do feel the weather!
learn my secret to perfect cookies using
royal icing transfers
Butter Bleed Drama
Butter bleed is that embarrassing moment when your cookie fat seeps into your beautiful icing, creating yellow splotches that look like a middle school science experiment gone wrong. Avoid this disaster by fully baking your cookies (underbaked = more fat migration) and letting them cool completely before decorating.
Overmixing Madness
Whip that royal icing for too long and you’ve created a monster that will never fully dry – or dry with a spongy texture. Stick to about 3 minutes on high speed when beating your ingredients, or until it loses its shine but before it gets too airy and fluffy.
Undermixing Mishaps
Undermixed royal icing is like a dysfunctional relationship – it looks okay at first but falls apart under pressure! It won’t hold its structure, causes uneven coloring, and might separate.
Premature Packaging Panic
Packaging cookies before they’re fully dry is like putting the lid on wet nail polish – you’re just asking for smudgy disappointment!
Give those babies AT LEAST 12 hours (overnight is better) of drying time before even thinking about bagging them, unless you want your masterpieces stuck to the packaging like they’re giving it a hug.
Color Bleeding Blues
Color bleeding happens when your vibrant colors decide to mingle inappropriately with neighboring hues, creating a tie-dye effect you definitely weren’t going for! Prevent this by letting each color slightly crust over before adding adjacent colors, and keeping your cookies in a low-humidity environment. It can help to add white food coloring to your base icing as well.
Perhaps the biggest mistake of all?
Expecting cookie perfection right out of the gate and beating yourself up when your first attempts don’t look Instagram-worthy! Remember, even the cookie queens and kings started somewhere.
Embrace the mess, laugh at the fails, and watch your skills grow faster than your collection of cookie cutters!
Inspiration and Practice
Improving your cookie decorating skills is all about practice, practice, and more practice (and eating the evidence when things go wrong!).
Start with simple designs to build confidence – trying to create the Mona Lisa on your first cookie will only lead to frustration. Starting with simple designs will give you a better idea of which techniques you enjoy and excel at.
Remember that mastering cookie decorating is a journey, not an overnight success story. With consistent practice, you’ll see your skills improve dramatically, and before you know it, you’ll have the confidence to tackle designs that once seemed impossible!
Finding Design Ideas
Stuck for inspiration? Search for step-by-step tutorials on YouTube or Google – there’s a treasure trove of free tutorials waiting for you! If a particular teacher’s style doesn’t click with you, keep searching until you find your cookie decorating soulmate. Experiment with different techniques to create your own cookies that reflect your personal style.
Food color markers are absolute game-changers for adding fine details and drawings directly onto your cookies. With these resources and tools in your back pocket, you’ll never run out of fresh ideas to try!
Storing and Packaging Decorated Cookies
Proper storage is crucial for ensuring they stay fresh and looking fabulous. and looking fabulous. Store them in a cool, dry place away from moisture that could make your hard work soggy.
The most important rule of all: allow the icing to harden completely before handling or stacking – this prevents smudges and keeps your designs pristine. Slip some parchment paper between layers to protect those decorated surfaces during storage.
Creative packaging elevates your cookies from delicious treats to jaw-dropping gifts. Clear cellophane bags, decorative boxes, and personalized labels add that special touch that makes your cookies look as professional as they taste! (with little effort)
Summary
Decorating cookies is a fabulously fun and oh-so-rewarding activity that mixes a dash of creativity with a sprinkle of culinary magic. Starting with the basics—like picking the perfect cookie recipe and whipping up that dreamy royal icing for your cut-out cookies—lays down the foundation for seriously stunning decorated treats.
Nail those fundamental moves like flooding, and you’ll be crafting cookies that look like they belong in a fancy bakery. Add a pop of color to your icing and sprinkle in some advanced techniques, and watch your cookie decorating skills go from sweet to superstar!
Remember, cookie decorating is a fun activity that can be enjoyed alone or with friends. Practice is key to mastering cookie decorating.
Don’t get discouraged if your first attempts look more “Pinterest fail” than “Pinterest perfect” – with time and perseverance, you’ll improve and gain confidence.
Whether you’re decorating cookies for fun, family events, or starting a cookie business, the joy of creating and sharing beautiful cookies makes every frosting-covered finger worth it!
